VALDEZ – The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has selected Reeve Air Alaska, LLC to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) for Valdez. The expedited order follows Ravn Alaska’s sudden end to service on August 5th. The City of Valdez said is anticipates flights to begin this week, although owner Mike Reeve could not be reached for comment. Reeve will serve Valdez through August 31, 2027, with three daily round-trip flights to Anchorage and one daily round-trip flight to Fairbanks using GPS-equipped Beechcraft King Air aircraft, allowing them to operate more reliably in low-visibility weather.
Reeve Air presented six options for flight service and all of them use a projected average fare of $225 one-way Anchorage to Valdez and $300 one-way Valdez to Fairbanks. USDOT’s decision comes after Ravn Alaska notified the Department in May that it could no longer meet its EAS obligations due to a shortage of Dash-8 aircraft. Only one proposal was submitted for the new service — from Reeve Air Alaska. Because of concerns about service levels, USDOT moved quickly to approve Reeve’s start date.
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