The fabric of the air transport security blanket known as the Essential Air Service (EAS) program has frayed once again with the January 7 contraction of Big Sky Airlines–the now former lone link to the nation’s air trans- portation system for Cape Girardeau, Mo.; Jackson, Tenn.; Owensboro, Ky.; and no fewer than five communities in upstate New York. The MAIR Holdings subsidiary this month plans to start “transitioning” the rest of its EAS network, based in Billings, Mont., to Cheyenne, Wyo.-based Great Lakes Aviation, distribute any remaining cash to shareholders and completely liquidate later this year.
Big Sky’s withdrawal from its Eastern network, all of which it operated as a Delta Connection carrier, means the Department of Transportation must hold another EAS bid for the cities left without service. For some, that could mean months of waiting for a new carrier to survive the approval process, assemble the requisite crew and equipment and, finally, launch service.
