Airline alliance plans town hall meeting over airport

The meeting is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. in the Turquoise Room of the Elko Convention Center.

“It’s essentially the launch of the nonprofit Flight Alliance of Northeastern Nevada,” said Jan Baum, Elko city manager and chairman of the alliance, which has now achieved nonprofit 401c(6) status and is ready to expand.

“Fundamentally, it is an opportunity to educate the public about the commercial air travel issues that Elko Regional Airport (EKO) has faced over the past few years and how the nonprofit’s mission is to bring public and private interests together to maintain and grow commercial air travel,” she said in an Aug. 20 email.

The City of Elko and Elko County formed the alliance (FANN), and contributions from the city’s lodging tax helped cover the costs to guarantee SkyWest revenue to serve Elko. The airline alliance receives 1.25% of the lodging tax, which increased to 15% in 2022.

Elko County has pledged $500,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, Lander County is contributing $250,000, and Elko County has previously stated that it hopes Eureka County will also join FANN.

The amount paid to SkyWest is called a variable minimum rate and generally covers risks but not all costs, FANN Treasurer Terri Clark of Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital told the Elko City Council in July.

The variable bill for the first half of the year was $632,315, and the contract for July through December is $683,971.

The current agreement includes operations with a CRJ 550 aircraft, a 50-passenger jet that flies between Elko and Salt Lake City, where passengers can connect.

In addition to Baum and Clark, FANN’s current volunteer board includes Elko County Commissioner Rex Steninger as vice chair and Elko County Manager Amanda Osborne as secretary.

Board members include Amanda Ferguson of Sandvik, Bert Ramos, Lander County manager, Annette Kerr, executive director of the Elko Convention and Visitors Authority, and Elko Mayor Reece Keener. One seat is still open.

The flyer for the convention center event also states that other interested parties include Jim Foster, manager of Elko Regional Airport, Bill Tomcich and Matt Skinner of Airplanners, Alissa Wood of Nevada Gold Mines and Shane Valentine of Maverick Casino & Hotel.