Island Air Gets Smart...

OK, I have to admit, when I saw on the DOT docket that Island Air was bidding for EAS routes using Dash-8's, I was a little perplexed.

How on Earth did they figure they'd be able to make money flying a 30+ seater in markets where Mesa, undoubtedly one of the lower cost outfits around, was unable to make it work with 19 seaters?

Well, today, Island Air came to their senses and announced that they were declining the contract, and sticking to their core business of flying inter-island routes in Hawaii. Now, if you'd told me that they were branching into SJU or the Caribbean, perhaps that would have made a little more sense. But flying the corn routes in Nebraska?

One by one, the carriers flying EAS service have been walking away from it. In Big Sky and Air Midwest's case, they had to cease operations to rid themselves of the albatros known as Federally subsidized air service.

Getting into the EAS arena would have probably caused them to bleed even heavier than they probably already are being caught between Go! and Hawaiian...

EAS's time has come and gone, and it's time for Congress to let it go for good.