The Wood County Airport Authority moved its regular 8 a.m. meeting on the second Tuesday of each month to 7 p.m. Tuesday to allow for open public discussion about Alternate Essential Air Service bids. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

WILLIAMSTOWN — About half of the nearly 30 people attending a Tuesday evening meeting indicated their support for incumbent carrier Contour Airlines’ bid to continue providing federally subsidized flights at the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport.

The Wood County Airport Authority held the meeting in the airport terminal to gather public input on six bids to offer Alternate Essential Air Service there starting in the fall.

The meeting began with a detailed overview of every Alternate Essential Air Service bid and what was offered in the pitch. The presentation was curated by airport Operations Manager Sydnie Beall.

The proposals are:

* Air Wisconsin, service to Charlotte aboard 50-seat regional jets; two years, starting at $5,200,752.

Before the public discussion began on Tuesday, the Wood County Airport Authority gave the audience an overview of each bid for potential essential air services providers. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

* Breeze Airways, Raleigh-Durham International Airport, 137-seat Airbus; three years, starting at.$6,282,472.

* Contour Airlines, the incumbent carrier; Charlotte, plus Washington, D.C., or Chicago; 30-seat regional jets; four years, starting at $6,161,370.

* Denver Air Connection, Charlotte/Atlanta, 50-seat Embraer 145s; four years, starting at $6,936,280.

* SkyWest, D.C./Chicago, 50-seat CRJ 200s; four years, starting at $5,960,499.

* SkyWest, Chicago/Charlotte, 50-76 seats on CRJs; four years, starting at $6,914,774.

Shortly after the Wood County Airport Authority meeting began Tuesday evening, public discussion opened with an introduction from Contour Airlines representative and CEO Matt Chaifetz, the current provider of essential air services at the airport. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

There were a total of six proposals with two coming from SkyWest. The goal is for the authority to finalize the top three proposals by the deadline of May 27 based on what was discussed by the public during the meeting. The U.S. Department of Transportation will make the final decision.

“Our airport is the second or third busiest in the state for operations,” said Authority President Bill Richardson. “We generate about $155 million to the local economy as a result of the operations at the airport.”

Airport officials noted they are within the constraints of what the bids offer and they don’t have the control to change it.

Airport Manager Ben Auville stated that along with the in-person comments Tuesday, there were around 600 online comments from the public.

Approximately 30 people were in attendance, including Vienna Mayor Chad Emrick and Contour Airlines CEO Matt Chaifetz.

“I hope what the community and the airport authority found is that we want to be a community force. We will listen to the feedback and adapt as necessary,” Chaifetz said.

It was also noted that other airline representatives toured the airport Tuesday but did not attend the public forum. Many of the public comments throughout the evening included special thanks to Chaifetz for being the only airline representative in attendance.

“It’s not that they don’t want to be here; we have just tried to limit this discussion to just the community,” said Auville.

The public asked questions with a focus on Breeze and Contour. Many of them praised the current service, which Contour’s bid would largely continue, with the option to allocate up to five of the 12 weekly round-trip flights to Washington Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., or Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Many comments were made about how people liked being able to fly locally and not have to drive all the way to Columbus.

Some stated their concerns for leisure-focused airlines like Breeze, saying even though the company presents a lower price, they would end up having to pay for additions like baggage check.

After back-and-forth discussion between the community and the authority, Richardson asked for a vote.

A few hands were raised in favor of Breeze and SkyWest but roughly half of the room raised their hands in favor of Contour Airlines.

“We appreciate everybody’s opinion because we want to hear it,” said authority member Andrew Daniel. “We as the authority get to give our recommendations to the DOT (U.S. Department of Transportation) and the DOT gets to pick.”

While no decision will be finalized until mid-summer, officials said they will gather all of the information to recommend the best proposal that fits the overall needs of the airport for the next contract.

Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentiel.com