Passengers at Hot Springs Memorial Field Airport will continue to enjoy round-trip commercial flights to Dallas and Memphis courtesy of Southern Airways Express, LLC, as the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) selected Southern to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) for a four-year term to expire on Feb. 28, 2027. 

Southern will operate the Cessna Caravan (C208), a nine-passenger aircraft, to provide 16 weekly nonstop round trips to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and two weekly nonstop round trips to Memphis International Airport (MEM), for a total of 18 weekly nonstop round trips. 

Southern was also selected as the EAS provider for El Dorado/Camden and Harrison. 

 “All of us at Southern Airways are excited to soon begin our sixth year of service to Hot Springs, El Dorado and Harrison. We appreciate the cities’ and the Department’s (DOT) continued trust,” wrote Southern Chairman and CEO Stan Little in response to the EAS order. 

The order provides a schedule change for Hot Springs, with two additional flights to DFW and two fewer to MEM. Little said that Southern will begin working on the schedule change in time for March implementation. 

The previous EAS order for Hot Springs from the DOT provided Southern with a two-year term, from March 1, 2021, through Feb. 28, 2023. Under that order, Southern provided 14 weekly nonstop round trips to DFW and four weekly nonstop round trips to MEM, for a total of 18 weekly nonstop round trips.

Southern and Boutique Air were the only respondents to an EAS provider request for proposals from the DOT on Sept. 27, 2022. The DOT concluded that Southern’s proposal met the required air carrier selection criteria. 

“Southern has served all three communities reliably for several years, has community support and its service will continue to provide passengers connectivity to the national air transportation system, as well as international access via the DFW hub,” the DOT said in its order, issued on Jan. 17, 2023. “Southern also included $25,000 to market its service at each of the three communities.”

Southern is now the largest commuter airline in the United States, providing service to more than 50 cities from coast to coast, as well as in Hawaii and the Marianas Islands. Southern has partner/interline agreements with Alaska, Hawaiian, United and American Airlines, which all offer seamless connections from Hot Springs. Southern also has a full-service, 24/7 Customer Care Center to assist Hot Springs customers.

For more information or to book a flight, visit www.cityhs.net/airport or www.iflysouthern.com. 

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