Southern Airways Express to take over a previous Seaport Airlines route

Certain Regional Airlines provide Essential Air Service (EAS) to various communities so that they can be connected to larger hub airports. The airlines that provide that service are then subsidized by the Department of Transportation (DOT).

According to the DOT, "The Essential Air Service program was put into place to guarantee that small communities that were serviced by certificated air carriers before airline deregulation maintain a minimal level of scheduled air service." There are currently 175 such communities in the country. One of those many communities is Harrison AR.

On September 20th 2016 Seaport Airlines, after almost a year of financial problems, filed for Chapter 7 and ceased operations on that day. Caravan operator Southern Airways Express, a regional airline based in Southaven MS, has since taken over the Memphis TN to Harrison AR route that was previously serviced by Seaport Airlines.

The Harrison airport Board of Directors requested that the DOT grant the EAS contract to Contour Airlines, but it was instead given to Southern Airways.

Flights between the two cities will begin on Tuesday January 31st, with one-way fares starting at $39.

For more information about Southern Airways Express, check out their site iflysouthern.com

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Meet our Featured Pilot - Jason with SeaPort Airlines

Meet our Featured Caravan Pilot Jason, a Captain with SeaPort Airlines. An airline that is headquartered in Portland Oregon and operates out of its bases in Memphis, TN and San Diego, CA. They also operate out of Juneau Alaska as Wings of Alaska. They fly 16 different Grand Caravans (including the new EX model) to 22 different destinations in 10 states and Mexico and use the cool Callsign "Sasquatch".

I met Jason online in our Caravan group on Facebook. He started out flying skydivers as I did. I can tell from our conversations that he is a super friendly guy and very passionate about aviation.

Name: Jason
Age: 33
From: Winter Haven, FL.

Total Time: 1600

Company: SeaPort Airlines, Inc.

Location: Memphis, TN

Years flying Caravans: 1

What do you like most about flying the Caravan? 

I have not flown a lot of airplanes, but the Caravan is by far the most versatile of them all. When given a clearance to "maintain max forward speed" on final approach, I can give them 155 KIAS all the way to short final and still set it on the thousand foot marks. I'm also able to fly nine passengers, luggage and enough fuel to fly from destination to destination. The Caravan is a workhorse and I absolutely love flying it!

What are your career goals?

I've wanted to be an airline pilot since I was about eight years old. No one in my family is a pilot, so I figured that I would be the first. I've actually just accepted a job at a regional airline flying regional jets. 

What is your advice for younger pilots?

Hang out at the airports and meet people! The more people you can connect with the better you will be. I've only been flying for a little less than three years and when I started my connections were very few... I actually only knew one pilot. The more people that I met the better things got. That's how I landed my first paying gig, flying sky divers in a 182. I met some more people, and now I'm flying Part 135 in four different variations of Caravans. Meet people and ask questions. There's always a way to accomplish your goals and the more people involved, the better!

For more information about SeaPort Airlines visit their site seaportairlines.com

- CaravanPilot.com