"Santa Maria Airport awaits valley's future"

Sunday, September 7, 2003

Airport awaits valley's future 
The Santa Maria (CA) Times


There seems to be some confusion about what the Santa Maria Airport wants to
be when it grows up. We say let the future decide. 

Members of the airport district's Board of Directors want to keep the door
open to the possibility of creating a charter airline service, which the
district would operate, and hiring out the business to an established
carrier. 
 
The problem is that Santa Maria Airport has not achieved the level of
service its operators feel is deserved. Connections to important airport
hubs elsewhere in the region have been conspicuously absent. The airport
seems to be wallowing in the public perception that you can't get there from
here. 

Some district officials think a charter operation would solve the problem.
If the airport could take reservations and make arrangements with an
airline, more travelers could be convinced to use Santa Maria Airport
instead of driving north or south - in some cases, way north or south. 

But there are a few snags in the charter airline proposal. First and
foremost is that it is probably illegal. Both the airport district's
attorney and legal experts at the California Special District Association
question the legality of a public airline being operated by an independent
airport district. There also is the question of whether revenues generated
by the general-aviation sector can be used to support a public airline. 

In reality, district officials probably shouldn't waste a lot of energy
thinking about a charter airline, but instead should concentrate on better
promotion of what is potentially one of the finest aviation facilities
between Los Angeles and the Bay area. 

Santa Maria has the second-largest facility in California from an acreage
standpoint. Only LAX is bigger. The runway here is longer than those in San
Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. Pilots like the approach and takeoff paths. 

And, best of all, Santa Maria is fast becoming a preferred area for
homebuyers and business owners. Within a few years, Santa Maria will be the
population center of Santa Barbara County. The city of Santa Barbara may
have the international cache, but Santa Maria will be the commercial heart
of the region. More and more people will want to live and work here. 

The business value of those attributes will not be lost on decision makers
at the major airlines, who will wake up to the realities that Santa Maria is
going to be a great place to do business - and they will bring their
businesses here. 

Airport district officials should be patient. They have built a first-class
facility. The airlines will come.


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