St. Paul may have found a temporary fix for its air travel woes, but the clock is ticking.
The island’s main airline, Ravn Alaska, had originally planned to end its St. Paul route in October. But the carrier is moving that timeline up. Ravn will stop serving the remote Bering Sea community at the end of this month.
That leaves just weeks for the community to find a replacement.
Only one airline has stepped forward. Kenai Aviation submitted a proposal last month via the federal Essential Air Service program, which supports air travel for remote communities where regular commercial service isn’t financially viable.
The new contract with Kenai Aviation would start in October, but St. Paul leaders said in a response letter this week that the U.S. Department of Transportation should act sooner to prevent a gap in service.
And in a phone interview, St. Paul City Mayor Jacob Merculief said the community is grateful for the company’s proposal, but it still falls short.
One reason is that Kenai plans to fly a Beechcraft Super King Air, a much smaller aircraft than the Dash-8 Ravn currently uses. There’s also concern about the lack of bathrooms onboard, limited cargo space, and accessibility issues for elders and people with mobility challenges.
Kenai Aviation CEO Jacob Caldwell said the company is working to address those concerns. He said Kenai will offer more frequent flights than Ravn Alaska has, to make up for the smaller plane. He also said the flight will be faster, and that the company plans to install an onboard toilet.
St. Paul’s city and tribal leadership said in the joint letter that they’re willing to accept Kenai’s service, for now. But they want the federal DOT to remain open to switching carriers if a larger aircraft operator steps forward.
