Great Lakes getting creative...!?

[amorris311]

EAS needs to end. Im sorry to those flying those routes, but what an unnecessary drain it is to our broke country.

Tax payers money being wasted so that 9 people max can catch a flight to a hub, instead of driving a few hours to the hub. Remind me where in the Constitution does it refer to air travel as being an inalienable right?

What EAS costs is pennies in comparison to what your company and the likes make year after year. Do we have to have companies like yours doing military contract work or should it go back in house? I am kinda messing with you but I am also not.

Are you back stateside?

 

[Kingairer]

There should be 0 EAS flights East of Mississippi river. Excluding Alaska, there are probably about 25% of cities who should even be eligible for EAS. Big time waste.

 

[Seggy]

EAS needs to end. Im sorry to those flying those routes, but what an unnecessary drain it is to our broke country.

Tax payers money being wasted so that 9 people max can catch a flight to a hub, instead of driving a few hours to the hub. Remind me where in the Constitution does it refer to air travel as being an inalienable right?

Also Colin Kaepernick isn't that good of a QB

 

[adk]

There should be 0 EAS flights East of Mississippi river. Excluding Alaska, there are probably about 25% of cities who should even be eligible for EAS. Big time waste.

Have you ever heard of a little EAS town called Presque Isle, Maine? I see your point, but your brush is a little bit too broad.

 

[pete2800]

Have you ever heard of a little EAS town called Presque Isle, Maine? I see your point, but your brush is a little bit too broad.

No, I haven't. Should I have?

 

[etflies]

No, I haven't. Should I have?

It isn't what you'd call "near anything."


Unless Canada counts.

 

[The Juice]

What EAS costs is pennies in comparison to what your company and the likes make year after year. Do we have to have companies like yours doing military contract work or should it go back in house? I am kinda messing with you but I am also not.

Are you back stateside?

You are confused, my friend. The exact reason why companies like mine exist is because it is cheaper than having the government do it in-house. There are also things that the government can't "do" themselves and need to have a contractor do it. See "plausible deniability." This is the same reason why it is cheaper for you to fly your "transition jet" around than it is for Delta to fly a mainline jet.

If you were able to hang up your shiny shoulder bars and handmade tailored black slacks for a week, and visit this scary place, you'd see that what you suggested is just not possible or more cost effective as you suggested.

EAS may cost "pennies" in the grand scheme but "pennies" in the grand scheme are not pennies at all, but millions of dollars.

So, the Constitution does specifically mention that it has a responsibility to "provide for the common defense." National defense is the only mandatory function of the US Government. So at least I can say that money being used for my company is at least used for something a little more substantial than flying empty planes around rural communities.

We both did a ton of EAS at Colgan, it was obviously a joke. Airports 24 miles apart in distance, each having government funded air service. Cant count how many times we flew empty or just with a few passengers on those legs.

Speaking of that airport that was 24 miles from another, it was Johnstown airport (JST) or better known as John Murtha Johnstown Airport, named after the congressman who helped ensure the funds to his namesake airport for years. Remember when JST airport was in the news after it was reported that it received over $150 million in government subsidies to help improve the airport for commercial travel? More of those "pennies" you speak of.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/power-p...ort-brought-american-taxpayers-100702844.html

Oh, and I am not stateside, at work.

 

[bareman]

EAS needs to end. Im sorry to those flying those routes, but what an unnecessary drain it is to our broke country.

Tax payers money being wasted so that 9 people max can catch a flight to a hub, instead of driving a few hours to the hub. Remind me where in the Constitution does it refer to air travel as being an inalienable right?

Ok Juice, it's not very often that your liberal friend here will agree with you on political issues (so soak it up). You are exactly right. There are places where it might make sense, but if they missed out the greater good is still probably served.

 

[The Juice]

Ok Juice, it's not very often that your liberal friend here will agree with you on political issues (so soak it up). You are exactly right. There are places where it might make sense, but if they missed out the greater good is still probably served.

You agreeing with me, thats worth a "like"

 

[z987k]

It isn't what you'd call "near anything."


Unless Canada counts.

Can you drive there? If so it doesn't need EAS. If the loads don't support a -8, send a 402 once a day, or whatever it takes to run high load factors. 3 a week or whatever. If no airplane is profitable regardless of size, the charter and cars/buses can serve it.

 

[The Juice]

Have you ever heard of a little EAS town called Presque Isle, Maine? I see your point, but your brush is a little bit too broad.

Something interesting I thought of in regards to EAS in PQI.

I flew with Colgan up there a few weeks at a time and it is very remote, and there isnt a nearby city to drive to that provides non EAS service. However, I remember that a majority of the pax on many flights were actually Canadian. Those that lived in New Brunswick would only have to drive across the border to fly out of PQI. Making the fact the US tax dollars are going to subsidize air travel for Canadian citizens, very interesting.

 

[scooter2525]

Fair enough. I miss SGU more, better layover.

New SGU just ain't the same.

 

[z987k]

Fair enough. I miss SGU more, better layover.

The radiation is just a bonus!

 

[GlenA]

EAS doesn't need to go away 100% but it does need to be modified. Flights like the PQI run used to be fairly full quite often, I remember when I used to do that route. But the MGW CKB run we did out of IAD was ridiculous. The two airports are about a 45 minute drive from each other, you were airborne for about 5 minutes as you hopped between the two. EAS just needs to be looked at and eliminate flights that are within a 2 hour drive from each other, I guarantee that would eliminate a lot of misplaced funds while not making someone drive 5 hours to the airport.

 

[Kingairer]

Have you ever heard of a little EAS town called Presque Isle, Maine? I see your point, but your brush is a little bit too broad.

PQI is still only 2.5 hours from Bangor.

 

[adk]

PQI is still only 2.5 hours from Bangor.

Fine, I'll play. Houghton, Michigan?

I absolutely agree with you that there are a ton of airports out there that probably shouldn't get EAS funding (Athens, GA and Pueblo, CO come to mind) but there are also towns all over the lower 48 that actually depend on EAS funding. I don't disagree that there is a lot of pork involved in flying empty seats around, and I think we can both agree that arguing about where the funding should come from is a topic for the lavatory.