I would hate to see EAS go. Good for pilot jobs, especially now that everyone needs to build 1500 hours before moving on.

I'm pretty happy that all those old and rural voters in the flyover states and rust belt that voted for Trump seem to be the people getting screwed the most by his policies. This is just another example.

 

Tell that to Connecticut taxpayers who are subsidizing Aer Lingus to the fund of $2 million a year for BDL-DUB service.

GF

 

According to Wikipedia, the subsidies for Alaska are about 15 million, and the subsidies for the lower 48 are at least 10 times that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_Air_Service

Keep EAS in Alaska. Drop it in the lower 48.

 

And you realize that the entire population of Alaska is about 750,000 out of the approximate 320 million Americans, right?

If Alaska is getting 1/10th the total EAS budget that is incredibly out of proportion to it's 1/400th population of the country.

I've flown those EAS routes and seen the massive waste of taxpayer money first hand: millions spent on X-ray machines and more blue-shirts standing around than passengers. I've flown empty both ways regularly in a 30 seat turboprop because "we don't get paid if we don't fly". All this so pax could avoid a 1 hour drive to a larger airport with legitimate money making passenger service.

If Alaska has special needs and wants to fund backcountry air service, let Alaskans pay for it. They seem to have enough extra oil money to cut a check to every citizen each year that the rest of the country doesn't share in. Kill EAS.

 

There has been something noted in this thread that maybe states should subsidize their own EAS.
That has potential for interesting routes to business hubs of the state and not out of state airline hubs.

 

Just because it is in Trump's budget doesn't mean Congress will pass it completely. I am willing to bet that it will stay because too many Congressmen have their fingers in the pie just like every other pork-barrel project.

 

I'm not an idiot if I used a word common to the rest of the English speaking world. I know my audience, and they are not exclusively Alaskan that will understand snowmachine = snowmobile.

 

Exactly my point. You don't know what you're talking about. Alaska is a unique place. It doesn't fit in the box you want it to.

 

CT subsidizes their own EAS routes?

 

@winston Alaska is in debt, and our dividend checks are beginning to be phased out. There are actually 2 other states that have a Permanent Fund, it's just Alaska is the only one that cut checks.

I don't disagree with the notion of keeping EAS routes funded by their state.