REGION
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2022
THE OBSERVER — A3
Boutique Air looks to stay after giving departure notice
Honemann said, not to Portland.
He said “there is little to zero
competition” so the platform shift
for service of the Walla Walla to
Seattle route won’t have an eff ect
on enplanements or operations at
Pendleton.
Ridership in Pendleton
on the rise as small
airline changes direction
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
Praise for Boutique
PENDLETON — Boutique
Air gave notice in February that it
wants to pull out of Pendleton, but
the U.S. Department of Transpor-
tation grounded that request. And
now the airline is seeking a new
contract.
Oregon Regional Airport Man-
ager John Honemann said Bou-
tique’s notice came as the number
of passengers fl ying the small
airline in Pendleton began to
increase after falling during the
pandemic.
Boutique Air relies on the fed-
eral Essential Air Service pro-
gram to stay in business in Pend-
leton. The U.S. Department of
Transportation oversees the EAS
program, which subsidizes air-
lines to connect communities
across the country that otherwise
would not receive scheduled air
service.
Boutique in 2016 won an EAS
contract for 21 round trips a week
between Pendleton and Portland,
with the option to operate one
service a day to Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport instead of
Portland. The Pendleton City
Council in 2018 awarded a four-
year, $10.4 million EAS exten-
sion to Boutique. While the U.S.
Department of Transportation
foots the bill, the federal agency
follows the local community’s
direction.
The transportation depart-
ment’s February list of com-
munities receiving the subsidy
shows only one place in Oregon:
Pendleton.
Honemann explained the EAS
contract with Boutique was due
to expire Dec. 31, 2022, and Bou-
tique submitted a Notice of Ter-
mination of Service to the DOT.
Honemann said the reason for
the notice was economic, with
Boutique citing “wages, fuel
Charly Hotchkiss/East Oregonian
Passengers board a Boutique Airlines fl ight to Portland, Thursday, April 14, 2022, at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport,
Pendleton. Boutique maintains the second largest fl eet of Pilatus PC-12 single-engine turboprops in the country.
costs, infl ation, supply chain
issues with aircraft parts.” Addi-
tionally, he said, there is a “pilot
shortage and downward pressure
on industry as pilots move up to
larger aircraft, and carriers that
off er higher salaries.”
The federal transportation
department on Feb. 24 accepted
the notice, Honemann said, and
on March 21 issued an order pro-
hibiting termination of service
and requesting proposals.
“The EAS contract and bid
process for Pendleton has been
accelerated and moved from later
in the year to now, seven months
early,” he said.
The bids were due April 11.
“The DOT received one bid
for our EAS service,” Honemann
said. “That respondent was Bou-
tique Airlines.”
The East Oregonian left mes-
sages for local Boutique Air man-
ager Shawn Simpson, but as
of Friday, April 22, he had not
off ered a comment.
Passenger numbers rising
The number of passen-
gers boarding the small airline
monthly hit 447 in March in Pend-
leton, the most since February
2020, the start of the pandemic,
which had 541, according to data
from Honemann.
“There was an obvious
decrease in enplanements in
early 2020 when the country
went into pandemic response
mode, and some recovery later in
2020 and into 2022,” he said.
Boutique in 2019 at Pend-
leton, he reported, had a total of
6,763 passengers. Then ridership
plunged as the pandemic ramped
up, with the airline recording 343
passengers in March of that year
and just 58 in April. That was
the low point, though, according
to the data.
Since then, Boutique Air’s
passenger count has been
climbing, with occasional dips
punctuating the trend.
“We are not at pre-pandemic
enplanements, lagging (more
than) 25% compared to averaged
pre-pandemic enplanements,”
Honemann said.
Boutique in November and
December 2021 carried 416 and
then 399 passengers, but in Jan-
uary the numbers dropped 297.
Honemann said that was not due
to the coronavirus.
“January 2022 was a rough
month for weather in Pendleton
and Portland (with) low ceiling,
freezing fog conditions, snow,”
he explained. “Weather cancella-
tions were the primary cause of
that dip.”
Honemann off ered some
industry context about Bou-
tique’s termination notice.
“Skywest, a major EAS pro-
vider,” he said, “also submitted
a Notice of Termination of Ser-
vice to the DOT for 29 commu-
nities, citing similar economic
challenges.”
Honemann also said he does
not think recent developments at
the Walla Walla Regional Air-
port are going to dent Boutique’s
numbers.
Alaska Air Group, parent
company of Alaska Airlines, is
planning to transition from tur-
boprop planes to full-jet air-
craft for its Horizon Air services
sometime in 2023.
The Embraer 175 jet aircraft
will be the newest addition to
the airport, replacing the turbo-
prop Bombardier Q400, which
has served passengers for many
years and is considered a good
workhorse aircraft for regional
fl ights.
The Port of Walla Walla is
preparing now for the switch,
with a facilities remodel to
accommodate the new planes.
But Horizon’s fl ights out
of Walla Walla go to Seattle,
Honemann said he is pleased
with Boutique, which maintains
the second largest fl eet of Pilatus
PC-12 single turboprops in the
country.
“I really like our level of ser-
vice and provider, Boutique,
and think it is a great model for
the needs of our community,”
he said. “No TSA. (Pendleton
to Portland) in under an hour.
Three round-trip fl ights a day.
Excellent airframe and platform.
Feels like you are fl ying private.”
On April 18, Honemann
updated progress on the contract
award process.
“Last week, DOT got one bid
(from Boutique) for a two-year
contract. We’re now gathering
statements of support from the
community,” he said. “Those
need to be in by May 3. I don’t
see any issues in the award pro-
cess. We should have uninter-
rupted service with the same
provider. I think that’s a good
thing.”
Pendleton Economic Devel-
opment Director Steve Chrisman
said airlines have been having a
rough go.
“Boutique had staffi ng short-
ages even before the pandemic,”
he said. “The contract was made
well in advance, so there were
also wage issues. When COVID
hit, the big airlines encour-
aged early retirement, but busi-
ness recovered a lot faster than
expected. They needed to get
more staff , and where else than
from the little airlines?”
Long-term, however, he said,
Boutique’s service in Pendleton
“will be healthier and more reli-
able under the new contract.”
Honemann said the next step
for the airport and airport com-
mission is to provide a statement/
comment for the formal record.
Umatilla plans new footbridge to replace old one destroyed in fl oods
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
UMATILLA — Umatilla
City Manager David Stock-
dale said hangups with the
Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency have delayed a
$7.2 million project to replace
the footbridge the city lost
when the Umatilla River
fl ooded in 2019 and 2020.
“They’ve been great to
work with, but it’s been three
steps forward and two steps
back all along the way,” he
said.
He said the agency has
changed representatives fre-
quently, leading to misun-
derstandings between it and
the city. Stockdale said his
offi ce has had to submit and
resubmit the same informa-
tion, repeatedly. With the
approval of FEMA, Stock-
dale said the city of Uma-
tilla has a green light, and he
announced a timeline.
Work on the bridge begins
in July, with a demolition
crew removing the demol-
ished bridge from the Uma-
tilla River. Pieces, which now
exist either in the river or
Erick Peterson/East Oregonian
Boaters on Thursday, April 14, 2022, fl oat past the remains of a
footbridge in Umatilla. The city starts work this summer on the $7.2
million project to replace the bridge.
along the bank, will be taken
from the area.
“That might take a month
in July and August,” he said.
Actual construction, he
added, will start in the winter
of 2022-23, and completion
will be in early fall the fol-
lowing year.
FEMA will provide $4.7
million for the project, Stock-
dale said. The state of Oregon
will chip in $500,000, and the
city will take out a $1 mil-
lion loan to help cover the
remaining amount.
“We did get some insur-
ance proceeds, but they were
very low, $100,000,” Stock-
dale said.
Fixing a water main
that was part of the bridge
adds another $1 million to
the project, with $750,000
coming from FEMA and
$250,000 from a state emer-
gency grant.
“The new bridge will be a
signifi cant improvement over
the old one,” Stockdale said.
It will be about 140 feet
longer in length, as the abut-
ments will be set back farther
on the shoreline than the ones
on the old bridge. The new
bridge also will be higher
than the old one by 8 feet
and have a “slow and steady
arch,” he said.
“If the old bridge was
at this elevation, it would
not have been damaged by
fl ood,” Stockdale said.
A steel-frame bridge,
it will not require a mid-
river pier support. This will
remove a hazard from the
river, which troubled recre-
ationalists and created a dam-
ming eff ect during fl oods.
“We’re really excited
about the enhancements,”
he said, which also include
a boathouse, benches and
information boards.
Stockdale said the old
bridge was important to
the community. A hundred
students a day crossed the
bridge to get to school. Other
people crossed, too, as they
walked downtown.
More improvements
Stockdale said more is
planned for both sides of the
bridge. The city obtained a
recreational trails program
grant from Oregon last year
and plans to construct a new
trail that will go from Pow-
erline Road and loop down
and connect to the new
bridge.
“That will go in at the
same time we are building
the bridge,” he said.
Also in the works, thanks
to a grant from the land and
water conservation fund, is
a playground, pavilion and
sidewalks at Nugent Park.
The trail and playground
will meet federal standards
for accessibility.
As the city recently
installed a new restroom
at the park and has made
improvements to the nearby
Little League fi eld, Stock-
dale boasted the area is on
its way to being something
special.
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Reelect David Baum
Oregon Trail Electric Board, Position 8
2022
I
Northeast Oregon
PHOTO
CONTEST
Visit lagrandeobserver.com and enter today!
STATEMENT TO VOTERS: The electric utility industry is seeing significant changes due to increased demand, new
technologies, government mandates, high prices of natural gas and oil, and weather renewables (solar and wind).
Weather renewables work only when the Sun is shining and the Wind is blowing.
Currently OTEC purchases 100% of its electrical power from Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and some of the
lowest electrical rates in the country. But BPA is being challenged with increasing costs, reduced revenue, and threat
of the removal of the four lower Snake River dams. As the board member involved with the Wildfire Mitigation Plan, we
have aggressively pushed forward with the drafting and finalization of a Wildfire Plan.
As we negotiate a new contract with Bonneville (BPA), my legal experience is a valuable evaluation tool. My focus will be to
continue to work diligently in areas of Power Supply, Transmission and Distribution. I will strive to keep your electrical rates
low.
Our CEO, Les Penning and staff with board support will not be raising your electrical rates for 2022.
It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to serve as your representative on the board of Directors. I have grained a signifi-
cant knowledge and experience about cooperatives during this time. I will continue to work hard at keeping electric
rates low while providing safe and reliable electricity to our members along with excellent customer service. I have
knowledge, experience, energy and time to serve.
I ask for YOUR VOTE and look forward to our future challenges.
Paid For By David Baum / The Committee to Reelect David Baum