Air Choice One

Air Choice One
IATA ICAO Callsign
3E WBR Weber
Founded 1979 (as Multi-Aero Corporation)
Commenced operations 2010
AOC # MUIA594G
Hubs Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
Secondary hubs Chicago O'Hare International Airport
Fleet size 11
Destinations 10
Company slogan "Your Personal Service Airline"
Parent company Multi-Aero, Inc.
Headquarters St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Key people Shane Storz (CEO)
Darnea Storz (COO)
Website www.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 Muscle Shoals, Alabama city and airport leaders visited the Air Choice One headquarters to consider its EAS contract bid for Northwest Alabama Regional Airport,[14] however the contract was awarded to SeaPort Airlines and later Boutique Air to begin service in 2016.[15][16] Previously in 2011, Air Choice One submitted a proposal to the US DOT to serve Muscle Shoals with flights to either Atlanta, Nashville or Memphis. Pending acceptance of the proposal, the airline was planning to begin flights in as little as 30 days.[17] The airline never commenced service to Muscle Shoals.

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 began service in the summer of 2014.[18]

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

Destinations

Top served cities

Air Choice One (as of November 2016)[20]
City Daily departures Number of parking spots Cities served nonstop Service began
St. Louis 12 6 5 2010
Chicago 10 3 4 2010
Minneapolis/St. Paul 5 2 3 2016

Codeshare agreements

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

Hubs

Fleet

Brand new Cessna Caravan 208B EX model, N942AC.
3 of Air Choice One's aircraft on their hangar's ramp at STL

Air Choice One operates a fleet of eleven single engine Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft. All of their Cessna Caravan sport an all leather interior, with two aircraft in a club seating configuration and nine 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
8 0 9
Cessna 208EX Grand Caravan 3 0 9 A new 208EX Caravan was delivered in June 2016.[24]
Total 11 0

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. 1 2 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. ↑ "SeaPort calling it quits after less than a year". TimesDaily. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  16. ↑ "Boutique Air secures Muscle Shoals, AL EAS contract". ch-aviation. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  17. ↑ McLaughlin, Budd (October 14, 2011). "Missouri air carrier proposes serving Northwest Alabama Regional Airport". The Huntsville Times.
  18. ↑ "DOT Awards EAS Contract for Ironwood, MI to Air Choice One". Air Choice One. 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
  19. ↑ Skipper, John (September 12, 2014). "Air Choice One to start service Nov. 17; $59 flight to Chicago". Retrieved 2014-09-25.
  20. ↑ "Air Choice One Destinations". Air Choice One. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  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.
  24. ↑ "A Fort Dodge air service provider, Air Choice One, adds plane". KCCI Des Moines. Retrieved 6 July 2016.

External links

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