Alaska First Nations group to set up airline

[Henry Tenby]

A new airline wants in on North Slope
POLAR EXPRESS: Established carriers say they've got field covered.

By ELIZABETH BLUEMINK [email protected]
Published: October 13, 2007

A Native-owned company wants to compete with long-time air carriers in Alaska by running a privately chartered jet from Anchorage to the North Slope oil fields and possibly other places in Alaska.

But in recent months, the firm, Polar Express Group, has run afoul of the state's largest commercial carrier, Alaska Airlines.

The companies have been battling over who will get to tap into the market for private-jet chartering of oil field workers -- and possibly other commuters -- to and from the Slope.

Airlines such as Alaska Air and Peninsula Airways say they've got the North Slope covered.

They've apparently won the first round, despite ample support for the Polar Express venture from oil companies and Alaska politicians.

Polar Express is waiting for federal permission to run a 100-plus-seat jet -- owned by Sky King Inc., a California-based company that charters private airplanes in the Lower 48 -- to and from the Slope.

During the wait, Polar Express lost out on some charter contracts, the company's president, Andy Baker, said. His company remains interested in doing business on the Slope and possibly other locations, he said.

"We're going to make something work," Baker said.

In recent months, attorneys for Polar Express, Sky King and Alaska Airlines waged a fierce, sarcasm-laced battle in legal filings over the Polar Express venture.

Attorneys for Sky King accused Alaska Airlines of trying to smash its competitors and behaving as if it's "Alaska-omnipotent."

Alaska Air attorneys challenged Polar Express' and Conoco Phillips' credibility, telling regulators at the federal Department of Transportation -- which must OK the new service -- that the two companies incorrectly claimed an "emergency" lack of flight service this summer on the North Slope.

Two of Conoco's private jets transporting workers to and from the Slope were grounded in August for repairs.

The day after Conoco Phillips wrote an Aug. 2 letter in support of Polar Express, citing the jet grounding, Alaska Air called Conoco at least 15 times to negotiate ramped-up service for the oil giant, according to the airline's legal briefs to DOT.

The end result was there was no emergency, according to Alaska Air.

Conoco ended up chartering temporary charter flights with Alaska Airlines, according to the oil company's Alaska spokeswoman Natalie Knox Lowman.

Link to rest of article:
http://www.adn.com:80/money/industri...-9289331c.html