Martin, Michael (OST) 

From: 

Sent: 

To: 

Subject: 

To Whom It May Concern: 

Janet Buckingham <moabjanet@gmail.com> 

Tuesday, February 03, 2015 9:17 PM 

EAS (OST) 

Comment on Essential Air Service Moab, Utah 

. ,-· ,-.. 

I am writing to comment on the Essential Air Service contract for Canyonlands Field in Moab, Utah. 

I strongly recommend this contract be given to anyone but Great Lakes Aviation. I would suffer the slight 

inconvenience of flying in a smaller plane and landing outside security in Salt Lake over suffering through any 

kind ofpromise of"service" from Great Lakes Aviation. 

First, Moab needs air service to and from Salt Lake City, not Denver. People in Moab conduct business in Salt 

Lake, not Denver. People in Moab schedule surgeries and specialist medical appointments in Salt Lake or 

Grand Junction, CO, not Denver. Great Lakes Aviation has promised the use of larger planes because they 

have seen an increase in enplanements in Moab while Sky West was flying. What they fail to realize is that 

enplanements increased because Sky West was flying to Salt Lake, not Denver. I guarantee that bookings will 

immediately decline back to previous numbers if Great Lakes gets the contract and flies to and from Denver. 

Second, Great Lakes Aviation is unreliable. I don't know what percentage of their flights actually get cancelled 

due to mechanical or other mysterious excuses, but holding a ticket on their airline is tantamount to dropping 

money into a slot machine in Vegas or setting fire to a $200 bill. It has always been a gamble whether or not 

they would fly. It is common knowledge throughout Grand County that Great Lakes service is a joke. Actually, 

having spent hours/days in the Denver airport waiting to hear whether or not they would fly on any given day, it 

is clear that everyone in the greater Denver area feels the same way about Great Lakes Aviation. 

As a former director of tourism for Kodiak Island and a former member of the State of Alaska Tourism Board, I 

understand flying to and from remote destinations. I had years of experience flying in planes of all sizes to and 

from Alaska and throughout the state of Alaska with a variety of carriers, many of whom had EAS 

contracts. They all showed a level of professionalism, customer service, and follow-through that is completely 

lacking in Great Lakes Aviation. I will spare you the multiple bad experiences I personally had flying in and 

out of Moab with Great Lakes, but let me just say I burned a lot of vacation time in the Denver airport waiting 

for Great Lakes to decide whether or not they would fly. Another time we gave up trying to fly into Moab and 

rented a car and drove ... all thanks to Great Lakes. 

Moab's economic engine is tourism. There could be nothing worse for the economy of Grand County than 

awarding an Essential Air Service contract to Great Lakes Aviation. Give the contract to Redtail Aviation and 

then do the work to expand the runway and improve the airport at Canyonlands Field so that someone with a 

link to a major carrier can return and provide the good service that Sky West did. I urge you to listen to the 

people of Moab who have had years of poor service with Great Lakes Aviation; we personally won't fly with 

them and it does visitors to our county a disservice to let them believe they will actually arrive in Moab in a 

timely manner, if at all. 

Sincerely, 

Janet and Robert Buckingham 

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