"Possible EAS budget cuts threaten regional airports"

Monday, March 19, 2007

Possible budget cutbacks threaten regional airports
By Trevor Stokes 
The Florence (AL) Times Daily


Like a rite of spring, possible budgetary cuts for Essential Air Service
again threaten federal subsidies that maintain commercial air service for
the nation's small regional airports. including the Northwest Alabama
Regional Airport in Muscle Shoals.

"This is almost an annual effort when the budget comes out," said John
Lehrter, director of the airport.

After the 2007 budget year, the funding comes up for reauthorization. For
next year's budget, President Bush proposed to cut the program's funding in
half to $50 million. The Essential Air Service received $107 million in 2006
to provide subsidies to 115 small regional airports across the nation.

"If they cut the funding, it'll pretty much end the air service," he said.
Lehrter emphasized that cuts to EAS funding would not shut down the airport,
but would cut funding for Northwest's commercial Airlink service. The
airport would have to lay off around 12 to 14 people and would only operate
services for business aircraft in the Shoals.

The Northwest Alabama Regional Airport received $1,364,697 through the EAS
program in 2005, according a 2006 report from the Office of Aviation
Analysis.

The money pays for operations of a Saab 340 airliner that seats 34
passengers provided by Northwest Airline's Airlink service.

The airport's funding increased over 6 percent from the previous year's
funding.

Essential Air Service in Alabama has undergone cuts before. The Tuscaloosa
Regional Airport, about 35 miles from Birmingham, removed its EAS service
from American Eagle in 1996-97, said Wayne Cameron, the airport's manager.

Currently, the Northwest Alabama Regional Airport is the only one in Alabama
that receives the EAS federal subsidies, according to the Office of Aviation
Analysis.

The U.S. Senate is trying to save the Essential Air Service.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., introduced a bill, the Essential Air Service
Preservation Act of 2007, on Jan. 30. The bill has 14 co-sponsors and was
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

So far, the House has not put forth a companion bill.

"The Essential Air Service program has provided smaller regions like the
Shoals an opportunity to have reliable and efficient air service," U.S. Rep.
Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, said in a prepared statement.

During the Northwest Alabama Council of Local Government's annual trip to
Washington D.C. last week, the issue of Essential Air Service came up during
meetings with Cramer and Northwest Airlines. The meetings included Florence
Mayor Bobby Irons, Muscle Shoals Mayor David Bradford, Shoals Economic
Development Authority board member Liz Anderson, Shoals Chamber of Commerce
Secretary Steve Holt and Humphrey Lee, chairman-elect for the Shoals Chamber
of Commerce.

Shoals representatives also met with Sally Veith, managing director of
governmental affairs for Northwest Airlines.

One issue on the table was the Tupelo Regional Airport, which does not
receive Essential Air Service funding. Both morning and evening flights from
the Shoals stop at Tupelo on their way to Memphis. Only the midday flight is
direct.

"We sometimes think that Tupelo gets a little bit of an advantage because
they board more people than we do," Holt said.

"We think that nonstop service would boost our early morning boardings, not
so much for the time frame, but because Tupelo boards more people than we
do," Holt said, "Sometimes they get the cheaper-priced seats and we lose out
on it."

Irons agreed that the Shoals needed to work with both Northwest Airlines and
the federal government to maintain air service. "Give us the fares and give
us the flights and we'll give you boardings," Irons said.

Several officials in the Shoals said they hope the airport stays competitive
with its prices.

"The airline is getting subsidizing from the federal government, so they
shouldn't be asking us to pay a lot more for seating versus competitive
areas such as Birmingham or Huntsville," Bradford said. "We share a flight
with Tupelo and we believe that they're getting most of the discounted
seating."

Dean Breest, spokesman for Northwest Airlines, said he could not comment
about any financial negotiations because federal "signaling" laws prohibit
airlines from publicly disclosing future pricing.

The annual number of passengers from 2005 to 2006 increased overall 11
percent from 5,594 passengers in 2005 to 6,211 passengers in 2006.

Since the airport added a third flight June 8, the total monthly flights
have decreased nearly 3 percent from a comparable period a year ago,
according to data from the Northwest Alabama Regional Airport.

>From July 2006 to February, 3,714 passengers flew from the airport. During
the same period la year ago, 3,815 passengers flew from the airport.

"Sometimes I feel like a lone voice in the wilderness here; our people need
to fly from the Shoals," Holt said. "At least look at flying out of the
Shoals before you go off to Huntsville or Birmingham or Nashville."

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