"Wilkes-Barre, Pa., airport officials call for $2 million to lure airline"

Friday, August 20, 2004

Wilkes-Barre, Pa., airport officials call for $2 million to lure airline
The Wilkes-Barre (PA) Times Leader


Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport officials expressed no regrets
Thursday about the subsidies provided to departing Vacation Express airlines
and said as much as $2 million in private and public funds will be needed to
attract more carriers.

Vacation Express, citing the decision by Lackawanna and Luzerne counties to
discontinue funding beyond the six-month contract ending Sept. 9, announced
it will suspend service on Sept. 7 locally and in Youngstown, Ohio. The
Atlanta-based airline continues to operate in other markets.

The counties' commissioners, who oversee the operations of the airport,
committed an estimated $800,000 in public funds to the airline through the
end of the contract. They declined to renew the subsidies because too few
passengers were using the start-up service to Orlando, Fla. and Myrtle
Beach, S.C.

"I just want to applaud the commissioners at this point for taking that bold
step for trying to jump start our air service efforts," airport director
Barry Centini said at Thursday's monthly airport board meeting. "I don't
think it was a waste. I think we've all learned something."

Centini said he hopes to bring back the service and the airport will
continue to pursue other low-cost carriers. But he advised the commissioners
it will take a concerted effort between chambers of commerce, the private
sector, the community and the airport to succeed.

"Naples, Fla., raised a million bucks through all their chambers to get
Delta to service them," Centini said.

Major airlines getting financial help to start service "is the way of the
future," said Lackawanna County Commissioner Robert Cordaro, chairman of the
airport board of commissioners.

Cordaro said the regional chambers of commerce need to raise $2 million.

"The private sector's got to step up to the plate and assist government here
and frankly take a larger role in the operation of the airport and a larger
interest in the operation of the airport," Cordaro said.

The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce has worked with airport management
to lure carriers and is willing to do so again, said chamber President
Austin Burke.

Rather than contribute monetarily, the chamber would work with the business
community to secure a commitment to use the airline. Burke said Procter &
Gamble, which has a plant in Mehoopany, agreed to fly Comair flights from
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to Cincinnati, where the company's headquarters are
located.

Burke said he agrees with the commissioners about the connection between the
airport and region's economic health. "The commissioners are right. Good air
service is vital for good economic development."

The subsidies provided by the counties, though significant, were worth it,
Cordaro said. The airport had been slowly declining and "on some kind of
death spiral" prior to the service starting in March and that has been
reversed. As a sign of the reversal, Centini noted that in October, United
Express will add three round-trip flights to Washington Dulles airport.
United Express currently flies to Chicago's O'Hare airport.

"From our perspective it was a good investment," Cordaro said. "We learned a
lot. We made a lot of progress and we now know more about what we have to do
going forward."

The method of funding is under review by the Federal Aviation
Administration. The counties received money from the airport. They forwarded
the money toward the operations of Vacation Express. FAA rules prohibit an
airport from directly funding an airline's operation.

Airport officials said revenues increased, partly because of the service
that reported 9,348 people boarding Vacation Express jets as of the end of
July. The federal government pays the airport $15 for each passenger. The
airport also imposes a $4.50 surcharge on each passenger and the funds are
put toward capital improvements.

Passenger numbers for the first seven months of the year were up 13.8
percent compared to the same period last year. There were 14.3 percent more
passengers in July than in July 2003. The airport reported a net profit for
the month of $899 compared to a loss of $34,634 for July 2003. Still the
airport is operating in the red for the first seven months of the year with
a net loss of $162,418.

In other business, the board decided to hold off awarding a contract to
Luxury Limousine of Pittston. Board members will have a week to review all
three bids submitted. They were presented with the details only of Luxury
Limousine, which was recommended by Centini.

Luzerne County Commissioner Steve Urban asked for the opportunity to review
the other bids in order to make his decision. Cordaro granted the extra time
but warned the award should be made soon because the airport is losing money
not having the service for the past several months.


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************