Summary
- SkyWest Airlines proposes a new Chicago-O’Hare to Pellston, Michigan route operated by United Express with CRJ200 aircraft.
- Pellston Airport comes under the Essential Air Service plan, but United’s summer service won’t have subsidies.
- SkyWest also plans to extend Detroit service to Pellston for Delta Connection.
SkyWest Airlines has proposed a new route from Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Pellston Regional Airport in Michigan. The new route is being planned to be operated by United Express during the summer season.
SkyWest proposes new route
In a letter to the United States Department of Transportation,
SkyWest Airlines
has proposed a new service connecting Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Pellston Regional Airport (PLN) in Michigan.
While PLN falls under the government’s Essential Air Service plan, United Express’ summer service will not receive any subsidies. The carrier plans to use the CRJ200 aircraft for this route.
Situated in northern Michigan, Pellston Airport offers free parking, a full-service restaurant in the main terminal, rental cars and shuttles on-site, and free Wi-Fi.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
Earlier this year, the airport released a statement that it was “planning to file an application with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to impose and use a Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) to fund capital improvement projects.”
It proposed a charge of $4.50 per enplaned passenger and estimated it to be effective from January 1, 2025, to May 1, 2026. The total revenue to be collected from this will be a little over $118,000, and it will fund several airport equipment, such as a rotary plow truck (snow blower), among other things.
Continuation of the Detroit service
Currently, the only scheduled commercial service in and out of PNL is to Detroit. SkyWest flies between the two airports for Delta Connection and, along with the Chicago service, proposed to extend the Detroit service as well. It stated,
“SkyWest welcomes the opportunity to continue service to the Pellston community. As directed by the RFP, we will offer subsidized service with 12 round-trip flights per week from October through May (as noted in the proposal numbers on page 2) and unsubsidized service from June-September with 12 or more round-trip flights per week for a four-year term.
“Service to DTW will utilize CRJ200/550/700/900 aircraft branded as Delta Connection and will operate year-round with 12 weekly round-trips. During the unsubsidized summer season, service to ORD will be provided under the United Express brand utilizing CRJ200 aircraft.”
Photo: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock
Airports like PNL benefit greatly from the US government’s Essential Air Services (EAS) program, which was created to provide connectivity to small, underserved communities in the country. The federal government incentivizes airlines to connect such airports with regional hubs through subsidies.
Strong partnership
SkyWest and United share a strong partnership, with the two companies joining forces to operate several services in the US through United Express. In fact, earlier this year, United Express also announced nonstop transborder flights between San Francisco and Monterrey in Mexico using Embraer E175 jets by SkyWest.
Photo: sockagphoto | Shutterstock
Last year, SkyWest
ordered 19 Embraer E175 aircraft
valued at $1.1 billion to support its operations for United Airlines. These jets will be configured in a three-class layout, focusing on enhanced passenger comfort and reliability, and will fly exclusively for United Express.
Major US carriers subcontract a significant chunk of regional operations for cost-effectiveness, and SkyWest is a major player in this space. Simple Flying has analyzed this in detail in the article below.