CVRA invites back SkyWest Airlines

Rich Palzewic

Staff

July 22, 2024

CHIPPEWA VALLEY – The Chippewa Valley Regional Airport (CVRA) has chosen to add SkyWest Airlines to its commercial air carrier lineup.

The decision comes after Airport Director Charity Zich said CVRA received proposals from both Sun Country Airlines and SkyWest Airlines.

Sun Country is a low-cost airline based out of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport and travels to about 140 destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

CVRA has a contract with Sun Country currently – which began in December 2022 – but that contract only runs through November 2024.

SkyWest is a regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah, and operates and maintains aircraft used on flights scheduled, marketed and sold by four partner airlines – Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.

“We were more than fine with (both of) the two proposals,” Zich said. “We (were) ecstatic that we had two awesome proposals to consider from two great airlines.”

Though CVRA has selected SkyWest as its preferred airline, she said, “ultimately, it is up to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to decide which proposal will be accepted.”

More on the process

Zich said CVRA’s current airline service is covered through a program through the U.S. DOT called Essential Air Service.

“As a result of the Essential Air Service Contract, the U.S. DOT rebids the market every few years,” she said. “The contract the DOT has with Sun Country expires soon (at CVRA). As a result, the DOT put out an RFP (request for proposal) for carriers interested in providing service (to CVRA).”

After the RFP was sent out, Zich said the DOT received proposals from two carriers – Sun Country (the incumbent) and SkyWest.

However, Zich said the airport has a history with both carriers.

“In 2022, a shift was needed because CVRA’s regional carrier at the time (SkyWest) filed a notice of termination to the airport,” she said. “It was not only to CVRA, but it also affected 28 other airports due to a national shortage of pilots. As a result of that, we made a change – a transition from that normal network carrier to a hub to service with an ultra-low-cost carrier.”

At the time of the SkyWest termination, Zich said CVRA switched to Sun Country.  

“Sun Country started service to CVRA in December 2022,” she said. “Since then, the airline has provided service to the airport. Their service has been three flights per week to Minneapolis where you could connect to its network of destinations. (Sun Country) has also had at least two flights per week to rotating, non-stop seasonal destinations. That was Fort Myers in the winter, Orlando in the summer and Las Vegas in the fall.”

Zich said SkyWest’s termination in 2022 was for good reason.

“I realize SkyWest had to do what was needed, but it has reported its pilot attrition levels have gotten much better,” she said.

Though it had “two great proposals,” Zich said the U.S. DOT only allows CVRA to contract with one carrier at a time on behalf of the community.

“That’s part of the Essential Air Service Program,” she said. “It’s not a matter of the U.S. DOT selecting both carriers – it can’t. The U.S. DOT accepts the proposals, and then it shares them with the community. Then they request a letter of support from the official governing body of the community. (But) like I said, ultimately, the U.S. DOT makes the final decision.”

After analyzing each proposal, Zich said she and the CVRA Commission – the governing body of the airport – decided SkyWest was the better fit for the airport. 

“We voted to support the proposal submitted by SkyWest, and a letter of support was forwarded to the U.S. DOT,” she said. “The U.S. DOT is usually supportive of the community’s recommendation. In this case, the financial requirements of SkyWest as part of the U.S. DOT contract were lower than those of Sun Country.”

Zich said in 2023, CVRA had 23,088 total aircraft operations, which includes all flights – both commercial and private – taking off and landing.

“The SkyWest proposal was for slightly more than 1,200 flights per year, and the Sun Country proposal was a bit more than 500 flights per year,” she said. “With the difference in the numbers, Sun Country flies a larger aircraft, so its proposal would have more seats in the market but less frequency.”

To put those numbers into perspective, Zich said of the 23,088 takeoffs and landings at CVRA in 2023, only around 500 of those were related to scheduled airline service – “the rest were privately operated.”

More on the airport

Last year, Zich said CVRA had almost 51,000 total airline passengers.

“That’s only (commercial) airline passengers,” she said. “That doesn’t include any passengers who came in on private aircraft.”

Zich said before 2022, CVRA was a “traditional regional airport.”

“(Before then), more of our focus was on traveling to a hub airport like Minneapolis or Chicago,” she said.

According to its website (chippewavalleyairport.com), construction of an airport on Eau Claire’s north side – the site of the current airport – began in 1939.

In 1945, the Eau Claire Municipal Airport announced its formal opening with an afternoon air show.

The airport opened with limited operations with a pair of 4,000-foot-long runways still under construction.

A second paved aircraft apron, an entrance road, T-hangar and approach zone property were added to the property in the 1950s – which was followed by improvements in the 1960s to accommodate increasing passenger services for Chippewa, Dunn and Eau Claire counties.

Eau Claire County acquired ownership of Eau Claire Municipal Airport from the City of Eau Claire and the D and E rows of T-hangars were constructed.

An addition to the terminal building was added in 1981, and in 1988, in order to meet Federal Aviation Administration (FFA) requirements, a fire station was constructed on the property.

In 1992, the Eau Claire County Board of Supervisors created the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport Commission, and in 1999, an ownership and operation agreement (five-year) was entered into and executed by County Board Chairs of Chippewa, Dunn and Eau Claire Counties.

In 2006, the CVRA traffic control tower opened – becoming fully funded under the FFA’s Contract Tower Program.

Three years later, the CVRA began Phase 1 of its terminal development project – which expanded the secured passenger waiting area to include seating for current demand and added post-security restroom facilities.

A large part of the remaining terminal building was remodeled in this phase, including the replacement of the HVAC controls and equipment with high-efficiency equipment.

Phase 1 also included a complete reconstruction of the terminal parking facility, which was almost 30 years old.

Phase 2 occurred in 2010, which included the addition of a passenger boarding bridge and baggage carousel.

In 2024, Zich said the sixth ownership and operation agreement between the counties commenced.

Zich, who has been with CVRA for 18 years, said the facility has seen major upgrades in her time at the airport.

“In the last 18 years, we’ve also had new hangar development and a lot of facility upgrades,” she said. “We’re in the middle of a complete replacement of our entire perimeter fence.”

The future

As CVRA continues with its summer flights, Zich said, for now, “it is watch and wait for the U.S. DOT’s decision.”

“We have to wait for the DOT’s decision, and then we can start thinking about whether there will be a transition or not and what the next couple of years will look like for us,” she said. “Unfortunately, I don’t know the timeline of when the DOT will decide.”