"Klamath Falls airport losing passengers"

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

Klamath Falls airport losing passengers
The Associated Press    


KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) - Improvements are needed for the Klamath Falls
airport to prevent loss of passenger traffic to nearby cities, officials
say.

While other small airports such as Medford and Redmond are beefing up
services and adding flights, Klamath Falls has seen a reduction in service
from its sole provider, Horizon Air, which provides daily flights to
Portland.

Airport manager Ann Crook told the Klamath Falls City Council on Monday that
the airport was considered "at-risk."

Crook said there is a "very minor" possibility of Horizon pulling out of the
city completely. She said the city should be serious about retaining the
service it has, and start looking for providers for southbound service to
draw more people to the airport.

Horizon officials, however, said they have no plans to discontinue flights
to Portland.

"We're very secure and happy with the current service," said Horizon
spokeswoman Jen McSkimming.

Crook said a study by a citizen task force appointed by Mayor Todd Kellstrom
showed the top destinations were Portland and Seattle.

But Councilor Bud Hart said the destination list failed to take into account
people who are skipping the Klamath Falls airport in favor of Medford or
Reno, Nev., where they can get southbound flights directly to their
destinations. He said he often chooses to travel out of Medford.

"Most of my travel is to the south," he said. "Going north to go south is
terribly inconvenient."

After Portland and Seattle, the next five most popular destinations are all
southbound: Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, Denver and Las Vegas.

A study done for the airport by Eugene-based airline consultants Mead and
Hunt estimated that more than half of Klamath residents booking flights are
leaving from other airports, with Medford being the most-used airport. Other
Klamath residents are driving to Reno, Portland and San Francisco.

While boardings in Klamath Falls remain flat, air service from Medford
continues to improve. Delta Air Lines recently announced it will offer
twice-daily nonstop jet flights from its hub in Salt Lake City to both
Medford and Redmond, beginning March 1.

Medford's airport already has daily nonstop service to Denver, Seattle,
Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Ariz., and Las Vegas.


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