Essential Air Service (EAS) (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Dec. 19, 2018 |
| Report Number |
R44176 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Rachel Y. Tang, Analyst in Transportation and Industry |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 gave airlines almost total freedom to determine which
domestic markets to serve and what airfares to charge. This raised the concern that communities
with relatively low passenger levels would lose service as carriers shifted their operations to serve
larger and often more profitable markets. To address this concern, Congress established the
Essential Air Service (EAS) program to ensure that small communities that were served by
certificated air carriers before deregulation would continue to receive scheduled passenger
service, with subsidies if necessary.
The EAS program is administered by the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT), which enforces the eligibility requirements and determines the level of
service required at eligible communities. By the end of FY2016, 173 communities in the United
States received subsidized service under EAS.
Over the years, Congress has limited the scope of the program, mostly by eliminating subsidy
support for communities within a specified driving distance of a major hub airport and capping
subsidies under certain criteria. The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 included
additional EAS reform measures, including the requirement that a community have a minimum
number of daily enplanements to remain eligible for subsidy. Further, the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-76) and the Continuing Appropriations Resolution of 2015
(P.L. 113-164) introduced additional measures to shrink the program. The FAA Extension, Safety,
and Security Act of 2016 (P.L. 114-190) reauthorized the program through FY2017.
Despite these efforts to limit spending for EAS subsidies, program expenditures have risen 132%
since 2008, after adjusting for inflation, and are projected to continue rising through FY2017.
Some factors contributing to the rising program costs are external, such as high aviation fuel
prices from 2008 through 2014 and the prospect of higher pilot wage costs due to changes in
federal regulations. However, certain features of the EAS program itself may have contributed to
the challenge of controlling costs. The statute governing EAS does not list cost among the four
factors that DOT must consider when evaluating air carriers’ bids to provide subsidized EAS
service, and neither the carriers nor the communities receiving subsidized service are obliged to
select service options that minimize the government’s costs.
EAS traditionally has been authorized in laws reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration
and other civil aviation programs. The current authorization act expires September 30, 2017. EAS
is likely to be among the subjects of debate as Congress considers extending the current law or
writing a new authorization act.
