Airline planning daily Valley service seeks federal subsidies to finance SD, Miss. startups

Staff report

VIENNA

As long as the U.S. Department of Transportation approves the new service, Aerodynamics Inc. will launch its new, daily Mahoning Valley-to-Chicago flights, according to Dan Dickten, aviation director at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna.

The fact that ADI has applied to provide commercial flights to and from other cities under the federally-subsidized Essential Air Service program, which is not available here, does not diminish the likelihood of launch of the Mahoning Valley-to-Chicago service, he said.

“We have a signed contract,” with ADI to provide the service between the Youngstown-to-Chicago service, Dickten added.

The U.S. DOT has all the information it needs to decide whether to approve the service here, and it will likely decide in about a week, he said.

“We’re within 70 miles of Pittsburgh, so we’re not eligible,” for the EAS program, Dickten explained.

The Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport and 25 other airports lost their EAS program eligibility more than 10 years ago because they are within 70 miles of a major hub airport, he noted.

“They’re been very up front with the fact that they’re pursuing other air service that would provide EAS funding,” Dickten said of ADI executives.

Aerodynamics Inc., of Beachwood, Ohio, and Atlanta, is one of three airlines that have proposed Pierre, S.D., to Denver service under the EAS program.

ADI has also proposed 24 round trips per week between Tupelo, Miss., and Atlanta under that federally-subsidized program.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com