Officials from the airline that provides commercial service to Williston discussed the company and answered questions of local officials and business leaders over breakfast Tuesday.

Mary Osborne, regional sales manager for Great Lakes Airlines, gave a presentation during a Sunnyside Breakfast held at Williston's El Rancho.

Osborne said Great Lakes Airlines has been working with Williston to provide flights out of Sloulin Field International Airport for about 15 years. Osborne also said Williston is one of its stronger markets and business in the city benefits from having air service.

"One of the first things businesses consider when they're thinking of coming to an area is whether or not they have air service coming to it," said Osborne.

Airlines like Great Lakes, as well as communities such as Williston, each benefit from legislation meant to improve access to airline service in rural communities, said Osborne. She said the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 gave airlines much more freedom to choose their markets domestically and select the prices they want to charge. Osborne said a program known as Essential Air Service (EAS) was included in the Act to guarantee rural communities would get their service.

"Essential Air Service currently delivers service to 144 rural communities in 48 states. It's a very important program. Without it, these places wouldn't receive any air service," said Osborne.

Osborne added the number of boardings in Williston is steadily improving over the past few years, with a high of about 12,000 in 2008. She said getting over the 10,000 boarding mark is important because of the funding an airport receives from the Department of Transportation for improvements.

"We're about at the 10,000 boardings mark and what that does is get $1 million from the DOT," said Osborne.

Osborne said the steady numbers for Williston make the airfield look good when it considers where to deploy planes they'll have available in the near future. She said in December, Great Lakes Airlines is going to drop three locations from its current roster of routes, including St. Louis and Decatur, Ill.

With these planes being available for use elsewhere, she said Williston could be a possibility for adding a flight, saying Williston is a very strong market among the 63 cities it serves.

"Williston is actually in the top 10 of the 63 locations we serve," said Osborne.

City Commissioner Brad Bekkedahl asked if it could be proven they are in need of a fourth flight due to increased oil activity, would the airline consider it.

Osborne said good economic news for a city like Williston would be quite favorable when Great Lakes makes a decision on where to use its available planes. She said they had had a fourth flight for a short time in Williston but dropped it earlier in the year.

She said having a fourth Williston flight would make sense due to oil activity and having an additional plane in case of delays at Sloulin Field.

"It would be great to have that flexibility again," said Osborne.

Williston Great Lakes station manager Daniel Bauder agreed a fourth flight would be a good idea and a real possibility.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they add the fourth flight early in the year," said Bauder.

Fourth flight or not, Osborne believes Great Lakes Airlines and Williston have a good relationship and should work well together for a long time.

"We're partnered up with them very well. I think we've got a really good thing going with them," she said.

Great Lakes Airlines has been operating since 1979 and currently serves 63 cities in 17 states. It is a code share partner with United Airlines and Frontier Airlines.

For more information, go online to www.flygreatlakes.com. For questions, call toll-free at 800-554-5111 or contact the Williston Station at 701-572-9704.