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Air Choice One

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 64.235.154.34 (talk) at 19:39, 7 November 2014 (→Destinations: Added Fort Dodge start date with press release). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Air Choice One
IATA ICAO Call sign
3E WBR Weber
Founded1979 (as Multi-Aero Corporation)
Commenced operations2010
AOC #MUIA594G
HubsLambert-St. Louis International Airport
Secondary hubsChicago O'Hare International Airport
Fleet size6
Destinations7
Parent companyMulti-Aero, Inc.
HeadquartersSt. Louis, Missouri, USA
Key peopleShane Storz (CEO)
Darnea Storz (COO)
Cindy Stork (CAO)
Websitewww.airchoiceone.com

Multi-Aero, Inc., doing business as (d/b/a) Air Choice One, is an American airline with its headquarters in Concord, Missouri in Greater St. Louis.[1] It acts as a regional airline offering commuter flights from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and O'Hare International Airport to smaller regional airports, subsidized under the Essential Air Service program.[2]

History

Multi-Aero was founded in 1979 under the name Multi-Aero Corporation.[3] In October 2009 Air Choice One won the EAS contract to serve Decatur, Illinois[4] and Burlington, Iowa.[5]

In December 2011, Air Choice One was awarded a 1-year EAS contract to replace[6] SeaPort Airlines in Jonesboro, AR with the date to begin service set at February 13, 2012[7]

In January 2013 the DOT granted Air Choice One a 3-year contract extension for both Decatur, Illinois[8] and Burlington, Iowa.[9] As a stipulation for obtaining both extensions Air Choice One implemented systems for electronic ticketing and baggage agreements via WorldSpan (a part of the global distribution system, or GDS) in December 2012.[8] This allows passengers to book tickets with connections to and from other major airlines on popular travel websites in a "one-click" process, as opposed to buying tickets at one airline and then having to book tickets with another on two separate confirmations.

In February 2014 Air Choice One was awarded by the DOT a 4-year extension on their Jonesboro, Arkansas EAS contract.[10] In the same month, there were three proposals sent out by them to the following cities for EAS service: Ironwood, Michigan,[11] Fort Dodge, Iowa,[12] and Mason City, Iowa.[13]

In March 2014 there has been interest from the city of Muscle Shoals, Alabama as city and airport leaders visited the Air Choice One headquarters to get some insight into their operations for use in re-bidding for a carrier in April.[14]

On April 18, 2014 the DOT awarded Air Choice One a 2-year contract to serve Ironwood, Michigan with service to and from Chicago, Illinois. They are slated to start in the summer of 2014.[15]

On August 19, 2014, Air Choice One was awarded a 2- year contract from DOT to serve Mason City, Iowa with service to and from Chicago, Illinois. They will start service on November 17, 2014.[16]

Air Choice One currently flies a fleet of Piper Navajo (formerly serving Kirksville) and Cessna Caravan (serving Burlington and Decatur) aircraft, fitted with 7 and 8 passenger seats, respectively.[17]

Destinations

Top served cities

Air Choice One (As of September 2014)[20]
City Daily departures Number of parking spots Cities served nonstop Service began
St. Louis 8 4 3 2010
Chicago 8 3 3 2010

Codeshare agreements

Air Choice One does not participate in any major global airline alliances, nor or do they have any codeshare agreements.[21]

Fleet

Air Choice One operates a fleet of six single engine Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft. All of their Cessna Caravan sport an all leather interior, with five aircraft in a club seating configuration and one in an all-forward facing configuration.[22]. There has been some talk in the EAS community about them adding additional larger aircraft.[23]

Air Choice One Airlines Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Orders Passengers Notes
Cessna 208 Caravan
6 0 8
Total 6 0 48

References

  1. ^ "Facebook - Info.". Retrieved on July 19, 2011. "12300 Old Tesson Road Suite 200-F St. Louis 63128"
  2. ^ "Air Choice One begins offering flights to St. Louis". Kirksville Daily Express. 2008-08-01. Archived from the original on 2009-08-26. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  3. ^ "About Air Choice One - The Company". Air Choice One. Archived from the original on 2009-08-26. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  4. ^ Freeman, Huey. Decatur a step closer to restoring air service to O'Hare, Herald & Review, October 23, 2009, Retrieved 2009-10-23
  5. ^ Crippes, Christina Regional airport gets choice of new carrier, The Hawk Eye, October 23, 2009, Retrieved 2009-10-27
  6. ^ "Air Choice One to fly into Jonesboro as new EAS carrier". HarrisonDaily.com. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
  7. ^ "Air Choice One JBR Flight Schedule" (PDF). Air Choice One. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
  8. ^ a b Voyles, Ryan Way cleared for Air Choice One to serve Decatur for three more years, Herald Review, January 8, 2013, Retrieved 2013-02-24
  9. ^ Air Choice One has been granted a three-year extension to its current Department of Transportation Essential Air Service Contract which provides air service for the community of Burlington, Fort Madison Daily Democrat, January 11, 2013, Retrieved 2013-02-24
  10. ^ "DOT extends Air Choice One EAS contract in Jonesboro AR. by four years". Air Choice One website. 2014-02-25. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  11. ^ "Can airport set agreement with airline?". Your Daily Globe. 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  12. ^ "Great Lakes, Air Choice One Airlines Submit Fort Dodge Proposals". Your Fort Dodge. 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  13. ^ "Two proposals received for air service to Mason City". GlobeGazette. 2014-02-28. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  14. ^ "2 carriers show interest in Shoals airport". WAAF-TV. 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  15. ^ "DOT Awards EAS Contract for Ironwood, MI to Air Choice One". Air Choice One. 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
  16. ^ Skipper, John (September 12, 2014). "Air Choice One to start service Nov. 17; $59 flight to Chicago". Retrieved 2014-09-25.
  17. ^ Air Choice One flights to Chicago, St. Louis locked in, The HawkEye, Jan 7, 2010, Retrieved 2010-01-14
  18. ^ http://globegazette.com/news/local/9cada93a-8147-5866-85d9-46356e946c4b.html
  19. ^ http://whotv.com/2014/11/07/flights-from-ft-dodge-to-st-louis-to-begin-in-february/
  20. ^ "Air Choice One Destinations". Air Choice One. Retrieved 2014-09-25.
  21. ^ http://www.airchoiceone.com
  22. ^ "Facebook Photo Album Cessna Grand Caravan Interior Photos". Air Choice One Facebook Page. 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  23. ^ "Here we go again..." EAS Flights. 2012-05-22. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
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