Breaking down each proposal for essential air service to Quincy from six airlines

QUINCY — Six air carriers have filed proposals with the U.S. Department of Transportation to provide essential air service (EAS) at Quincy Regional Airport, with all offering service to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.

The proposals were made public earlier this month. They were submitted by:

• Air Wisconsin, based out of Appleton, Wis.
• Boutique Air, based in San Francisco
• Cape Air, based out of Hyannis, Mass.
• Contour, based out of Smyrna, Tenn.
• SkyWest, based out of St. George, Utah
• Southern Airways Express, based out of Palm Beach, Fla.

Following is a review of each proposal, including a proposed number of enplanements and proposed fares:

Air Wisconsin

• Offering 12 weekly Quincy to Chicago round trips or one daily Quincy to Chicago round trip and five Quincy to St. Louis round trips; proposing two-year contract.
• Will use 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200 jets.
• Proposed subsidies for 12 Quincy to Chicago flights — $6,893,108 in year 1 and $7,375,625 in year 2. Projected enplanements — 21,814. Fare — $75.
• Proposed subsidies for Quincy to Chicago and Quincy to St. Louis flights — $6,776,532 in year 1 and $7,250,889 in year 2. Projected enplanements — 18,720. Fare — $60.
• Codeshare partnership with American Airlines
• Notes: Founded in 1965; 99.9 percent controlled completion rate in past year; plans to spend $25,000 in marketing.

Boutique Air

• Offering 24 or 36 weekly Quincy to Chicago round trips or 18 to 24 weekly Quincy to Chicago round trips plus six to 12 Quincy to Nashville round trips; proposing two-, three- or four-year contracts.
• Will use 8- or 9-passenger Pilatus PC-12 single-engine planes
• Proposed subsidies for 24 Quincy to Chicago round trips — $4,954,389 in year 1 to $5,735,324 in year 4. Projected enplanements — 14,602. Fare — $79.
• Proposed subsidies for 36 Quincy to Chicago round trips — $6,778,947 in year 1 to $7,847,478 in year 4. Projected enplanements — 20,218. Fare — $79.
• Proposed subsidies for 18 Quincy to Chicago round trips and six Quincy to Nashville round trips — $5,448,980 in year 1 to $6,307,875 in year 4. Projected enplanements — 15,725. Fare — $99.
• Proposed subsidies for 24 Quincy to Chicago round trips and 12 Quincy to Nashville round trips — $7,792,453 in year 1 to $9,020,738 in year 4. Projected enplanements — 21,902. Fare — $99.
• Interline agreements with United and American
• Notes: Founded in 2007; 99.9 percent controlled completion rate in past 12 months; plans to spend $75,000 in marketing.

Cape Air

• Offering 36 weekly Quincy to St. Louis round trips or 21 weekly Quincy to Chicago round trips and 18 weekly Quincy to St. Louis round trips; proposing two-year and four-year contracts.
• Will use 9-passenger P2012 Tecnam Traveller twin-engine planes
• Proposed subsidies for 36 flights to St. Louis — $3,983,915 in year 1 to $4,203,030 in year 2 for two-year contract; $3,934,116 in year 1 to $4,619,602 in year 4 for four-year contract. Projected enplanements — 14,516. Fare — $75.
• Proposed subsidies for 21 flights to Chicago and 18 to St. Louis — $8,617,302 in year 1 to $9,091,254 in year 2 for two-year contract; $8,509,586 in year 1 to $9,992,308 in year 4 for four-year contract. Projected enplanements — 14,719. Fare — $90.
• Interline or codeshare partnerships with United, Delta, American, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Alaska, Qatar and Condor
• Notes: Founded in 1989; 99.3 percent controlled completion rate so far in 2024; plans to spend $65,000 in marketing.

Contour

• Offering 12 weekly Quincy to Chicago flights or seven weekly Quincy to Chicago flights and five weekly Quincy to Nashville flights; proposed four-year contract.
• Will use 30-seat ERJ-135/145 jets produced by Brazilian aerospace company Embraer.
• Proposed subsidy in year 1 — $6,491,881.50. Projected enplanements — 20,952. Fare — $60 (with occasional $39 supersaver offers).
• Interline partnerships with American, United and Alaska.
• Notes: Founded in 2016; recorded 83.9 percent on-time performance (ranked third in the country) with a 96 percent completion factor in 2023; plans to spend $25,000 in marketing; has seen increases in enplanements at Kirksville, Mo., (119%), Marion, Ill. (140%) and Owensboro, Ky. (204%).

SkyWest

• Offering 12 weekly Quincy to Chicago flights; proposed four-year contract.
• Will use 50-seat Bombardier CRJ 200 jets.
• Proposed subsidies go from $5,787,352 in year 1 to $6,699,583 in year 4. Proposed enplanements — 21,216. Fare — $90.
• Codeshare partnerships with United, Delta, American and Alaska.
• Notes: Founded in 1972; recorded 82.3 percent on-time performance (third-ranked regional airline in the country by Statista); plans to spend $20,000 in marketing.

Southern Airways Express

• Offering 18 weekly Quincy to Chicago round trips and 18 weekly Quincy to St. Louis round trips; proposing two- and four-year contracts
• Will use 10-to-14-seat Cessna Grand Caravan utility aircraft
• Proposed subsidies go from $5,705,342 in year 1 to $6,144,029 in year 4. Proposed enplanements — 13,276. Fare — $49.
• Interline agreements with American, Alaska, United and Hawaiian
• Notes: Founded in 2013; no information on controlled completion rate in proposal; plans to spend $25,000 in marketing.

EDITOR’S NOTE: SkyWest Airlines is a code-share partner with four airlines, not an interline partner as it was listed in a previous version of this story.