Members Will Focus On Improving Air Service To Small Communities

U.S. Department of Transportation Acting Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs Jenny T. Rosenberg have announced the members of the new Working Group on Improving Air Service to Small Communities (Working Group).  The Working Group will consist of 25 stakeholders involved in air transportation to small communities.  The group will advise Congress on current and emerging priorities, issues, and funding needs related to providing air service to small communities.

The Working Group was created in accordance with Section 2303 of the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 (Reauthorization Bill), P.L. 114-190.  The Reauthorization Bill established the Working Group and directs the Secretary of Transportation to issue a report to Congress by July 2017.  The inaugural meeting of the Working Group is expected to be held next month.

The members of the Working Group are:

• Joshua Abramson, Airport Director, Easterwood Airport, College Station, Texas
• Andrew Bonney, Senior Vice President of Planning, Cape Air
• Timothy Bradshaw, Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport, Roanoke, Virginia
• Rob Burke, Manager, Air Carrier Training Systems & Voluntary Safety Programs Branch, Federal Aviation Administration
• Bryan Dietz, Vice President, Air Service Development, Allegheny County Airport Authority
• Jack Dokken, Program Manager, South Dakota Department of Transportation, Office of Aeronautics
• Toby Fauver, Deputy Secretary for Multimodal Transportation, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
• Barry Griffith, Manager/Airport Director, Northwest Alabama Regional Airport, Muscle Shoals, Alabama
• Laurie Gill, Mayor of Pierre, South Dakota
• Doug Kimmel, Airport Director, Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois, Marion, Illinois
• Brian Kinsey, Assistant Director, Marketing and Business Development, St. Louis-Lambert International Airport, St. Louis, Missouri
• Paul Lindseth, Dean of John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, University of North Dakota
• Stan Little, Chairman and CEO, Southern Airways Express
• Faye Malarkey Black, President, Regional Airline Association (RAA)
• Richard B. McQueen, President & CEO, Akron/Canton Regional Airport, Ohio
• Russell W. Mills, Research Fellow, Center for Regional Development, Associate Professor Political Science, Bowling Green State University
• Mike Mooney, Air Service Consultant, Sixel Consulting
• Stephen Morrissey, Vice President. Regulatory and Policy Affairs, United Airlines
• Patrick Murphy, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Aviation and International Affairs, United States Department of Transportation
• Brian Sowa, Executive Director, Rural Air Service Alliance, Inc.
• Brian Sprenger, Airport Director, Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, Montana
• William S. “Bill” Swelbar, Executive Vice President, InterVISTAS Consulting
• Sheri Taylor, Air Service Development Program Manager at Wyoming Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division
• Mike Thompson, COO, SkyWest Airlines
• Michael Tooley, Director, Montana Department of Transportation

The Working Group will operate completely independently from DOT.  Their deliberations will be guided by the provisions of the statute, specifically those directing the Working Group to:

• consider whether funding for Essential Air Service Program (EAS), Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP) and Airport Improvement Program (AIP) is sufficient, and
• identify initiatives to help increase the supply of commercially qualified pilots.

Additionally, it is expected that the discussions and outcomes will also consider many factors, including post-consolidation among legacy carriers, demographic changes of the U.S. and globalization, legislative and regulatory changes affecting airlines and economics of operating smaller aircraft, and other structural impediments.

(Source: U.S. DOT news release)

FMI: www.transportation.gov/office-policy/aviation-policy/working-group-improving-air-service-small-communities