OCTOBER 2008: AROUND THE STATE
Air service returns to 2 rural towns
KLAMATH FALLS
Rural communities around the state suffered this summer from a
round of cuts to air service, but fall is bringing a little
relief as United Airlines/Skywest Airlines this month begins
service between Portland and both Klamath Falls and North
Bend-Coos Bay.
The service starts Oct. 12 with two daily round trips and comes
one day before the loss of northbound service as
Seattle-based Horizon Air ends its direct Portland flights on
Oct. 11. Horizon is transitioning to larger 76-seat turboprops;
Skywest will use 30-passenger Embraer 120 Brasilia
aircraft.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski, who recently created a coalition to
address the dwindling rural air service problem, announced that
funding for the agreement in part comes from a revenue- sharing
guarantee contract between Skywest and the City of Klamath
Falls and Coos County Airport District, and is supported by
federal grants and $300,000 from the City of Portland.
Horizon also has told the U.S. Department of Transportation
that it wants to eliminate its three daily Pendleton-Portland
fights; the airline gets a federal subsidy of $748,000 for that
service. Horizon received no federal subsidy for its Klamath
and North Bend routes.
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