PLATTSBURGH — Three airlines have submitted bids to receive federal Essential Air Service funding to fly out of Plattsburgh International Airport.

But two of the proposals failed to meet specifications, leaving only one plan to be considered.

FLIGHTS TO BOSTON

Peninsula Airways Inc., out of Alaska, known as Pen Air, is offering to provide 12 round-trip flights per week from Plattsburgh to Logan Airport in Boston on 34-seat Saab 340 pressurized-cabin aircraft with a flight attendant and restroom.

The airline is seeking an Essential Air Service subsidy of $2.7 million per year to fly the route.

"We are very pleased to have received this bid," County Administrator Michael Zurlo told legislators Wednesday night.

"It looks like it has everything we are looking for."

CRITICAL FUNDING

The Essential Air Service program provides funding for airlines to service smaller, rural communities.

Colgan Air has been flying to Boston from Plattsburgh under the program — for $2.1 million — the past two years on 34-seat aircraft.

But late last year, Colgan announced that it would be leaving the Boston market and will discontinue service from Plattsburgh. The airline must continue to fly out of Plattsburgh until a new carrier is found.

Before Colgan, the airport was served by Cape Air, which flew to Boston daily on nine-seat aircraft.

'PERFECT FIT'

Pen Air has been in business for more than 50 years and has extensive experience flying in the Essential Air Service program in Alaska.

Its bid for the Plattsburgh-to-Boston route is contingent upon also getting a deal to fly from Presque Isle, Maine, to Boston under the Essential Air Service program.

"We believe this is a very strong market, and it is very similar to markets we fly into here in Alaska, so it looks like a perfect fit for us," Melissa Anderson, vice president of marketing and sales for Pen Air, told the Press-Republican Thursday.

FLIGHT RELATIONSHIP

Deputy County Administrator Rodney Brown said a nice feature of Pen Air is that it provides interline booking, which means that passengers can fly to other destination points through them.

"If you want to go to Dallas, you can book through Pen Air's website or a generic engine like Kayak or Expedia and get your connections there," Brown said.

The airline has interline ticket agreements with Alaska Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, US Airways, American Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Aloha Airlines, United Airlines and Skywest.

"These relationships allow for single-check-in, single-ticket air travel, making it easier for passengers traveling from/to each of these EAS points to destinations beyond/behind Boston," the company said in its bid.

Pen Air has a more extensive relationship with Alaska Airlines, allowing passengers to earn miles in Alaska Airlines' frequent-flyer program.

NO PRICES YET

The bid says that two flights to Boston will be offered Monday through Friday and one each on Saturday and Sunday.

Anderson said a pricing system has not been established yet for Plattsburgh to Boston routes.

"We haven't been awarded the bid yet, so we haven't solidified any prices yet, but we know the cheaper the better, and that is important to us, and we will do our best to make it affordable."

Anderson said that getting the Plattsburgh and Presque Isle, Maine,-to-Boston routes would be their first established venture out of the state of Alaska.

The airline will set up a base in one of those three cities and house its aircraft and crews there.

It will also be looking to hire local airport employees.

"We are excited about that," she said.

SAFETY

An Internet search revealed that a Pen Air Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft crashed in October 2001 at an Alaska airport, killing all 10 people on board.

There have been no major safety incidents since then.

REJECTED

The other two bids for Essential Air Service service came from Sovereign Air of North Dakota and Air Choice One of St. Louis.

But Sovereign Air is not a certified passenger carrier and has no standing with the Federal Aviation Administration for Department of Transportation, which overseas the Essential Air Service program.

"We can't even consider them," Zurlo said.

Brown said Sovereign applied for permission to carry passengers but was denied.

"We don't even know why they bid," he said.

Air Choice One is offering to fly from Plattsburgh to Portland, Maine, which is considered a small-airport hub.

The Essential Air Service bid specification calls for service from Plattsburgh to a medium or large hub, making Air Choice One's bid also ineligible.

MAYOR SATISFIED

The county has until Feb. 7 to submit its comments on the bids to the federal DOT.

By law, the City of Plattsburgh is also allowed to officially weigh in on the process with its comments.

Mayor Donald Kasprzak is hopeful Pen Air will provide quality service.

"We are all striving to have the best air service possible out of Plattsburgh, and we will do our best to ensure that happens," the mayor said.

"After reviewing the bids, it appears that Pen Air is the best option."

Email Joe LoTemplio at: jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com