MASSENA — The search has started for the next Essential Air Service provider at Massena International Airport.
Town Supervisor Susan J. Bellor told the town board that she had received a call from a representative of the U.S. Department of Transportation Wednesday afternoon. She said she was told that the department was putting out bid requests for Essential Air Service on Wednesday.
“So, we’ll see what we hear about that,” Bellor said.
She said the new EAS contract would be effective April 1. The contract for Boutique Air, the current EAS provider, expires on March 31.
She said the town would receive information about the interested airlines following interviews, and the Department of Transportation would be responsible for selecting the airline that will provide air service in Massena.
“Hopefully we’ll get a lot. So, we’ll see,” Bellor said.
For now, Boutique Air remains the town’s current EAS provider. Airport Manager Dylan Casselman updates the airline’s numbers for the town board monthly, and provided them with October’s figures this week.
“There were 538 enplaned and 511 deplaned for a total of 1,049. There were 184 landings. There were two canceled due to weather,” he said.
Boutique Air was first selected as the town’s Essential Air Service provider in February 2017, initially offering three daily flights, one to Baltimore and two to Albany.
They replaced Cape Air, which had served the community since 2008 following the departure of Big Sky Airlines. Cape Air had offered three flights a day with Albany and Boston as destinations.
Most recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced in February 2023 that Boutique Air would continue to serve as the airport’s EAS provider for the next two years. Flights to Baltimore, as proposed in one of the carrier’s options, were not part of the schedule.
Under the terms of that contract, the airline provides 21 round-trip flights per week from Massena International Airport to Boston Logan International Airport at an annual subsidy rate of $5,322,161 for the first year and $5,535,047 for the second year.
Prior to that, the Department of Transportation announced in March 2021 that Boutique Air had officially been selected to continue as the EAS provider at Massena International Airport. That two-year contract was at a first-year annual subsidy rate of $3,411,097 and a second-year annual subsidy rate of $3,479,318.
However, Boutique Air announced in September 2022 that it wanted to terminate its EAS contract with the town so it could rebid at a higher rate. Boutique officials at the time said their cost of doing business had increased, and the current subsidy didn’t cover that.
In the company’s notice of termination of service, CEO Shawn Simpson noted that they were giving 90 days’ notice to terminate the current EAS contract “with the intention to rebid at a subsidy that will support ongoing operations.”
At that point, the Department of Transportation requested proposals from air carriers to provide replacement Essential Air Service in Massena. They received two proposals from Boutique Air, as well as proposals from Contour Airlines and Southern Airways Express and ultimately continued with Boutique Air.
Boutique Air’s second proposal for 21 round-trip flights weekly to Boston and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport was seeking a first-year annual subsidy of $5,949,097 and a second-year annual subsidy of $6,187,060.
Contour Airlines proposed 12 round-trip flights weekly to Philadelphia and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport at a first-year annual subsidy of $5,793,629, a second-year annual subsidy of $6,199,183, and a third-year annual subsidy of $6,633,126.
Southern Airways Express proposed 21 round-trip flights weekly to Boston at a first-year annual subsidy of $4,799,639, a second-year annual subsidy of $4,919,630, a third-year annual subsidy of $5,042,621, and a fourth-year annual subsidy of $5,168,687.
