The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded a new essential air services contract to Barkley Regional Airport’s preferred provider, but the approved deal announced on Wednesday isn’t exactly what the Paducah airport recommended.
The new four-year contract the DOT signed off on in late September authorizes SkyWest Airlines to provide flights out of Paducah’s Barkley Regional Airport, but only to Chicago – not the dual destination model that the far western Kentucky airport’s board recommended.
While Barkley Regional Airport Authority’s board of directors recommended in July that the DOT approve SkyWest’s proposal to provide six roundtrip flights a week to Chicago O’Hare International Airport and six flights to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, agency officials gave the green light to an option that instead allows SkyWest to have 12 roundtrip flights per week solely to Chicago.
Earlier this year, Barkley Regional received bids from five companies, including SkyWest, for its Essential Air Services contract. The EAS program provides federal subsidies to airlines to allow them to offer flights from eligible communities and connect those cities to the National Air Transportation System. Because EAS is a federally-administered program, the DOT has the final say on the carrier that operates out of Barkley Regional and the flights it’s allowed to offer.
In a press release, Barkley Regional executive director Dennis Rouleau said SkyWest has “assured” the far western Kentucky airport that it will service both Chicago and Houston.
“We are working diligently to finalize these arrangements. We appreciate the DOT’s decision and our partners’ support, and we will continue to work to confirm both Chicago and Houston air service. We remain confident that the DOT will allow this change,” Rouleau said.
In its decision, the DOT said while the Paducah community expressed a preference for SkyWest’s proposal to fly to both Chicago and Houston, the one it ultimately approved was cheaper. For its Chicago proposal, SkyWest asked for a total subsidy of around $19 million – the lowest amount among the four-year contract options the DOT considered. In comparison, SkyWest asked for around $22.4 million in subsidies to fly from Paducah to both Chicago and Houston for four years.
Under the current agreement, SkyWest will operate a 50-seat CRJ-200 aircraft, which offers all economy seating with a standard seat pitch – the distance between a row of seats – of 31 inches. However, Rouleau said SkyWest plans to instead use a CRJ-550 within its approved subsidy. That type of plane also seats 50 passengers, but has first class, economy plus and economy seating available. Standard seat pitch on a CRJ-550 ranges from 30 inches in economy to 42 inches in first class.
It’s not the first time that SkyWest has operated flights out of Paducah. The airline previously offered a flight between Paducah and Chicago, but discontinued its service in 2022 to the far western Kentucky airport amid pilot shortages. Contour Airlines replaced SkyWest’s service, and currently offers flights from Paducah to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Barkley Regional officials say SkyWest, operating as United Express, is anticipated to begin service from Paducah in February – two months past the airport’s initial goal. On social media, airport officials say Contour Airlines has extended its service in Paducah to run through the end of January.
