NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- One of the least used commercial flights in the country departs from Nashville International Airport.
It has kept operating only because of a subsidy from the federal government.
Two times each weekday and once on Saturday and Sunday, an empty or nearly empty nine-passenger jet flies from Nashville to Jackson, Tennessee.
The flight is part of the Essential Air Service program which is designed to ensure commercial flights to small communities.
SeaPort Airlines won the contract in 2011 and has received $1.1 million a year for the flights from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The airline also flies a route from Jackson to Memphis.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates bought a ticket from Nashville to Jackson.
The day we flew, our photographer was the only passenger. Two pilots guided the almost empty plane over Interstate 40 for the hour- and five-minute flight.
Steve Smith is the executive director of Jackson-Madison County Airport Authority. He fought for the Nashville to Jackson route and helped convince the government to subsidize it.
"When I started thinking about this in 2008-2009, it made a lot of sense to me," Smith said.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked, "There are a lot of people that would say there does not need to be a flight from Nashville to Jackson.
Smith responded, "Evidently, they're correct."
He continued, "Air service to Jackson is just critical because it's the engine that drives a lot of industrial development."
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked, "Have taxpayers gotten their money's worth from this route?"
Smith responded, "It's a hard question to answer." He went on to say, "Nationwide, yes. The Jackson to Nashville route, not so much."
Nationally, the federal government spends $260 million to connect more than 100 small cities like Jackson to larger airports.
But the Nashville to Jackson route is so little used that it has repeatedly failed to meet minimum requirements for the number of passengers.
In 2012, Congress required that at least 10 passengers a day board those Essential Air Service flights or the U.S. Department of Transportation would be required to withdraw federal funding.
Jackson has been on the cutoff list two different times, but both times the route received a waiver to keep flying.
Smith said, "That waiver that came last September, I didn't see that coming."
NewsChannel 5 Investigates added, "And you were surprised because it was not going well."
Smith confirmed, "It was not going well. It was not going well."
After the September waiver, the chair of the local airport authority wrote the federal government admitting that the "Nashville airport is an easy 2.5-hour drive from Jackson."
Jackson's mayor blamed the empty flights on Seaport's "dismal customer service."
Smith criticized SeaPort airlines and the oversight of the Essential Air Service Program by the federal government.
"I don't know of any other company besides the United States Government that would give somebody a million dollars to do a job and then not check on them occasionally to see if they did that job," Smith said.
On the day our photographer flew, his return flight to Nashville kept getting delayed.
NewsChannel 5's photographer asked an employee at the Jackson airport about the flight, "So no 2:20?"
The worker responded, "No 2:20, no. They're going to be a few hours behind."
After a long wait, airport employees gave this advice on getting back to Nashville.
"I'd probably just rent a car from Hertz and get back home because I wouldn't want to be stranded in Jackson, Tennessee," the employee said.
SeaPort Airlines later told NewsChannel 5 Investigates they were surprised our photographer had the experience that he did at the Jackson airport. (See full statement below).
Smith concluded, "I don't think this airline gave Jackson and I don't think this airline gave the United States Department of Transportation their money's worth."
Beginning in June the federal government will pay $1.8 million for a new airline to fly from Jackson to St. Louis.
Smith claims those seats will sell.
Below are complete statements from SeaPort Airlines and U.S. Department of Transportation.
From First Seaport Executive Vice President Tim Sieber:
It’s always easiest to point the finger and play the blame game, but it would be a misrepresentation to downplay the complexity, market environment and shared responsibility in this situation. We aren’t the “bad guys” looking to take advantage of a program that is important to many smaller communities. Our business model has been developed with the purpose of connecting rural and undeserved communities to the national transportation network. Many of our team members, who have grown up or live in rural markets, understand the importance of accessibility, and are dedicated to this mission. As I’m sure anyone in business can attest, not every market or effort will produce successful results; we actually have a number of EAS markets that perform very well. It is always in our best interest to make every effort to ensure all of our routes are successful. We’re as disappointed about Jackson as anyone.
To provide some additional context, the airline industry faces a great number of external threats and obstacles; it’s a challenge to run an airline in general. Right now, businesses like ours are facing a significant pilot shortage that has impacted our ability to provide the level of reliable service that we have historically championed ourselves in providing. We can’t deny that our business has also experienced other operational reliability issues recently, from a combination of poor weather and unforeseen maintenance problems in this region in particular. Our carrier takes responsibility for these operational challenges, and we regret the impact these issues have had on this market and its customers during our time serving Jackson.
While we’ve recognized the latter issue and have taken steps to address it (such as investment in factory-new aircraft), the first issue has been more of a challenge. Even despite these challenges, SeaPort has grown traffic in a number of Essential Air Service markets across the U.S., most notably in those markets with solid demand and high levels of airport partnership. Markets like Harrison and El Dorado, Arkansas; Pendleton, Oregon and Visalia, California. We don’t believe it’s fair to paint SeaPort Airlines as a poor steward of tax dollars or a carrier that did not make a best faith effort to provide the market with quality service. There is no long term upside to “take the money run” and we always attempt to build long-term relationships with our EAS community partners.
With regard to Jackson specifically, while SeaPort had started service with the hope of sufficient demand for our service, we also faced the reality of proximity to two major hubs (Memphis and Nashville) via interstate highway. The convenient driving options were difficult to compete with given the relatively low-levels of frequency that the EAS program is willing to support. For this reason, EAS to airports so close to larger airports often struggle. Jackson was no exception.
Finally, we firmly believe that the success of EAS in any market requires effort on the part of the airline as well as substantial demand for service and support from the local airport and business community. Again we point the communities listed above as models of success. While we take responsibility for our part to play, the local airport's role building local traffic should not be overlooked. SeaPort contracts with the Airport Authority to handle our local customer service. Our team was as surprised as you were that your producer had the experience described at the McKeller-Sipes Airport. While SeaPort has certainly had our issues to resolve, the role of market demand and the airport’s own responsibility must also be considered when you ask the question of stewardship of federal dollars and air service success in Jackson.
From the U.S Department of Transportation about Essential Air Service and the Jackson route:
Since its inception in 1978, the Essential Air Service (EAS) program created by Congress has provided a critical link for eligible small communities to the national air transportation system. Over the years, Congress has made a number of statutory changes to the program (most recently in 2011 and 2012), but the fundamental purpose of the program - to provide a vital lifeline to small and isolated communities across the country that had service as of 1978 - remains unchanged. DOT remains committed to maintaining small communities’ access to the National Airspace System. This program ensures that eligible rural and small communities are connected to major hub airports, giving a variety of stakeholders access to and from these communities, from which other economic and social benefits can be realized.
DOT has been working closely with our EAS stakeholders to ensure that we are effectively using every available dollar to maximize the benefits of the program. Given the importance of the program to eligible communities, we are equally committed to working with Congress to develop a more sustainable program that will provide good value for passengers and all stakeholders.
The program is not funded by general taxpayers. As mentioned previously, it is by funded by excise taxes on the users of the National Airspace System (either through the Airport and Airway Trust Fund) or through overflight fees (by operators of aircraft that fly in U.S.-controlled airspace, but neither take off nor land in the United States).
49 U.S.C. § 41733(c)(1) directs the Department to give substantial weight to the users of EAS. By letter dated November 15, 2011, attached, the Airport Authority recommended the selection of SeaPort with a hub destination to Nashville. This letter may also be accessed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=DOT-OST-2000-7857-0205 <http://www.regulations.gov/>. In accordance with regulations, the Departmental staff recommended, and the Assistant Secretary for Aviation selected, SeaPort’s proposal. The selection of a new air carrier, Air Choice One, also represents the views of the users of this service and the Department is encouraged by Air Choice One’s participation in making EAS work at Jackson.
