DECATUR - O'Hare or else.

That is the slogan Decatur Airport Director Joe Attwood uses to describe his attitude toward the city's future air service.

Or else what?

"Or else we will continue to suffer and be marginalized," Attwood said.

With the two-year contract between Great Lakes Airlines and the U.S. Department of Transportation about to expire in November, Attwood sees this as an opportunity to find a carrier that has access to the Chicago international airport.

"We have looked to Great Lakes to get us into O'Hare, but they have not been able to do this," Attwood said. "We feel we will be able to provide better service if we can get service to Chicago. We think it is very important to us. This rebid opportunity might find the opportunity for us. If they do, we will be very pleased."

With Great Lakes Airlines operating below the passenger numbers necessary to continue to generate federal subsidies, two legislators recently requested that the department of transportation find a new carrier to serve Decatur.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, and U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, wrote a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, asking that he issue requests for proposals for essential air service for Decatur, Quincy and Marion.

In a news release, Durbin said Great Lakes has not kept its end of the bargain since beginning service in November 2007 because it failed to obtain a critical codeshare agreement with American Airlines.

"They said they were confident they could get a codeshare with American," Attwood said. "On that basis, that service was awarded to them."

Attwood explained that a codeshare offers passengers seamless travel from origin to destination. Otherwise passengers may have to retrieve their own baggage or purchase additional tickets.

Great Lakes and the Transportation Department signed a contract in 2007 in which Great Lakes would receive $3.5 million per year in federal subsidies to provide air service to the three cities, according to Durbin's office.

Attwood said the Decatur to St. Louis service, with three flights per day, has averaged about one passenger per flight. In the month of June, 55 passengers took advantage of the service. During the past year, about 1,200 passengers have flown on the route.

But Attwood is somewhat optimistic that Decatur can become a viable option for fliers, but only if a carrier can be located with access to O'Hare.

hfreeman@herald-review.com|421-6985