With PenAir slated to end service to Akutan sometime this fall, the community is searching for a new airline to take its place.

After serving Akutan for more than a decade, last month PenAir asked the federal Department of Transportation to release the company from its contract to provide Essential Air Service to the community. PenAir said at the time that the WWII-era Grumman Goose needs to be retired and that none of the company’s other aircraft are suitable for landing at the new airport on Akun Island.

That news was not well-received. In a multi-page letter to the DOT, Akutan mayor Joseph Bereskin criticized the airline for leaving Akutan in the lurch just before the opening of the $77 million dollar airport. Bereskin wrote that PenAir didn’t tell the city it was planning to leave and that - quote - “PenAir’s strategy was one of delay and disingenuous dialogue while preparing to file the Notice of Termination of Service.”

In response, the DOT assured Bereskin that PenAir can’t stop flying to Akutan until a replacement airline is found. On Friday, the agency opened bidding on the route - airlines have until October 3 to submit proposals.

And at least one company is interested. Grant Aviation, which took over PenAir’s Atka and Nikolski service this week says it will definitely be bidding on the Akutan route. Chief Operations Officer Austin Engebretson:

“We’ve even done a couple charters in and out of there over the last week and we intend to do more coming into the future.”

Engebretson thinks Grant has a pretty good chance of getting the contract, especially since the airline already has an plane based in Unalaska. According to Mayor Bereskin, the community, for its part is simply looking forward to a fresh approach.