Air service at the Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport will continue for the next two years with the current connector airline.
Airport Director Joe Brauer says the Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines has been renewed....
"....the Department of Transportation reselected SkyWest Airlines to continue in our market under the Essential Air Service program until the end of 2017..."
The Essential Air Service program was put into place to guarantee small communities that were served by air carriers before deregulation maintain a minimal level of scheduled air service.
SkyWest has two flights daily from Rhinelander to Minneapolis-St. Paul. Brauer says they are flying at about 80 percent capacity. He says they've rebuilt the customer base after it fell off during the Great Recession and changes in carriers. He says enplanements last year were 12 percent above 2013 numbers.
SkyWest began service in Rhinelander in January 2013, replacing Frontier Airlines.
