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Tuesday, May 13, 2008 Struggling Front Range
Airport targets passenger service By Chris
Walsh The Denver (CO) Rocky Mountain News Linda
McConnell / Special To Rocky A
small plane taxis at Front Range Airport on Monday. Faced with diminishing
growth prospects, the airport may try offering airline service. Range Airport,
it seemed, had everything lined up perfectly a few years ago. The small
general aviation airport east of Denver was preparing to welcome a new aircraft
manufacturing plant that promised to eventually employ hundreds of workers. At the same
time, it was talking to Frontier Airlines about the potential for a maintenance
facility on airport land, while efforts to create a massive transportation hub
in the area had moved into the fast lane. More jobs, revenue
and growth were on the horizon. But none of
those projects panned out - at least not yet. So the
24-year-old airport, faced with diminishing growth prospects, is headed in a
new direction. Front Range
has focused on cargo, private and business jet operations in the past, but it
is now gearing up to pursue commercial airline service as well. The best
possibility: turboprop flights or regional jets that would shuttle passengers
to mountain towns in Colorado or smaller cities in nearby states, maybe as soon
as 2010. It's a bold
move that could open the door to more flights in the Denver area and help lower
ticket prices on some routes. But it also pits Front Range against Denver
International Airport, located just a few miles away, for both flights and federal
funding. Front Range,
though, sees it as a vital part of its future. The Adams
County-owned airport pumped millions of dollars in federal, local and private
money into improvements to accommodate a large operation, be it a maintenance
hangar or a manufacturing plant. Nothing of
that scale has materialized, creating financial strain on an airport already
suffering from the effects of a rapid rise in the price of fuel. New scheduled
passenger service could fill that void or, at the very least, help attract
other types of operations. "We're
about out of ideas on how to grow at this point," said Dennis Heap, Front
Range's director. "We have a responsibility to make this $104 million
infrastructure successful and to grow it in the long term, so we are exploring
bringing in commercial service as one option." Front Range
has purposely avoided commercial airline flights for years. In fact, it had
agreed not to pursue such operations in a 1992 deal, although Front Range
officials say the agreement is no longer valid. The airport
even turned down overtures two years ago by low-cost carrier SkyBus Airlines.
The company, which recently went out of business, was exploring the possibility
of starting service to Front Range as a way to tap the Denver market, Heap
said. Still, the
conversations with SkyBus got airport officials thinking about diversifying
operations, and they eventually decided to look into the the potential for
commercial airline flights. The effort,
though, took on a sense of urgency when several promising projects seemingly
evaporated overnight or entered a holding pattern: *
Centennial-based Aviation Technology Group had planned to manufacture its new
Javelin jet at Front Range and eventually employ up to 500 workers there. The
company ran into financial problems and ceased operations late last year. * Frontier
chose Colorado Springs as the site of its new maintenance hangar, dashing Front
Range's hopes of landing the operation, although the carrier is now revisiting
the decision as it restructures in bankruptcy. * The
long-planned TransPort development, which will combine rail, air and road cargo
transportation near Front Range, hasn't yet gotten off the ground as developers
work through numerous issues. That's left
the airport in a precarious position. Front Range
embarked on numerous upgrades, including road improvements and the construction
of an air traffic control tower and a wastewater treatment plant to handle
growth. "For 14
years we've been building this infrastructure, and it's an infrastructure built
to accommodate a large-scope project and to accommodate large aircraft,"
Heap said. "Our responsibility is to make sure that the dollars invested
into the airport are spent right." On top of
that, the airport has seen a drop-off in some areas of its business as the
price of fuel rockets. Business jet
operations are up considerably, but its other traffic has weakened
significantly, falling 15 percent through the first four months of the year.
Total fuel sales have dipped as well, falling 29 percent in April alone. That, coupled
with the fact that none of the expected projects materialized, has forced Front
Range to revise its 2008 budget downward. As part of the cutbacks, Front Range
will implement pay cuts and slash its budget for small capital projects. Front Range
also will come up short on payments related to the new wastewater plant. The
airport expected to use revenues gleaned from the ATG manufacturing plant to
pay back the cost of that plant. Adams County will chip in until Front Range
can get its revenues up. Bill Becker,
president of Adams County Economic Development, said commercial service could
be the jump-start Front Range needs. "There's
a lot of public dollars that aren't being utilized out there, and I think this
could be a boon for them," Becker said. The airport
could offer airlines lower rates than DIA, which would be one of its biggest
selling points. But preparing
for passenger service will be costly, as Front Range needs to make numerous
improvements to win Federal Aviation Administration approval to do so. That
includes building a security screen area in the terminal, strengthening runways
and adding parking. Heap estimates
it will cost the airport $12 million to make the necessary upgrades, which
Front Range could potentially finance through airport revenue bonds or other
measures. Front Range
also would find itself in direct competition with DIA. The large
airport has taken a tough stance on this issue in the past, although it's now
sounding a more cooperative tone. "Obviously,
we believe DIA is the place for growth," DIA spokesman Jeff Green.
"Having said that we would look forward to working with Adams County and
Front Range to discuss how we can work together for the benefit of both
airports." Even so, DIA
shouldn't sweat it out, some observers say. Front Range
could have a tough time luring new service, especially in an environment where
most carriers are cutting flights and growth plans. The airport's close
proximity to DIA also could hamper its efforts. "This
will be an uphill climb for Front Range, given the current and near-term
aviation industry environment," John Kasarda, a professor at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who has studied airport growth,
said via e-mail. "Low-cost carriers tend to go where there is already some
commercial service. Even if a low-cost carrier operates from Front Range it
will have no or very little impact on DIA." |
