Commuters who've taken the flight over the Big Lake from
Manistee County Blacker Airport to Milwaukee on a
Great Lakes Airlines aircraft might find a new carrier the next time they fly.
If its proposal is okayed by the Department of Transportation as expected at the end of July,
Charter
Air Transport will replace Great Lakes, which didn't submit a bid for the next two-year contract. Great Lakes, based in Cheyenne, Wyoming, currently offers two nonstop flights from Manistee to Milwaukee daily at 6:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. with low fares starting from $59 each way.
Charter is based in Cleveland. Its fleet includes the 30-seat twin-turboprop
Embraer Brasilia, a regional commuter aircraft made in Brazil.
The change in carriers should improve overall service, according to the airport's
Facebook page. "The proposal is for continued service to Milwaukee as we have come to know it. The biggest change is that the service would be on a 30-seat aircraft, a significant step up from the current 19-seat aircraft of Great Lakes."
Manistee County Blacker Airport posted a record month in May with 565 total passengers, an increase of 55 percent over May '09.
Writer: Patty LaNoue Stearns
Source: Manistee County Blacker Airport
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