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City stays with Great Lakes; expects improvement
McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook City Council approved a recommendation to the Department of Transportation to continue with the airport's current air service provider, Great Lakes Airlines, but not without making it clear there were those that expected the quality of service to improve.
Councilman Bruce McDowell said Monday evening he agreed with the recommendation from the Airport Advisory Commission to continue with Great Lakes, considering their flight destination to Denver, Colorado, was preferred by local air travelers over SeaPort Airlines proposal to shift the destination east, but he expected Great Lakes to do a better job of predicting and communicating cancellations in the future.
McDowell said passengers had complained about being told within 24 hours of their scheduled flight that everything was fine, only to arrive at the airport to find their flight had been cancelled. McDowell said he heard from others that had a similar experience when flying into McCook from Denver and were left scrambling at the last minute to find alternate transport for the final leg of their trip.
"I would like to put them [Great Lakes] on notice that I'm not happy with their service," said McDowell, adding that he was aware of the pilot shortage issue but also struggled with claims it caught some airlines by surprise when they were given three years notice the changes were going into effect.
McDowell referenced reports of a national shortage of pilots, which city stiff has credited with causing a slew of local flight cancellations beginning in September. During the October Airport Advisory Board meeting, board members credited higher experience requirements for pilots, implemented last summer, with having a trickle down effect and causing a pilot shortage which airports across the nation are experiencing.
McDowell indicated airlines that were not competitive with wages, signing bonuses and compensating pilots for school time, were likely being hit harder than other airlines. He said, based on Great Lakes federal filings he had seen, they were experiencing significant revenue loss in recent quarters.
McDowell said he understood Denver was the preferred destination for local air passengers but hoped to see improved service from Great Lakes in the future.
He also said he knew the federal experience changes contributed to the situation, but said the changes were brought about by an airline crash on the east coast that killed 50 people and was caused by a lack of training.
Public Works Director Kyle Potthoff recapped steps the airline had taken in recent weeks, including physically removing seats from planes and reducing the number of flights, in an effort to increase quality of service. Potthoff said the airline hoped to be back to two flights a day within 90 days.
Council members subsequently approved the recommendation on a unanimous vote.
An interesting point, pertaining to your comment about "tolerating poor air service," the airport experienced significant increases in commercial passengers last year, best since at least 2007. Almost all service complaints relate to flight cancellations and yet last year the airport boarded more passengers than it has in a long time. Council comments this week related primarily to Great Lakes improving how they handled/communicated those cancellations and the airport advisory board has also been communicating with both airline options on a regular basis in pursuit of improving the situation. I think they are already doing what you are calling for, just in their own fashion.