"Montana airport seeks input on new airlines, routes"

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Airport seeks input on new airlines, routes
By JOHN HARRINGTON
The Helena (MT) Independent Record


The Helena Regional Airport formally kicked off its Fly Helena promotional
campaign at a luncheon for local civic and business leaders Tuesday, asking
for input about how often people fly from Helena and other cities, and what
new routes would be most welcome here.

Airport manager Ron Mercer noted that the airport has enjoyed some $30
million in upgrades in the last decade, from rebuilding the runways to
adding new taxiways, expanded parking and the recent $12 million expansion
and remodel of the terminal building.

"We're capable of handling a lot more flights and a lot more passengers than
we currently do," he said.

The airport will work in coming months with an Oregon consulting firm to
determine how the airport might best go about adding more flights or
carriers.

Mercer asked for a ranking of seven possible changes to the current service.
While none of the changes might necessarily come to fruition, attendees were
asked for their priority rankings on:

 Twice-weekly Allegiant Air service to Las Vegas. Mercer said the carrier
currently serves Billings and Missoula and is looking for another Montana
city. 

 Additional Northwest service to Minneapolis, with a second flight and/or a
larger plane for the current daily trip. Sometimes, the 50-seat regional jet
has to stop for refueling along the way, whereas a 70-seater would make it
comfortably.

 Restoration of the daily 6 a.m. SkyWest/Delta flight to the Salt Lake City
hub. Lots of travelers complained when this flight was removed earlier this
year, Mercer said, as getting to the East Coast in time for afternoon
meetings is impossible if you can't leave Helena until 8.

 Frontier Airlines service to Denver. The budget carrier is looking to add
cities. Mercer said that if only one Montana airport is added, Helena would
make sense as a centrally located city, but that if Frontier added several
Treasure State destinations, we'd likely lose out to the larger markets.

 United Express service to Denver. Mercer said United Express does well in
Bozeman, Missoula and Great Falls, and that Helena has been "on their short
list for a long time."

 Expanded service from Horizon Air, which currently flies to Seattle twice a
day.

 Expanded service from Big Sky Airlines, which currently flies to Billings
and to Missoula and on to Portland.

Mark Sixel, president of Sixel Consulting Group, said none of these options
will be easy, but that "the obvious thing Helena is missing is the service
into the Denver market, so I think that's the first thing we'll try to
address."

Sixel said that while Frontier offers low-cost service, United offers a much
larger network of connecting flights from Denver, both domestic and
international. He said it takes time for airlines to develop new routes, and
it would likely be 2008 at the earliest before United Express could be in
place here.

To weigh in on the list of potential priorities for the airport, e-mail
airport business development director Jeff Wadekamper at
jwadekamper@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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