WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and SportsFlights out of local airport could be headed in new direction

Flights out of local airport could be headed in new direction

Eau Claire (WQOW) - Call it the winds of change for a local airport: The Windy City could soon become the direct link from the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport.

That means flights to Minneapolis could soon end. This is news that will surprise a lot of people.

Wednesday, the Airport Commission voted to go with SkyWest Airlines over Mesaba. SkyWest would offer two flights a day to Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

Right now, Mesaba Airlines, through Delta, has flights that run from Eau Claire to Minneapolis. Earlier this year, Delta told the Department of Transportation it would discontinue its service to Eau Claire, even though it had no intention of leaving. Delta was losing money so it had to file a notice that it would discontinue service to be eligible for a federal grant. That grant gives assistance to airlines that fly out of small regional airports. When that happened, that opened the door for other airlines to bid for service.

Delta, along with SkyWest, submitted a proposal. The SkyWest proposal is a two-year bid. It's cheaper, but would send Eau Claire passengers through Chicago. Airport Director Charity Speich says the DOT makes the final decision on a carrier and says the cost of the proposal weighs heavily in that process.

Speich expects a decision to be made at the end of September, but doesn't know when it would take effect. She says people should continue to book with Delta and that if the airport switches carriers, accommodations will be made.

Speich says there are benefits to the deal. She says Chicago has more non-stop International destinations. Again, to make this clear, the Airport Commission voted Wednesday to make the switch, but the DOT has the final decision which will be made in a few weeks.