Watertown City Council has approved the selection of SkyWest Airlines for the Essential Air Service (EAS) of the city.
The current contract for EAS will expire this year. The City Council received three bids for the new contract. The evaluation process for the awarding the contract included input from the community, detailed reviews, and two meetings that lasted four hours in total to compare the bids.
Members of the Airport Board, Wes Wilkens and Gerry Rieber, recommended SkyWest due to its strong agreement of sharing flights with such major carriers as Alaska Airlines, America, Delta, and United Airlines. Such agreements ensure that ticketing is seamless, and reliability improved for both leisure and business travelers.
SkyWest will offer 12 weekly round trip flights to Denver and Chicago for a contract of four years. Their bid was also $1.8 million less than the next closest bid. In addition, Wilkins highlighted the ability of SkyWest to provide comprehensive customer support and consistent service.
With this approval by the City Council, the mayor and the city manager will be able to sign a letter of recommendation to the federal Department of Transportation which manages the contract and funding for EAS.
More details about flights, schedules, and destinations can be provided with brochure printing should such contracts be fully approved.
