Essential Air Service
Essential Air Service (EAS) is a U.S. government program
enacted to guarantee that small communities in the Un-
ited States, which, prior to deregulation, were served by
certificated airlines, maintained commercial service. Its
aim is to maintain a minimal level of scheduled air ser-
vice to these communities that otherwise would not be
profitable. This came in response to the Airline Deregu-
lation Act, passed in 1978, which gave U.S. airlines al-
most total freedom to determine which markets to serve
domestically and what fares to charge for that service.[1]
The program is codified at 49 U.S.C. § 41731–41748.
The United States Department of Transportation
(DOT) subsidizes airlines to serve rural communities
across the country that otherwise would not receive any
scheduled air service.[1] As of May 2009, 153 communit-
ies are being served with a subsidy, of which 45 are from
Alaska, whose guidelines for service are separate and
distinct from the rest of the country. The decision as to
what degree of subsidized service a community requires
is made based on identifying a specific hub for the com-
munity and from there determining the number of trips,
seats, and type of aircraft that are necessary to reach
that hub.[1]
According to a 2006 New York Times article on the
program,[2] the subsidy per passenger, averaged across
the entire program excluding Alaska, is approximately
$74, and much higher on some particularly poorly-pat-
ronized flights. Patronage on many flights is very low.
However, the program is politically popular in the cities
receiving the subsidized flights, and Congressional pan-
els expect the funding for the program to increase
slightly to $114 million in 2007. However, the White
House has sought to reduce the cost of the program to
$50 million by stricter eligibility criteria and requiring
the local governments of the areas served to contribute
to the cost.
Subsidized Routes
The following tables list all subsidized routes under Es-
sential Air Service as of May 1, 2009. They