Press Release - Ravn will not Host Community Meeting in Unalaska

Ravn will not Host a Community Meeting in Unalaska

Unalaska, Alaska, Friday, December 6, 2019, 1:45 p.m.

Ravn Air Group has decided not to host a Community Meeting in Unalaska or participate in further public forums due to “recent comments made in the news and newspapers about our accident and air service to Unalaska”.

Representatives of Ravn Air and Alaska Airlines plan to meet with the Mayor and City Manager in Unalaska to provide updates about Ravn’s flights to Unalaska / Dutch Harbor and to hear what they can do to continue assisting the community and businesses here. They also plan to visit with other organizations in town including the School District, the Unalaska Visitors Bureau, the Clinic and various seafood companies.

Ravn indicated they will attempt to provide written answers to questions posed by KUCB in an effort to continue to provide informational updates for the community.

The following was provided by Ravn Air Group:

At the first community meeting following the accident, our CEO outlined a three-step plan to restore normal operations, which includes the use of the Saab 2000 on this route. Those three steps included:

-Initially, using Dash 8 aircraft to conduct charter operations;
-Then starting regularly scheduled Dash 8 flights; and
-The final step was re-starting regularly scheduled service using PenAir’s 45-seat Saab 2000 aircraft (in partnership with Alaska Airlines), but only after we had learned more from the NTSB about the cause of the accident and we have developed and implemented any measures necessary to ensure enhanced safety and operations for flying the Saab 2000 aircraft in and out of Dutch Harbor Airport.

As we noted in October and later outlined in our three-part plan, our initial goals were to focus on those affected by the accident and then immediately assisting the community with efforts to restart regularly daily scheduled service as quickly as possible.

As you know, our joint efforts to provide charter service were a success, and on November 14, we restored regularly scheduled Dash 8 service daily to Unalaska and now have flights available through to May 31st, 2020.

With the first two steps of our plan complete, and no immediate visibility on when we can resume Saab 2000 service to Dutch Harbor, we are now focusing on serving the community during “A” Season with our Dash 8 fleet. We are doing this because we completely understand the vital necessity of air service to Unalaska, and we recognize the huge importance of the seafood industry to your community and the need for increased service during the busy December and January fishing and crabbing season.

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