"Delta pulling out of Naples airport"

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Delta to discontinue service at Naples airport
Delta decision to ground Naples flights doesn't fly with community leaders
who put up cash to bring in the service
By John Henderson 
The Naples (FL) Daily News


A commercial air service that had been sought after for years is pulling out
of Naples Municipal Airport, leaving airport officials and community leaders
frustrated and disappointed.

The community had put forth a $700,000 revenue guarantee to persuade Delta
Air Lines to offer regional service from Naples to Atlanta's
Hartsfield-Jackson International airport.

But pledges were returned after enough seats were sold through two years of
service.

"I'm just hoping we can replace the service there," said Tammy Nemecek,
executive director of the Economic Development Council of Collier County.

Nemecek said the departure of the commercial service could hinder the EDC's
efforts to bring in new businesses to Collier County.

"It is disappointing ... I know there was a lot of hard work into bringing
them here," she said.

Delta began offering the daily flights in November 2004.

That culminated years of lobbying by airport officials to lure the
commercial service Naples, which helped fill a void following the departure
of American Eagle's service to Miami.

Delta announced Friday that it plans to discontinue the scheduled Atlantic
Southeast Airlines flights between Naples and Atlanta starting effective
Oct. 1, citing the elimination of the 40-seat aircraft type that can serve
Naples' runway.

"Delta has received tremendous support from the Naples Airport Authority and
other community leaders over the last three years," said Joe Esposito,
Delta's director-network planning, in a news release. "However, the ongoing
upgrade of 40-seat aircraft throughout our system to 50-seat models that
accommodate higher demand nationwide has forced us to make the difficult
decision to terminate service to Naples."

He added that Delta apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause Naples
customers, "but we must make the necessary business decisions that ensure
our aircraft are flying routes with the greatest profit potential."

The release stated that Delta will offer customers booked on Naples flights
after Oct. 1 alternative transportation choices or refunds.

Naples Airport Authority Chairman Ernest Linneman said Friday that he was
puzzled by Delta's decision to pull out, noting that the company indicated
that the Naples service was not profitable. Linneman said the flights seemed
to be full, especially in season.

"It (Delta's pullout) is very difficult to understand on a logical basis,"
Linneman said.

He noted that Delta was charging a premium rate for seats on flights out of
Naples, much higher than out of Southwest Florida International Airport, and
those flights continue on.

He said Delta was recently cutting back on its flights here, which didn't
help the service.

"People can't reliably count on getting a seat, so after a while they don't
consider the service in their travel plans," he said.

Linneman said airport officials will actively try to bring in another
regional carrier.

"We have to deal with it. We're going to work the problem," he said.

Air Tran Airways has put in an offer to acquire Midwest Airlines. Linneman
said if this happens, Midwest might be interest in offering flights out of
Naples, perhaps to Atlanta. He said Midwest has aircraft that could handle
the Naples airport's runway.

The Naples Chamber of Commerce helped persuade many of its members to put
forth a revenue pledge to bring the Delta service here.

Chamber President Mike Reagan said he is "extremely disappointed and
frustrated" with Delta's decision to pull out of Naples.

"Frankly, it hurt a little bit of the cache that Naples has," he said. "The
whole linkage we had with Delta through Atlanta was really neat."

AnneElena Foster, a spokeswoman for the airport authority, said negotiations
are under way with another regional airline to offer service, but she said
she was not at liberty to identify the company or where it might fly to.

Naples' weather combined with a shorter-than-normal runway at 5,200 feet is
creating a challenge to attracting regional service.

In hot weather, it is more difficult for aircraft to gain altitude as
quickly as cooler weather.

Some airlines might hesitate to use 50-seat jets for safety reasons under
these conditions, airport officials said.

"We've got some of the shorter runways, and we've got operational
limitations because of the weather here, so that can be challenging," Foster
said.

Airport Authority Commissioner Jim Lennane, a pilot, said the airport
authority needs to have a frank discussion about whether it should lengthen
the runway to accommodate larger jets, which are quieter than some of the
smaller models.

Lennane said airport officials need to decide whether the Naples airport is
going to be a commercial airport or a municipal airport. He said the runway
would have to be lengthened if the authority is to have a legitimate chance
of luring in a national airline. He said a longer runway would allow quieter
flights over Naples neighborhoods, as jets would have more room for liftoff
and be flying over homes at a higher altitude.

"I think (with a shorter runway) it will be nearly impossible to bring in
another carrier," he said.

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