MCK has best year in nearly a decade

McCOOK, Neb. — Commercial air service is in jeopardy at the North Platte, Kearney and Scottsbluff airports as McCook is enjoying its best year in more than a decade.

The airline servicing the three larger communities, PenAir, announced Monday it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The news quickly caught the attention of both U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer and U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith.

“Today’s news regarding PenAir is concerning for Nebraskans, especially those in our state’s rural areas and the Panhandle. Reliable air service connects our families, businesses, and communities to the rest of our country and the world. As Congress considers the FAA reauthorization this year, I will continue to shore up support for the Essential Air Service program. I will also work to reduce burdensome regulations that harm Nebraska’s small and community airports by reducing the number of available pilots and increasing service costs,” said Fischer in a press release. She is a member of the Senate Commerce Committee.

U.S. Rep. Smith similarly touted the importance of commercial air service to rural communities and expressed his concern with the PenAir announcement. “I have long supported the Essential Air Service and fought against federal regulations threatening our small airports. Despite this discouraging news, I will keep working with the impacted airports to help ensure continued access to air service, which is a crucial tool for economic development in these communities,” he said.

Smith serves as co-chairman of the Congressional Rural Caucus. His Small Airport Regulation Relief Act provision was included in the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization signed into law in July of 2016 to allow small airports to use enplanement numbers from 2012, before new pilot regulations took effect, to qualify for needed funding.

PenAir provided subsidized service to the airports via the Essential Air Service program and has already begun the process of shutting down air service at all three airports, according to a Lincoln Journal Star report. The situation leaves the communities searching for a new provider after dealing with delay and cancellation plagued service since the airline took over last November.

According to the Scottsbluff Star-Herald, PenAir was averaging nearly 15 delays and 20 cancellations a month through May.

The McCook airport experienced a similar stretch of subpar service prior to awarding its commercial air service to Boutique Air last spring. Since the change in providers the airport has seen consistent growth in the number of boarded passengers and drew praise from city leaders.

“We are very happy with and very fortunate to have the services of Boutique Air. As shown in the enplanement numbers, the usage continues to increase,” said McCook Public Works Director Kyle Potthoff this morning. The majority of feedback received from passengers has also been positive and delays or flight cancellations are a rare occurrence, he added.

The enplanement numbers Potthoff referenced, which track boarded commercial passengers at the McCook airport, are at their highest level in more than a decade. Through June, McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport has boarded 1,184 passengers. The passenger counts reflect a 163 percent increase over prior year, following a 178 percent increase last year.

This year’s 1,184 passengers at the halfway mark are the most since 1,468 passengers were boarded during the first six months of 2007.

Prior to the switch to Boutique Air, the McCook airport boarded 333 passengers during all of 2015 and only 402 passengers in 2014.

Potthoff hopes the increases continue and lead to a desire on Boutique’s part for additional flight options, a possibility airline officials hinted at when originally taking over McCook’s air service.

“With any luck our enplanements will continue to increase and the need for additional flights can be discussed,” he said.

There are a total of seven EAS airports in Nebraska. Aside from McCook, North Platte, Kearney and Scottsbluff, the others are Alliance, Chadron, and Grand Island.