This story was originally produced by the Valley News. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
LEBANON — Residents are invited to submit written feedback on which airline company will serve the Lebanon Municipal Airport and where that airline will take passengers.
The airport’s current contract with Massachusetts-based Cape Air is up for renewal and three companies, including Cape Air, have submitted bids to service the airport for the next two or four years beginning Dec. 1, according to a news release from the city.
Residents can view the three proposals and submit public comments online. The City Council will discuss the proposals and review public feedback at a July 1 meeting.
Lebanon Municipal Airport is part of the federal Essential Air Service program. In qualifying rural communities, the U.S. Department of Transportation subsidizes airlines to provide connections to “large- or medium-hub” airports. Airports in cities like Boston and New York are considered large hubs, while cities including Providence, R.I., and Windsor Locks, Conn., outside of Hartford, have medium-hub airports.
The Department of Transportation will make a final decision after considering the proposals and feedback from the community and City Council.
As of the end of April, 2,853 passengers had flown out of Lebanon this year, according to the most recent city manager’s report. In past years, the airport has offered free or discounted flights in order to meet the minimum number of enplanements required to continue receiving federal funding.
When the federal government last considered the contract in 2022, two companies submitted bids for air service, the Valley News reported at the time.
The City Council ultimately recommended staying with Cape Air because there were no recommendations from members of the public to change the service and the group worried that switching services would deter customers.
There are about 10 companies around the country that are “fairly dominant” in the Essential Air Service program, including the three that submitted proposals, Airport Manager Carl Gross said Tuesday.
Cape Air has served the Lebanon airport since 2008 and proposed continuing the same service that it currently offers with no changes, including daily flights to Boston and White Plains, N.Y., and ground service into New York City. Cape Air would continue to fly to Boston 28 times per week and to White Plains 14 times.
Cape Air proposed a preferred four-year contract with escalating federal subsidies starting at $7.18 million in the first year and increasing to $8.43 million in year four. The company’s current contract started in 2022 with federal subsidies beginning at $5.23 million and escalating to $6.58 million.
San Francisco-based Boutique Air would also fly daily to Boston and White Plains. The company has provided Essential Air Service in more than 20 communities, including currently serving Massena International Airport in upstate New York.
The company presented two options, one with 28 weekly trips to Boston in line with what Cape Air offers and an alternative option with 21 flights, according to the bid.
Boutique Air requested $8.5 million in subsidies in the first year with annual increases up to $9.84 million in year four for the 28-flight option.
Tennessee-based Contour Airlines proposed five different flight options with services to different cities, all of which include far fewer flights than the other two options.
The company proposed offering 12 weekly flights only to Boston; seven to Boston and five to either White Plains or Washington, D.C.; or seven to New York City and five to either Washington, D.C., or White Plains.
Contour currently serves 42 airports, including Plattsburgh, N.Y. and Altoona, Pa., according to the company’s website.
