Airport faces challenges
Commercial service in state of flux as passenger totals fallBy Sam Shawver, sshawver@mariettatimes.com
Article Photos
Fact Box
Air service boarding trend
In 1991 approximately 49,000 passengers passed through the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport, but since that time, airline industry changes, the loss of some of the Valley's major manufacturing companies and higher fares have resulted in a gradual decrease in the number of passengers boarding planes (enplanements).
By maintaining annual enplanements of at least 10,000 passengers, the local airport becomes eligible for a federal subsidy of $1 million for infrastructure improvements. Less than 10,000 enplanements results in only $150,000 from the federal subsidy.
Marietta resident Nancy Jenkins would love to fly out of the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport.
"But for the past couple of years, it's just been too expensive," she said. "In June, I needed to fly to Jacksonville, Fla., to pick up my grandson. We bring him back here every year. So I needed a round-trip ticket for me and a one-way for him."
When Jenkins began checking prices, she found it would cost $600 for her round-trip ticket out of the Wood County airport, but then discovered she could get her ticket as well as a one-way ticket for her grandson for around $500 by flying out of Columbus, a 140-mile drive, one way, from the Valley.
"It was cheaper, even with the price of gasoline, to drive to Columbus," Jenkins said. "I would love to be able to fly out of Wood County, and I'm sure I'm not the only one, but we're retired and on a fixed income. I think Wood County is more of an airport for business travelers now."
She's right, according to Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport manager Terry Moore, who says local airport officials have little influence on ticket prices.
"Our commercial flights serve mostly business passengers who are multiple fliers," he said. "We have some people flying to Europe twice a month on business. And this airport is a gateway to our region as many corporate executives come to this area through our facilities."
Commercial passenger service is only a portion of the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport's overall business, representing between 15 percent and 17 percent of the facility's annual budget of slightly less than $1 million. But it's important because the service makes the airport eligible for valuable federal funding to improve infrastructure like runways and public facilities.
The airport is also an economic development tool that can attract new businesses and assist existing ones.
The number of people boarding planes at the airport has plummeted over the last three years, amid a carousel of carriers and destinations. Uncertainty continues today as the U.S. Department of Transportation weighs bids for federally subsidized Essential Air Service from the current provider and another company.
The airport came under the subsidy in 2005 when then-carrier Air Midwest sought government assistance to offset losses at the local airport and two other West Virginia facilities. The service was put out for bid by the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the subsidy was awarded to Tennessee-based RegionsAir.
Air Midwest cut the number of flights it offered from five to three while RegionsAir prepared to take over. The company served the airport for less than a year, its tenure plagued by mechanical issues and other problems that led to delays, cancellations and ultimately the grounding of the company's planes in March 2007.
It was two months before current carrier Colgan Air Inc. of Virginia took over.
"That was a terrible year," Moore said, noting that the airport is still recovering from the loss of passengers due to Regions' unreliable service.
All the uncertainty led to a steep decline in enplanements (the number of people boarding planes at the airport) from 16,195 in 2005 to 4,151 in 2007.
Today, the numbers appear to be climbing. There's already been about 3,600 enplanements this year.
But Colgan in March announced it was seeking bigger subsidies at its Essential Air Service locations to offset rising fuel costs. That put services at the airport up for bid again.
On Wednesday, the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport Authority recommended the U.S. Department of Transportation approve Colgan's bid for a new two-year contract over a proposal from Gulfstream Airlines to fly to Cleveland.
"We discussed it for two hours, but it came down to reliability and knowing about the carrier's service," said Washington County Commissioner Larry Steinel, vice president of the authority. "And we're banking that Colgan's service will build here and that they will eventually add more flights at the local airport."
Colgan now provides two flights a day from the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport to Dulles International in Washington, D.C. That arrangement would continue if the U.S. Department of Transportation approves the new bid.
The flights serve an average of 500 passengers a month, according to Moore.
"But we really need around 1,000 a month," he said, noting that Colgan's target is to fly 11,000 passengers annually from the local airport.
With two flights a day, the carrier has a total capacity for 14,000 passengers a year.
"I'd love to have that many passengers going through here," Moore said.
Airport authority President Blair Couch, a Wood County commissioner, said the authority hopes the monthly passenger rate will increase as Colgan provides on-time service with no or few delays and a "fair fare" structure to which the community will respond by filling up flights.
He noted that Shenandoah Valley Airport in Virginia was also down to two flights by Colgan, but with the company's reliable and timely service the local community responded positively and the air carrier began adding more flights to that airport.
Passenger numbers translate to dollar figures for airports - and not just because of the money passengers spend.
"We receive federal airport improvement project funds based on the number of annual enplanements," Moore said. "An airport that has 10,000 enplanements a year (gets) $1 million in federal funding. With less than 10,000 enplanements, the airport receives $150,000. So I lose $850,000 each year that I don't meet that goal.
"Based on the price of asphalt, I couldn't afford to pave a football field without those improvement funds," Moore said. "And $150,000 basically allows us to seal the cracks in the runways."
Moore said because there's a year or two lag in the federal subsidy, he's still working with funds from years when the airport met the 10,000-enplanement goal. But the monies will definitely drop off due to the lack of enplanements over the last couple of years.
"We're trying to use the funds from previous years to do necessary repairs and prop up our infrastructure over the next three years," Moore said.
Couch noted that the Mercer County airport in Bluefield, W.Va., lost its commercial air service within the last six months due to its proximity to Charlotte, N.C., which was recently designated an air service hub. An airport is not eligible for the subsidy if it is within 210 miles of a major hub, he said.
"A number of jobs were lost and many hotel rooms are empty in that area now," Couch said. "And it's hard to attract a decent business into an area without commercial air service."
"As an economic development officer, it would cause a shiver to go down my spine if we lost the commercial air service," said Keith Burdette, president of the Wood County Economic Development Authority. "And it's not just about commercial service. Area companies worry about getting customers here and about getting their business out, too.
"That's why it's very important that we nurture our local airport to keep it on its feet," he said.
