| This seems like a no-brainer but likely will make those who have enjoyed air transportation from Joplin to Kansas City unhappy.
The City of Joplin after reviewing bids for Essential Air Service for the Joplin Regional Airport has recommended the Northwest Mesaba Airlines bid. Rejected were the offer of three flights per day to Kansas City by Great Lakes Aviation using Beech 1900 aircraft and by Hawaii Island Air with Dash 8 aircraft. With the three bidders came 13 different options.
When reviewing the bids for Essential Air Service for the Joplin Regional Airport, Joplin officials recognized the significance of name branding, strong reputation of providing quality service, and an opportunity for stable and long term growth. By recommending the second option of Northwest Airlines to the Department of Transportation, the proposed service would offer three flights a day to a major Northwest hub, Memphis, with a 30 passenger aircraft.
“In considering the needs of our core customer, our business traveler, seamless ticketing and baggage flow, connectivity to a world wide system, and flexibility in their flight schedule were issues of top priority,” said Steve Stockam, Manger of the Airport. “By recommending Northwest Option #2, we have the opportunity to provide branded, mainline service to a large connecting hub that offers over 230 daily nonstop flights to over 80 cities and access to a world wide alliance.”
City officials submitted their recommendation to Department of Transportation this week, and is anticipating their response within 7-10 days. The Essential Air Service program was established in order to guarantee that small communities, that were served before passage of the Airline Deregulation Act that gave airlines freedom to determine which markets to cover, were able to keep a level of scheduled air service. Approximately, 140 communities across the country are currently under the DOT subsidized commuter airlines program.
The acquisition by Delta Airlines of Northwest is expected to create the world's largest air carrier.
The bulk of the information was contributed by Lynn Onstot, information officer for the city of Joplin. For a previous article about Mesa service go here. Go Back | 
