Airline proposes schedule change

By James Patrick Schmidt

Published April 6, 2007

St. Louis might no longer be an option as a destination for those flying out of Columbia Regional Airport.

Mesa Airlines, the parent company of Air Midwest, which is the company that operates out of the airport, has requested to change the flight schedule to offer better service.

"The airline thinks the proposed schedule change will serve us better," Airport Director Kathy Frerking said. "It will allow more connectivity, and they think it will help their reliability improve."

Mesa Airlines' contract is through the U.S. Department of Transportation Essential Air Service program, she said.

According to the Department of Transportation Web site, the program is in place to ensure that small communities maintain a minimal level of scheduled air service.

Since Mesa participates in this program, it is required to have proposed changes to the schedule approved by the communities served by the airport, Frerking said.

The City Council has scheduled a public hearing for its next meeting on April 16 to allow discussion of the issue.

Columbia City Manager Bill Watkins said a change needs to happen.

"I think the service levels that we have currently are unacceptable, and Mesa has suggested that for some logistics reasons, going to an all-Kansas City flight plan can help them improve service quality," he said.

Watkins said he is not sure if this is the correct way to deal with the issue.

"On the other hand, the city's consultants have looked at where most of the fliers who originate in mid-Missouri want to go, and a majority of them want to go east," he said. "The East includes cities such as D.C., New York, Atlanta and the connections to those destinations are significantly better out of St. Louis than out of Kansas City."

The studies were done last summer when the city of Columbia was determining which company to select as the airline in the airport.

This request follows the release of passenger numbers in February that showed the airport was servicing fewer passengers than in the past. According to the report, 654 passengers boarded planes at Columbia Regional in January, compared to 985 in October, when Air Midwest became the airline at the airport.

At that time, Frerking said the possibility of changing the schedule was already in discussion.