07/02/2008

Associated Press

The U.S. Department of Transportation has ordered Horizon Airlines to wait at least an extra month before cutting off its Pendleton-Portland service.

The agency is also soliciting proposals from other carriers who might be interested in picking up the route, which is subsidized by the federal government under the "essential air service" program.

Horizon had been receiving annual subsidies of $748,440 to fly the route. But recently, the carrier announced that it would terminate the route by mid-October, along with direct service to Portland from Klamath Falls and North Bend-Coos Bay.

It cited increased fuel prices.

Oregon's congressional delegation, including Sens. Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden, protested the carrier's actions and asked for a meeting with William Ayers, the president and chief executive officer of the Alaska Air Group, which owns Horizon.

The Pendleton routes were to end by late October, leaving the city without air service. The action extends the service by at least 30 days.

The routes to Klamath Falls and North Bend-Coos Bay don't have similar subsidies, said Jennifer Hoelzer, a spokeswoman for Wyden.

Wednesday's order from the Department of Transportation about the Pendleton route reads, "We must prohibit the carrier from terminating such service at the end of a 90-day notice period ... We will also require it to maintain service at the community for an initial 30-day period."