In a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation this week, the officials asserted that although SkyWest wants more money for the contract, it flies bigger planes than bid competitor Mesa Air Group Inc. and can make connections with partner Delta Air Lines at Salt Lake City International Airport.

This, officials say, offers significant savings and ease to travelers.

The contract is for a federal subsidy the government gives to ensure that consumers have access to air travel by connecting rural airports to larger ones.

Mayor Gerald Sherratt says each of SkyWest's Brasilia turboprops can handle 38 passengers, while Mesa flies Beechcraft B-1900D turboprob aircraft that handle 19 passengers.

Mesa would offer flights to Phoenix and/or Las Vegas in its four different bid proposals. Its most expensive bid would require a subsidy of $1.09 million a year, while SkyWest wants a half-million more - $1.6 million - to continue offering three daily round-trip weekday flights between Salt Lake City and Cedar City, and two on weekends.

Steve Farmer, manager of Cedar City Regional Airport, said a potential problem with the Mesa bid is that it did not contain the minimum number of flights to be eligible for the contract.

After the bids were opened, Farmer said Mesa tacked on some Salt Lake City flights to make it more appealing.

"I've never heard of anyone amending their bid after it's been opened," Farmer said Tuesday.

Although the city in the past has been able to convince officials with the Department of Transportation to choose SkyWest over less-expensive bids, the disparity has never been as high as this year.

Still, Farmer said selling points that make SkyWest worth the extra dollars are the quality of planes - he says the Brasilia offers greater passenger comfort - in addition to carrying more customers.

Those numbers are crucial because the airport is eligible for a $1 million annual grant through the federal Airport Improvement Entitlement Program if it records 10,000 emplanements.

"Smaller planes mean fewer passengers, and [Mesa] could hurt us," said Farmer.

The city has been able to use the entitlement money to finance two-thirds the cost of a $6 million airline terminal that opened this year. Also in past years, the airport has barely been able to meet the minimum emplanement mark, but Sherratt says the city expects to easily meet the requirement by Dec. 31.

mhavnes@sltrib.com