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Show Jilfey Meeds Financial Melp jio detain FJloah Service I Jjrr.es C. Bacon. Executive Vice President of Sun Valley f Eev Airlines, met with local lt?fsenu:ies of Moab on $i::Aiv morning. July 2o to iscuss the contents of a letter kirj sent by Sun Valley Key A.: -; to the Civil Aeronaut-fa Aeronaut-fa Board. ; fc the letter, which is being : k:: this eek. Sun Valley Key Ls advisee! the CAB that. ,, kf.-jcse of the financial losses " ncerienced by the commuter fcriie in serving the Moub -Crad Junction route during tie past 8 months. Sun Valley Key will terminate its CAB-ap-prced replacement service at the conclusion of the one-year trial period on Oct. 1, 9'5. By copy of the letter to the ;. t'tai Public Service Commis-" Commis-" sicn. Sun Valley Key has further advised that it intends to discontinue its twice-daily service between Salt Lake City. Price and Moub on Oct. 1. but will retain its Monday through Friday multi-stop multi-stop service between Salt Lake City and Moab. with stops at Rock Springs. Wyo.. Vernal. Roosevelt. Duchesne and Price, w ith continuing serv ice to Monticcllo and Blanding. The service to be discontinued discontin-ued is a passenger service, and the service to be retained is a charter flight carrying bank papers. In the letter to the CAB. Sun Valley Key Airlines stated that during the first 8 months of the one-year trial period in replacing Frontier Airlines between Moab and Grand Junction, the commuter airline has complied with all conditions condit-ions of the CAB route-replacement order, and w ill continue to do so until Oct. 1; that Sun Valley Key has. operated the route as efficiently as poss- ible; provided a continuous advertising program to attract passengers and freight customers; cust-omers; maintained a joint-fare program w ith Frontier to many cities and destinations served, by Frontier and, with an average load factor of 1.1 passengers on each flight operated between Moab and Grand Junction, not counting through passengers, and only 2.2 passengers over the whole route (Salt Lake City-Price-Moab-Grand Junction) per flight; the airline sustained a loss of $38,700 during the first 8 months of the trial period. The letter further mentions that since the "flow-thru subsidy" concept has been ruled illegal by a recent Federal Court decision, which involved Frontier Airlines and a commuter carrier, Air Midwest, in a route replacement replace-ment to cities in Kansas, and that initial conversations between be-tween Sun Valley Key and Frontier Airlines officials have indicated that Frontier is not interested in providing any direct subsidy to maintain the replacement service, it appears ap-pears that the only solution for Sun Valley Key Airlines is to discontinue the replacement service at the conclusion of the one-year trial period on Oct. 1. Mr. Bacon stated that Sun Valley Key sincerely regrets having to take this step, but added that his company would be available and very anxious to work with local and state officials to implement any program which would provide continued service to Southeastern South-eastern Utah |