A Gulfstream International Beech 1900D lands at Cleveland Hopkins. These same aircraft will soon by plying the Montana skies. (Photo: Chris Jacobs - OPShots.net)
A request by the Montana Essential Air Service Task Force to switch airlines serving seven Eastern Montana cities has gotten a stamp of approval in Washington, D.C.
That means Gulfstream International Airlines of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., may start flying the Montana EAS routes as soon as May, replacing the current carrier, Great Lakes Airlines of Cheyenne, Wyo.
Gulfstream will fly 19-passenger Beechcraft B-1900D airplanes and provide a dozen flights per week to Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Lewistown, Miles City, Sidney and Wolf Point. The two-year contract carries an annual subsidy of $10,903,854, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, which has approved the switch in airlines.
Even though Great Lakes submitted a bid that was $200,000 lower, or $30,000 per city, to renew its contract, the Montana EAS Task Force voted 6-1 two weeks ago to hire Gulfstream.
