"Connecticut airport pulling out of nose dive"

Tuesday, February 8, 2005

Airport pulling out of nose dive
The Hartford (CT) Courant


A couple of years ago, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. recalls, more than
one local taxpayer urged the city to close Tweed-New Haven Airport.

With the regional airport costing the city about $1 million a year and
passenger use down by 87.5 percent from its 1992 peak, why throw good money
after bad, they argued.

But the mayor says he is glad that officials took a chance on keeping
Tweed-New Haven alive because now it's on the rebound.

Spurred by Delta's regional jet service, which opened last May, passenger
traffic more than doubled last year, reversing an 11-year downward trend,
figures released Monday show.

Almost 41,000 people boarded flights at Tweed in 2004, a 146 percent
increase from the 16,500 passengers in 2003.

That is a long way from the 133,000 travelers who flew from Tweed in 1992,
when United Airlines flew Boeing 737s twice a day to O'Hare International
Airport in Chicago. But local leaders say they expect more growth this year.

On Sunday, US Airways, which flies turboprop planes between Tweed and
Philadelphia, added a fifth daily flight.

Next month, DeStefano said, the city plans to seek state environmental
permits for the first step toward a long-sought runway extension despite
opposition from East Haven officials and residents.

The addition of 1,000-foot compacted grass safety areas off the ends of the
airport's main runway would allow for takeoffs by larger planes -- or planes
carrying a heavier load of fuel and able to make longer flights to cities
such as Atlanta, Chicago, and possibly Cleveland.

Without the safety areas, planes are forced by FAA regulations to lift off
well before the end of the paved runways.

"To me, this is an economic development project, pure and simple," DeStefano
said Monday, speaking of the proposed extension after an airport press
conference announcing the Tweed initiatives. "It's new economy businesses
that are growing [in the New Haven area] that, frankly, depend on jet
service."

New Haven officials have sought to lengthen the 5,600-foot main runway at
Tweed since 1997, when that was a key recommendation posed by the newly
formed South Central Connecticut Regional Economic Development Corporation,
a 15-town partnership.

That has drawn objections from airport neighbors, particularly in East
Haven, where some houses just off the runway may have to be demolished. East
Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo said Monday he remains firmly opposed to any
runway extension that would necessitate work beyond the airport's current
boundaries.

"That would include the extension of the runways across Dodge Avenue," as
called for in the airport's recently completed master plan, Maturo said.

Other community leaders see it differently.

Now that airport patronage is on the upswing, the political will to move the
project forward should coalesce, said Tony Rescigno, president of the
Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce. He noted that commercial air service
is important to area business, including about 25 bioscience corporations
that play a big role in the region's economic health.

"We've got some big-name companies -- names like U.S. Surgical, Anthem [Blue
Cross-Blue Shield] and Bayer -- that want to get people in and out every
day," he said.

Yale University has played a central role in promoting development at
Tweed-New Haven. Two years ago, vice president Bruce Alexander helped lead
the effort to raise $1.9 million among local corporations to guarantee
patronage to Delta's Comair service, which last May began flying 40- and
50-seat regional jets to Cincinnati.

"In the biotech industry, these companies have scientific advisory panels of
top-flight scientists that come in here from all across the country,"
Alexander said, "so having a convenient airport is an added ingredient of
supporting biotech in the region."

For about four months, DeStefano added, city officials and the airport
authority have been in discussions with Northwest Airlines about opening
service between Tweed and Detroit.

That would open up connections to more West Coast destinations and greatly
expand service, the mayor said. Currently, Delta provides connections
through Cincinnati to about 126 destinations.

Northwest spokesman Thomas Becher confirmed Monday that his airline has been
"working with the airport," but refused say what factors would be considered
in opening service at Tweed.

Improvements at Tweed pose no threat to state-owned Bradley International
Airport in Windsor Locks, which flew 6.7 million passengers in 2004, airport
spokesman John Wallace said.

"We don't really see them as a competitor," he said. "They get state money
just like we do. Best wishes to them in their efforts is the best way to put
it."

Studies have shown Tweed serves about 1.5 million potential customers within
a 30-mile radius. Rescigno said there is no ambition to see it rival Bradley
in any way.

"Bradley has 300 flights a day," he said. "We have seven, and if we ever got
up to 25 flights a day I think we'd be happy."


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