Big Sky to shut down entirely?

[Dont call me Shirley]

This is rather sad. This carrier has been around since late seventies.


http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/20...21-bigsky_x.txt

Big Sky giving up some flights to Wyoming-based airline
Great Lakes Aviation to offer trips in Eastern Montana

By BECKY SHAY and JAN FALSTAD
Of The Gazette Staff
Wyoming-based Great Lakes Aviation will take over flights to seven Montana towns being dropped by Big Sky Airlines.

Great Lakes will take over 12 trips each week between Billings and Glasgow-Wolf Point, Glendive-Miles City and Havre-Lewistown, and 17 trips each week between Billings and Sidney. Great Lakes representatives met Friday with Big Sky employees, who will be offered jobs with Great Lakes, a company spokesperson said.

GQ's website hasn't even been updated to show the BOS operation being shut down!

 

[SegmentKing]

Big Sky couldn't continue to operate part of the network due to the EAS contracts.

What is interesting is that the same arguements used for ceasing operations were never applied to Great Lakes. ZK won the STL markets in March 07 yet didn't start until November... allwhile they flew non-EAS markets out of Denver, which is a violation of the contract.

*scratches head*

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

Well, the end has come for Big Sky:

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/20...ocal/18-bsa.txt


Hi-Line businesses, hospitals officials struggle to cope
By JAN FALSTAD
Of The Gazette Staff

After the last four Big Sky Airlines planes land in Billings this morning, taxi to their parking spots and unload passengers, an era in Montana flying history will end.

For three decades, Montana's only homegrown airline has been flying small passenger planes to seven Eastern Montana cities. The so-called Essential Air Service flights are federally subsidized with fees paid by other U.S. airline passengers.

 

[mga707]

Well, the end has come for Big Sky:

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/20...ocal/18-bsa.txt


Hi-Line businesses, hospitals officials struggle to cope
By JAN FALSTAD
Of The Gazette Staff

After the last four Big Sky Airlines planes land in Billings this morning, taxi to their parking spots and unload passengers, an era in Montana flying history will end.

For three decades, Montana's only homegrown airline has been flying small passenger planes to seven Eastern Montana cities. The so-called Essential Air Service flights are federally subsidized with fees paid by other U.S. airline passengers.

These towns, especially Wolf Point, Glasgow, Glendive, and Sidney (Havre and Miles City are a tad larger) are probably the smallest US towns outside of Alaska that have (up until now) scheduled air service.
Remember, these are the towns and routes that the original Frontier bought Twin Otters in order to continue serving them back in the early 70s. After their DC-3s were retired, the Convair 580 was much too large for these tiny markets.

 

[mga707]

duplicate post--deleted