"San Luis Obispo Airport awaits upturn"

Thursday, September 11, 2003

Airport awaits upturn
Local passenger demand is high, but airlines have cut flights to meet
national levels
By Leslie E. Stevens
The San Luis Obispo (CA) Tribune


SAN LUIS OBISPO - Fewer people fly in and out of San Luis Obispo County
Regional Airport today than did two years ago when terrorists put fear in
the hearts of the nation's airline passengers.

But it appears to be industry turbulence -- rather than lack of demand --
that's to blame for the slow recovery.

Since Sept. 11 2001, airlines nationwide -- including those serving the
county's airport -- have cut flights, changed routes and switched aircraft
to bring costs in line with passenger levels that plunged immediately after
the attacks.

Those cuts have reduced the average number of daily scheduled commercial
passenger flights serving the county airport by 30 percent in the past two
years, from 52 flights per day to 36 this year, according to airport manager
Klaasje Nairne.

"Part of the problem is we are a commuter or starting point for the big
airlines -- we feed the big airlines," Nairne said. "They decide where they
are going to put airplanes."

While many of the state's regional airports are gaining passengers who want
to avoid the long waits and security hassles of major hubs like Los Angeles
and San Francisco, San Luis Obispo so far has been unable to capitalize on
the trend due to flight cutbacks, Nairne said.

The reduction in flights has continued even as local passenger rates and
demand have increased. In the last two years, the average number of
passengers filling a typical 30-seat turbo-prop jet has climbed from 19
people per flight to 27, Nairne said.

"We have a capacity problem here where we have more people than airplanes,"
Nairne said. "If they decrease the number of planes, it also decreases the
number of people you can fly out of here."

The airport's management is actively petitioning its major passenger
carriers -- American Eagle, America West Express and Skywest -- to replace
the four planes removed from local service in the last two years. So far, no
new flights have been promised, but some of the airlines are working to
steer more planes to San Luis Obispo, Nairne said.

The move would seem to be in the airlines' best interests, since the county
has one of the busiest regional airports in the state. In fact, no other
airport used by America West has higher average passenger loads than San
Luis Obispo, Nairne said.

Part of the problem is related to the switch to larger regional jets that
has swept the airline industry in the wake of 9/11 and the success of
regional carriers such as JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines that rely
on the more efficient planes. The county's recently completed runway
expansion accommodates those regional jets with up to 70 seats, but a
further extension of another 500 to 700 feet is needed to handle the largest
90-passenger planes, Nairne said.

Ninety percent of the $16 million project would be paid for with federal
funding and the remainder would be covered by a $4.50 per passenger ticket
surcharge, she added. On Tuesday, a funding measure that includes the local
airport improvements was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives. It
is now being considered by the Senate.

Extending the runway to ensure regional jets continue to serve the county is
crucial to the success of local businesses as well as residents'
convenience, according to Patricia Wilmore, governmental affairs director
for the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce.

"To have reliable air service from major hubs, we must be able to
accommodate these new jets," Wilmore said, referring to conclusions included
in a county airport study completed in February.

Without convenient air service, it would be virtually impossible for local
companies such as The Parable Group to operate its national marketing
network from San Luis Obispo, said Jill Talley, the company's communications
director. The company relies on the local airport to fly many of its 75
employees and members of its network of more than 250 Christian product
retailers in and out of San Luis Obispo on almost a weekly basis.

When asked what has changed since 9/11, she said, "The only thing that has
hurt us is that the SLO County airport canceled a few flights, so we don't
have the flexibility we had before."

According to Nairne, an extended runway could go a long way toward ensuring
the new generation of regional jets continue to land in San Luis Obispo
rather than switching to more accommodating airports.

Passenger traffic at the airport for the past six years

Here is a look at the fluctuations in passenger traffic at the San Luis
Obispo County Regional Airport over the past six years. So far this year,
passenger counts are down 3.9 percent from the same time a year ago.

Year Total number Percent change

of passengers from previous year

1997 311,691 11.57

1998 298,279 -4.29

1999 310,571 4.12

2000 311,041 0.15

2001 301,876 -2.95

2002 307,132 1.74

Source: San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport


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