Ravn Air Picks Up PenAir

“We are the only community that has so much water between us and the mainland that PenAir serves,” Amos Philemonoff, president of the Aleut Community of St. Paul, told KTVA in December. “I don’t legally think that St. Paul or any community on the 1979 list of Essential Air Service communities could have a lapse in service. It’s hard to believe.”

The Essential Air Service program was put in place to guarantee that small communities—being taken care of by certificated air carriers before airline deregulation—maintain a minimal level of scheduled air service. The Department of Transportation is mandated to provide eligible communities, such as the one on St. Paul, access to the National Air Transportation System.

Following negotiations, Ravn confirmed there would be no interruption in service to St. Paul. PenAir’s Saab 340B continued servicing the community through about mid-February, after which Ravn’s Dash 8 airplane took over the St. Paul operation and schedule.

The delay in the handover between the aircraft was due to the need for Ravn to obtain an extended certification for over-water flight to allow its smaller Dash 8 airplane to service the area.

“The addition of PenAir to the Ravn Air Group route network is an excellent fit, adding the Aleutians and St. Paul in the Pribilof Islands to a network that already serves much of the state,” Pflieger says.

“As we do regularly, we review schedules and market destinations to determine how we can best serve our customers and the communities. If any changes do occur, as both PenAir and Ravn have always done, we will communicate with you to make sure you are kept informed of any service changes,” Ravn says on its website.

In early May, PenAir started service between Anchorage and Kodiak. The announcement was made on Ravn’s website and noted flights from Anchorage to Kodiak would be available on both Ravn and PenAir carriers and transition to a PenAir market with the Saab 2000 aircraft, “providing more capacity to the market.”

Ravn Air Group, headquartered in Anchorage, operates a fleet of about seventy aircraft with more than 400 flights per day. Ravn provides passenger, mail, freight, and charter flights and logistical services to more than 115 destinations throughout the Final Frontier, with hubs in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Bethel, Aniak, St. Mary’s, Nome, Kotzebue, Unalakleet, Utqiaġvik, and Galena. The company expanded service in 2018 to include Dillingham, King Salmon, and McGrath.

PenAir, a significantly smaller operation, serves six communities in Southwest Alaska, including Dutch Harbor, which was marketed and sold by Alaska Airlines.

“With PenAir joining Ravn Air Group, customers of our two airlines will now be able to fly to more destinations in Alaska. PenAir will continue to operate under its own, separate operating certificate. Like Ravn Alaska and Ravn Connect, it is now part of Ravn Air Group,” Pflieger says.

One of the most prominent changes customers are already seeing is the merger of airport operations for check-in and departures at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Pflieger says.

“This was done from day one of the acquisition and this has already provided better customer experience and significant cost savings,” he says. “We have also merged our airport operations in King Salmon and Dillingham and many of the back office and commercial functions have been merged. The main flight operations remain independent.”

Pflieger also notes that Ravn’s frequent flyer program will be expanded with the inclusion of PenAir.

“More importantly, we will also be offering our frequent flyer program to all our PenAir customers soon, allowing them to earn points that can be used for free flights,” Pflieger says. The announcement is a major change since the successful acquisition was originally detailed on the company’s website. Ravn hasn’t announced a timeline for when the frequent flyer program will be updated.

“Joining forces with the Ravn Air Group will enable us to reach our full potential. Together, we will offer our customers a broader network, greater resources, and more travel opportunities—all while maintaining our renowned customer service that PenAir passengers have appreciated for more than sixty years,” Brian Whilden, PenAir’s new president and COO, said in a news release. “We couldn’t be more pleased to become part of the Ravn family.”