WC Wisconsin News

Sun Country Airlines is celebrating its selection by the U.S. Department of Transportation as the provider of Essential Air Service (EAS) for Chippewa Valley Regional Airport (EAU) in Eau Claire commencing in December of this year.

The Minnesota-based airliner announced that it will provide Eau Claire with a total of four weekly round trips per week, including two round trips to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and approximately two weekly round trips to Orlando, Las Vegas or Fort Myers, adjusted seasonally; a recent news release from the company said.

For this variety of service, the U.S. Department of Transportation waived the minimum requirement of two daily flights, six days a week; a recent FOX 9 report said.

“Sun Country’s business model surges in times of peak demand, including the winter months, and utilizes cargo and charter flying at times of the year with less demand for scheduled service flying,” Chief Revenue Officer Grant Whitney said in the news release. “This is a great fit for Sun Country to provide additional service in Wisconsin, and we are excited to bring new service to the Chippewa Valley region. We appreciate the enthusiasm of and partnership with the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport to connect the Chippewa Valley with Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the 78 destinations we serve as well as to provide service to Las Vegas, Orlando and Fort Myers.”

With Sun Country already providing service in Green Bay, Madison and Milwaukee, Chippewa Valley Regional Airport officials are said to have approached Sun Country about providing the service last spring when SkyWest Airlines/United Express took steps to terminate EAS service there.

In its news release, Sun Country touted itself as a “new breed of hybrid low-cost air carrier that dynamically deploys shared resources across our synergistic scheduled service, charter, and cargo businesses. Based in Minnesota, we focus on serving leisure and visiting friends and relatives ('VFR') passengers and charter customers and providing CMI service to Amazon, with flights throughout the United States and to destinations in Mexico, Central America, Canada, and the Caribbean.”