NORTH BEND �” The twice daily flight pattern to Portland is convenient for some, but don’t get used to it.

Come October, there will be only one daily northbound flight out of the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport. SkyWest Airlines is canceling the other. Southbound flights, meanwhile, will operate pretty much the same.

Those who fly to Portland for business will have to make hotel reservations, because arrival time for the remaining flight will be around 9:15 p.m. Passengers from Portland International Airport (PDX) will depart at 7:42 a.m. and land in North Bend at 8:44 a.m. They’ll go back home at 7:42 p.m.

Without a subsidy for Portland flights, SkyWest decided it no longer will offer two trips per day, explained Helen Brunell Mineau, Coos County Airport District commissioner.

“With that comes some different options,” she said.

Or fewer options.

If you wanted to fly to Portland tomorrow, you could board United Airlines at 12:31 p.m. or 7:55 p.m.

Come Oct. 6, your only option will be to depart around 8:15 p.m.

Officials saw this problem coming when they decided to stop subsidizing flights.

“That’s the consequence of not paying $400,000 in subsidies,” said district Chairman Mike Lehman.

The district has subsidized the Portland flights since recruiting SkyWest to take over the route a year ago, because passenger volume did not support the route profitably.

In August, the district announced SkyWest was going to continue operations without subsidies, but nowhere did it mention that by cutting subsidies, northbound flights will depart only once a day.

Airport officials expect the public will be disappointed by the news.

“Naturally, they’re not going to be pleased with it,” commissioner Joe Benetti said after an airport board meeting Thursday.

Paul Janke, CEO of Bay Area Hospital, said the flight change will be an impediment for medical professionals.

“Good air service is important for the medical community, so to ratchet it back will be difficult,” Janke said.

Fortunately, he doesn’t see the new schedule affecting shipments of blood products that come from the Red Cross in Portland. Those flights still will come in twice a day.

Timm Slater, executive director of the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, doesn’t think the new flight pattern will hamper travel opportunities for local business professionals that much. Even with flights leaving twice a day, the schedule is not very convenient.

“In a roundabout way, it won’t be that inconvenient for people, because most have found alternative means to get (to Portland),” Slater said.

With few connections in Portland and with the height of the travel season over, to continue subsidizing two flights a day wouldn’t be feasible, Benetti said.

“I wouldn’t support it at this time,” he said.

Airport officials hope the limited outbound flights will be temporary, until they are successful in establishing a code share, which would allow for more connecting flights through Portland.

To do that, they’ll need to drum up $2 million dollars.

Officials had high hopes that a $500,000 matching grant through the Oregon Department of Aviation was going to come their way. The grant is designed to help small airports improve service. But they learned recently the grant can’t be used for code shares.

Benetti said that if they’re successful in improving the airport’s ticketing system, there is a chance Alaska Airlines would be interested in being a connecting airline out of Portland.

Establishing more connecting flights in PDX is key to making northbound flights feasible again.

“It’ll take some time, but I think we can get there,” Benetti said.