Mayor John Robert Smith announced the city's preference in passenger air service during a press conference Friday concerning the Meridian Regional Airport.
"Late yesterday we were notified by the Department of Public Transportation that bids had been received," Smith said. "There were two bidders; Delta doing business as ASA, and Mesaba Aviation doing business as Northwest Airlink."
Both bidders would offer 13 nonstop trips a week, but one major difference was the annual subsidy requests with Mesaba's request coming to $960,472 annually, and ASA's coming to, $686,489 annually.
The other differences was that Mesaba passengers would travel between Meridian and Memphis, and Delta/ASA would travel between Meridian and Atlanta.
There was also a lot of consideration in the type of aircraft each company would use to transport passengers. Mesaba's service would be provided in a 34-seat Saab aircraft, which is a propeller-based plane, and ASA's aircraft would be a 50-seat CRJ-200 jet aircraft.
With the lowest bid and the higher capacity aircraft, the city's decision was a simple one, according to Smith.
"I will send a letter to the Department of Transportation detailing our strong preferences that Delta/ASA be awarded the subsidized bid," Smith said.
Besides the seating capacity, the difference in propeller-based aircrafts and jet-based aircrafts were considered.
"Propeller airplanes are normally slower, about half the speed of a jet. It flies at lower altitudes, so it doesn't avoid the weather like a jet does," said Tom Williams, president of the Meridian Regional Airport Authority. "It's not as smooth a ride as a jet due to some aerodynamic issues. The jet is a smoother ride even in turbulence, and in the propeller airplane you get bounced around a lot more."
Smith said that he will mail his letter to the Department of Transportation next week.
Delta Air Lines announced in March it would pull service out of Meridian, citing rising fuel costs. At that time Williams said Delta wanted to stay in Meridian, however, and that the it may continue to offer service here if granted status into the Essential Air Service Program, which pays subsidies from the federal government.
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Meridian Regional Airport considers airline bids
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City cuts payment to Watkins
The Meridian City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to cut their monthly payment to David Watkins, project developer of Meridian's new police station, by $9,999 until work resumes on the project.
The order, made during the Meridian City Council meeting Tuesday morning, included a mutual agreement between the councilmen and Watkins to reduce the project developer's monthly consultant fee of $10,000 to $1, effective Tuesday. -
Crews work on gasoline pipeline
If you hear a loud, booming sound early today, between 4 a.m.-10 a.m., there is no cause for alarm.
Workers with Plantation Pipeline will be performing maintenance work on their 30-foot gasoline pipeline in the Meridian area to accommodate the widening of Highway 493. The location of the work activity will be at Highway 493 North and Oak Hill Baptist Church, just inside the city limits. -
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High Honor
The flowers and balloons Crestwood Elementary School Principal Kimberly Kendrick received at school Monday were not an early Valentines' Day gift.
Kendrick has been named Meridian Public School District's 2012 Administrator of the Year – an announcement that both surprised and wowed the 17-year veteran educator when made by MPSD Superintendent Dr. Alvin Taylor. -
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Digital system promises better communication
Hopefully in the near future you won't hear someone in the emergency services ask over the radio, "Can you hear me now?"
A digital communications system, one which is being pushed by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), is a few months away and, in some cases, is already in the testing phase in Lauderdale County. -
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Mississippi Department of Corrections officials said Monday afternoon an inmate escaped from custody Friday and is still being sought.
Officials said Johnny Hall Jr. escaped from two Wilkinson County Correctional Facility officers’ custody while being escorted from his father’s wake at the Picayune Funeral Home in Picayune. Preliminary information indicates Hall left the officers and jumped into a waiting black vehicle with a white female driver. -
Citizen’s Police Academy begins today
The work law enforcement conducts on a daily basis is often misunderstood by the general public.
Officials at the Meridian Police Department developed a program to inform and educate citizens on what police do in serving and protecting the population. The program, The Citizen's Police Academy, has been gaining speed for a couple of years since it was first offered. Officials said it shows residents are interested in police work and how it is conducted. - Woman: decongestant brought meth charge in Alabama
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