I just tell them that this is the BIGGEST airplane that i have flown, now shut-up and sit down, we're late!

Don't worry I didn't take anything personal. Here is what I found on the govt. EAS website.

Q. How is it determined which communities are guaranteed EAS and which are not?

A. The Airline Deregulation Act of October 24, 1978, simply said that any community receiving scheduled air service from a certificated carrier on that date (746 in total, with approximately 200 in Alaska) was eligible, and instructed the Civil Aeronautics Board, now the Department of Transportation, to implement procedures to guarantee each community’s EAS. Even the very largest cities, such as New York and Los Angeles are technically EAS communities. However, Congress created the program to ensure only a safety-net level of access to the national transportation system for communities that would otherwise receive no schedules air service, so as a practical matter, New York and Los Angeles would never receive subsidy support.

Over the years the Congress and the Department have worked to streamline the EAS program and increase its efficiency, mostly by eliminating subsidy support for communities that are within a reasonable drive of a major hub airport. Currently, communities are not eligible to received subsidized air service if they are within 70 driving miles of an FAA-designated Large or Medium Hub airport, or if their subsidy per passenger exceeds $200 (annual subsidy level divided by annual passengers generated). Communities more than 210 highway miles from the nearest Medium or Large Hub are exempt from the $200-per-passenger standard.


Hope this helps some.

BTW the baby chicks weren't coming from Michigan but going to. Also to add to my point I live in SW Colorado this past year we couldn't get food in from anywhere for about 3 or 4 days straight following a snow storm. Guess how they finally starting getting food in to supply the stores? I also know EAS aren't only in bad weather areas....I used to fly the routes so I know where they are.

I'm also guessing you've never flown in weather before because your response of "why would you fly in a blinding snow storm," take another guess. We all do it at the airlines from flying into ORD to podunk middle of nowhere down to minimums. Its part of the job and if you've never flown into podunk where the runways aren't always cleared, the ramp is covered in ice and its down to a 1/2 mile or less you don't have any clue what its like. I've had to shut down my engines while coming onto a ramp just to stop from sliding off into a snow bank because the ramp was one be ice rink.

So, if the chicks and food are so desperately needed, why not have a Caravan run in there? The 'Van seems to handle tropical fish, lobsters, crickets, parakeets, and two headed turtles* just fine.

*All animals I have flown summer and winter. The turtles were for a crazy guy that collected two headed turtles.

And FYI, by definition, chicks ARE babies.

And I always thought it was to get my congressman to his hunting lodge faster.

Done all of the above - still can't support subsidizing year round operations for occurrences that arise once or twice a year. Besides, if an area gets hit by crippling snow storms multiple times per year every year, then they should be equipped to handle it!

Also, contrary to EAS guidelines, several of the routes served are subsidized for $2000+ per passenger (KELY, KHVR just to start). Also, recently for KAHN and KMCN one carrier bid on the routes without asking for subsidy, but our government denied that bid and awarded the routes to a carrier requesting several million per year.

Air service is a luxury. It's a luxury that we've gotten very used to but there is nothing essential about having passenger service to any particular community. Anyway, that's as far as I'll rant on this one. Regards!

Have to agree with you...It's really been helpful, and my mom flys on Lakes out of PRC all the time; however, usually it's just her and 1 or sometimes 2 other passengers on the flights. There are usually about triple or quadruple the number of TSA agents than there are passengers. I'm guessing their salary and benefits costs would be in addition to any money paid to the airline for EAS?

Look at it this way....

The government is paying airlines money to fly these routes. The government has and will always **** away a lot of money, it is nice some is getting thrown our way.

If they were not spending it on EAS routes it would be spent on something else, like the mating ritual of the north american moth.

Take the flights and jobs and be happy about it.

I'd personally like to see the NextGen system get fully operational. Cutting some EAS might provide a little money for that.

Actually, PRC is one of our busier destinations. If I'm not mistaken, Horizon flies a Dash in there as well. Seems like we usually have around 15 to 19 people on our weekend flights to/from PRC/ONT. And seriously, you don't even want to get me started on the TSA at PRC. If the pilots are not "monitored" at all times by TSA or our station agents while in the terminal, we have to go back through TSA screening. Seems pretty pointless since when we started our morning, we never went through screening and could have loaded the plane up with all kinds of illegal items. If I get furloughed again, I'm headed for a TSA job. Can't wait to be a mindless drone making over twice what I make now to start.