A Bethel-based airline hopes to start flying between Kenai and Anchorage next month. The Kenai City Council last week gave city officials permission to enter into a lease agreement with Fox Air for passenger service.
Kenai City Manager Terry Eubank says the company plans to offer six flights per day, six days per week on its nine-seat Caravan. He says the city’s already received the company’s $25,000 deposit.
“I have no reason to believe they can't meet our requirements,” he said. “They've been clearly communicated to them.”
The Fox Air lease is contingent on additional research on the company by city officials.
Before the council’s meeting last week, members received a letter from a Kenai resident and self-described frequent Bethel flyer who raised multiple concerns about Fox Air’s service. Among other things, the letter accused the company of unsafe flying, falsifying passenger records and federal mail fraud.
Council member Bridget Grieme was one of multiple council members who said the city should look into the concerns raised in the letter.
“We do need, and all could benefit from another carrier,” she said. “So I wouldn't want to eliminate that as an opportunity, but I'd much rather have nothing than something bad.”
Eubank said Monday the city is still working to verify a few details, but the city continues to move forward and, “to date have found nothing to support the claims and allegations in the complaint.”
On Monday, Fox Air Office Manager Jonna Bartlett said it was aware of the letter and the city investigation, which found “no truth to the claims.”
“We are thankful for the opportunity to serve the community of Kenai and provide a reliable and safe service to help with the great demand of travel between Anchorage and Kenai,” Bartlett said.
If any of the claims are found to be true, Eubank said the city would then determine if any of the information disqualifies the airline from starting Kenai service. But as of Tuesday, he said the city hasn’t found anything to substantiate the letter’s claims, including from the State Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration or the U.S. Postal Service.
At the Kenai Municipal Airport, Fox Air could fill a void left by Kenai Aviation, which abruptly suspended service last year due to financial hardship.
Grant Aviation is the only airline currently offering daily passenger flights between Kenai and Anchorage. Aleutian Airways started flying a twice-daily Kenai-Anchorage route last summer. But on Tuesday, the company did not show any upcoming flight availability on that route. The company also reduced its weekly flights last year due to aircraft availability. Eubank said the company told the city it would not fly in April or May due to fuel allocations.
