CHEYENNE, Wyoming—March 27, 2018 Great Lakes Airlines (GLUX), an regional airline operating domestic scheduled and charter services, announced today that it has terminated its flight operations.

 

After 40 years of servicing regional airports in the Midwest and Western regions of the United States, Great Lakes Airlines decided to close its doors and begin implementing employee layoffs.

 

The airline, which owns a fleet of aircraft comprised of 28 Beechcraft 1900Ds and six Embraer 120 Brasilias, hopes to sell its remaining assets to interested parties. Critical staff members needed to support the scheduled airline certificate, repair station certificate, reservation platform and maintain the fleet will be kept onboard until the airline’s assets can be sold.

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The dissolution of the company is largely attributed to the volatility of the Essential Air Service (EAS), a program which keeps small and rural communities across America connected to the national air transportation system. In recent years, changes to the EAS have had a negative impact on small airline companies, such as Great Lakes Airlines.

 

Additionally, a change in Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certification requirements increased the number of flight experience hours necessary for newly hired pilots, significantly reducing the amount of qualified pilots available for smaller airlines. This change caused Great Lakes Airlines to suspend flights to small cities in the Upper Midwest.

 

“The changes to the EAS program contributed to the downfall of our company” says Doug Voss, CEO of Great Lakes Airlines. “We are saddened to no longer offer our services to the rural airports that we reached, but this is the best decision for the brand at this time.”

 

The final flight took off on Monday, March 26, 2018. Customers who have purchased tickets for flights departing after that date will receive full refunds.

 

About Great Lakes Airlines

Founded in 1977 by Doug Voss and Ivan Simpson in Spirit Lake, Iowa, Great Lakes Airlines is an American regional airline operating domestic scheduled and charter services. The airline’s corporate headquarters are located in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with a hub at Denver International Airport. Parties interested in Great Lakes Airlines assets should reach out to the media contact. For more information, please visit GreatLakesAv.com