Another Analogy

Lets say Akron-Canton Airport is flying ten flights per day to a hub. It does not have to be JetBlue to JFK, maybe it is Delta to Atlanta or NorthWest to Detroit. The underlying carrier realizes that they have many passengers from the Youngstown catchment area and advertise heavily in the local Youngstown newspaper.

Now add the fact that the mgmt company running Akron-Canton has taken on the responsibility to run Youngstown's Airport by assuming a decling percentage of the operating losses for three years, while promising the ability to bring flights with their buying power. How difficult would it be for that mgmt company to ask JetBlue, Delta or NorthWest to divert a two of these ten flights to Youngstown.....

As a businessman, I know that it is all about the $$$$$.. If people, who read this blog, do not realize this then I am not doing a very good job. Please, these flights would not be a mission of mercy, but plain and simply--GOOD BUSINESS!! These two flights from Youngstown (or Worcester) would enable the trend-seting carrier the ability to forge a bond that a second or third airline would never be able to enjoy.

For arguements sake, lets assume JetBlue came to ORH and flew two flights per day to JFK, can you imagine the allegiance that this would create to JetBlue for the people in the ORH catchment area? Not only that, how many colleges are in Worcester?? We better not ask YNG, since he never heard of Worcester, but right now Holy Cross (for one) is in the final 8 of the NCAA college hockey championship.... JetBlue could create a lifetime bond with the students at Holy Cross, WPI, Assumption, Becker, Mass School of Pharmacy, Anna Marie, etc.

Now, what if I am completely wrong and Youngstown (or Worcester) does not support the flight?? Send the two flights back to Youngstown (or Worcester). Now, lets just say JetBlue diverted 2 of the JFK shuttles per day for 6 months and at the end we had abysmal load factors?? Well maybe that is what we need to find out once and for all..

I feel that we could support, other airlines would take notice and ORH would be on the road to recovery. If I was wrong ( I would not be happy), but I would agree that a downgrade to a GA airport is the only alternative..

My MassPort Story

Two years ago, we came up with the idea that we should approach JetBlue based on their substantial investment in the Embraer 190. Our idea was that we should talk to JetBlue about flying a shuttle from ORH-JFK, JetBlue's hub, where one could fly direct to their other destinations. At that time JetBlue did not fly from many destinations in New England other then Burlington, VT to JFK and a few, very few, flights from Boston to Florida (maybe some other locations).

Finally Tom Moore contacted Dave Ulmer, the strategic flight planner for JetBlue, and invited him to ORH and he accepted the invitation. One of my concerns was that, if this was such a good idea, then should we not be concerned about Logan/MassPort taking the idea. Our airport director, Eric Waldron, assured me that MassPort was not interested in the hub/spoke model. They would only do point to point routes.

At this point Tim DeSantis put together a great video, entitled the JetBlue Road, to show JetBlue how easier it could be to get to ORH on the JetBlue road. The day of the meeting at the airport, there was a great turn-out (40-50 people) including Tom Kinton from MassPort. What happened after that?? I have no idea , since when I asked questions about follow-up to JetBlue I was told to 1) stay out of it and 2) they had it under control.

In the end MassPort ended up getting a huge commitment from JetBlue, including 10 flights to JFK (our idea which Mr Waldron told us would never happen), and we ended up with nothing??? I do not blame MassPort for not helping us, we need to watch out for ourselves but MassPort, our "partner" could have negotiated two, of the ten flights, to JFK...

ORH-JFK Shuttle via JetBlue

I really thought when I bring up JetBlue diverting one of ten shuttles to JFK from Boston to ORH, everyone would agree. We went to MassPort, the owner and manager of Boston, for their expertise and leverage to help us get an airline. Is is really asking so much for MassPort to have JetBlue move one of their flights to ORH???

It is not like JetBlue will lose money... We would fill one plane per day very easy and help JetBlue increase their customer base. The Central Mass catchment area has alot of SouthWest fliers going to Providence and Manchester. I could go on and on, but this would be a good move for JetBlue. This is not a mercy flight.

This is the example of what we expected when we asked MassPort to take over the mgmt of our airport. If our sole reason was to simply help us pay the operating deficit so we could fly a couple of flights per week to Florida, lets give up right now and downgrade to a GA airport. This should be a very easy thing for MassPort and our airport mgmt to pull off.

Tale of Two Fitness Clubs

Lets assume Tim has a health club that is overflowing with members and for arguements sake, there are ten exercise bikes in the club. Now I have a fitness club on the other side of the city that has no customers, I am losing money badly and I have no exercise bikes.

Tim and I are friends and he offers to help me pay my bills for the next three years and tells me that he will try and help me anyway that he can. About 20 months into the three plan, he and I both realize that there are alot of people the live on my side of the city that drive across the city to his club. We figure that he could give up two exercise bikes to get people in my area to go to my gym.

What should Tim do??

a) Sending two bikes to my club will lessen the overcrowding at his gym and people will find parking spots easier. Also my increased profits will lessen the amount he has to subsidize of my losses.

b) What if he sends the two bikes to my gym and I start to turn it around. Maybe I bring in more equipment, start taking customers from Tim and when the current deal ends we are competing against each other?


Maybe this is an over-simplification but I see some inherent conflicts in our agreement.

Boston-NYC Shuttle --JetBlue

Think about this. Our partner, MassPort, is doing alot of business with JetBlue. Right now they have ten flights per day from Boston to New York. JetBlue realizes alot of people in the ORH catchment ares fly these flights as evidenced by their advertising in the Worcester Telegram.

How hard would it be for MassPort to divert two of these flights per day to ORH??? Wasn't that the whole reason we wanted to partner with MassPort. Their contacts and their experience would have spin-off benefits for ORH.

Think about it 2 of 10 flights?? How hard can it be???

Today's E-mail Message

How do I buy tickets online for the flight from Worcester to Sanford? I keep coming up with cheap tickets etc. and no flights listed from our own Worc. airport. It is very frustrating. When are the politicians going to stop blocking the essential access road to the airport? I have lived here near the airport for 50 years. What a shame that the politicians can destroy what could be an incredible money maker for Worcester, instead of a dead airport....

tammi

Hooters-More Bad News

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/14148527.htm

part of the story:

Time may be running short for Hooters Air. While Robert Brooks, a Loris native and owner of the Myrtle Beach-based charter airline, declined to say the airline would soon shut down, he cast doubt on its future. "I just hate to quit. I'm still fighting, but don't expect anything long term," he said Monday. "I dearly wished it could have turned out better."

Brooks is also chairman of Hooters of America, an international restaurant chain known for its scantily clad Hooters Girls. The company also owns a casino in Las Vegas that opened in February. In a wide-ranging interview with The Sun News, Brooks said he is "open for suggestions" over what to do about Hooters Air. "I haven't had any surprises in the casino business, or in manufacturing, or in the restaurant business, which we deal in worldwide, but the airline business is crazy," he said. "The airline business isn't my cup of tea."

He does have options - including finding investors to pump capital into the financially ailing airline or selling to new owners. Indeed, Brooks said the airline was contacted Monday by a potential buyer, though he downplayed a deal. Whether he sells or not, the airline industry hasn't been kind. "I've not been enamored with the industry in general," Brooks said. "You can't depend on anybody and anything. It's dog-eat-dog and one thing or another from one minute to the next. What I understand about it, I don't like what I see."

Leigh Fisher Associates

These are the guys working on our 20 year Master Plan. In December of 2004, we had a meeting up the airport but never saw them in 2005 and are waiting for some numbers from the New England Regional Study Plan.

They made the Herald today (http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=130893). Here is are a couple of small portions:


The free-spending Massachusetts Port Authority, fresh off another round of pay raises, recently dropped $154,000 on a self-congratulatory economic impact report that came to the obvious conclusion that Boston’s airport and seaport are economic engines for the region. “It’s absolutely absurd. It’s a complete waste of public money,” John Vitagliano, a former Massport board member, said of the study. The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce kicked in $35,000, putting the total price tag of the 33-page glossy puff piece at $189,000.



California-based airport consultants Leigh Fisher Associates compiled the report based on surveys of local employers and government agencies. The study, which took a year, claims Massport generates $8.7 billion a year in economic activity.


I wonder if the report had anything on ORH and the potential economic spin-off for ORH if there was more commerical service?? More importantly, is there a potential conflict with Leigh Fisher working closely with MassPort doing our Master Plan??

Today's letter to the Editor

Traveler recommends Allegiant Airlines



Traveling on Allegiant Airlines to Orlando in February was easy, comfortable and affordable. I was dropped off at Worcester Regional Airport, checked in and passed through security without delay. Thirty-five minutes from my front door to the boarding area. The flight was on a real plane and it left and arrived on time. Not needing a rental car, I paid $30 to Orlando Carriers for a van ride to my destination. Easy, comfortable and affordable. I recommend Allegiant Airlines from Worcester Regional Airport to all flying to the Orlando area.

Route 290 Billboard

There is a billboard on Route 290 that you can see coming from the West before the Holy Cross exit. My only comment is that although the sign advertises http://www.allegiantair.com, it should also have the website for Worcester Airport.

VLJ's

They are coming!! There has been alot of talk the past couple of years, but the future is here with the first VLJ's (Very Light Jets) coming on-line this year. Check out this story http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0603190291mar19,1,6227915.story?coll=chi-business-hed

Here is a section:


If the market takes off, Palwaukee (http://www.palwaukee.org/) figures to benefit. While it is home to several business jets because of its proximity to a number of corporations in the north and northwest suburbs, it can handle more traffic, Rouleau said. The little jets can land on runways as short as 3,000 feet, compared with the 5,000 feet needed by the smallest jets now being flown. Two of Palwaukee's three runways are shorter than 5,000 feet but longer than 3,000 feet.Rouleau is so excited about the prospects for the new jets that he has requested proposals to redevelop an empty terminal at the airfield to accommodate the planes and passengers.

He's been planning ahead because two manufacturers are on pace to gain final FAA certification for their very light jets this year.The first of those is the Eclipse 500 from Eclipse Aviation Corp., which hopes for FAA approval by the end of June. At $1.3 million, the six-seater is one of the lowest-priced twin-engine jets available. A combination of new jet engine technology and lower-cost electronics has helped drive prices down.

Public Records Requst

Maybe I was not going about it correctly when I was asking items to be placed on the airport agenda. I have been told that it is best, easier and faster to simply request any information via a public records request as stipulated in Mass General Law Chapter 66 Section 10 (http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/66-10.htm).

I have notified our airport liaison Phil Niddrie via e-mail and intend to drop off a note to receive a copy of:

1. the monthly parking report from LAZ
2. the most recent qtrly filing to the DOT on how the Small Community Air Service Grant has been spent
3. operating numbers for the first half of fiscal year (2006).

I should have this information within ten days and will post it on the blog and website.

Letter to Editor 3/17

Tim MacDonald had the following letter printed yesterday. Tim is a local resident, local business-owner and an avid fan of ORH. Seems like a perfect addition to the board??



Friday, March 17, 2006
Allegiant service is hope for airport


I recently took a flight on board Allegiant Air’s Worcester to Orlando service. It began with purchasing a very reasonably priced round-trip ticket for two on board a full-size commercial jet plane. The flight was one of the easiest I had ever taken.

I was at the airport in minutes. I checked in, proceeded through security and read my newspaper while I waited to board. The plane took off and landed on time. My trip back took off on time and landed ahead of schedule in Worcester through a pretty thick fog and during a light snowfall. Worcester Regional Airport has potential, but I also realize it has some hurdles to overcome on its way to returning as a choice for people when planning to travel.

This may be Worcester Regional Airport’s final chance at becoming a major player as a regional airport in New England. I do believe with the right airlines, destinations, the support of the greater Worcester area and those involved in making the long-term decisions for the airport, it can happen. If Worcester is a city looking for a revival it must have a viable commercial airport.

TIMOTHY MacDONALD Worcester

Hooters Down to One Route

Hooters Air will stop flying from Lehigh Valley International Airport, making it the fifth carrier to pull out of the airport since 9/11.The news appears to mark the end of Hooters' national ambitions. The carrier, created in 2003 and known for the scantily clad ''Hooter Girls'' on its flights, reached 15 cities last year. It will soon only have one route left, between Newark, N.J., and Myrtle Beach, N.C., where it is based, an LVIA official said.

February, 2006 Board Minutes

On-line at http://www.flyorh.com

New Open Meeting Bill

Story in Worcester Telegram today. In particular the last line

BOSTON— State lawmakers yesterday advanced a major revision to the state’s Open Meeting Law, proposing to expand possible penalties for officials who violate the law and a new state board to conduct initial investigations into alleged violations. The bill, compiled from several proposed revisions to the law, was recommended for adoption yesterday by the Joint Committee on Administration and Regulatory Oversight. It was expected to be referred to the House Ways and Means Committee, which would have to clear it for an initial vote in the House later this session.

House Chairman Antonio F. D. Cabral, D-New Bedford, said the bill would also tighten definitions to ensure that boards could not use e-mails and electronic communications to do business outside of public view. It also would extend fines to state boards and commissions as well as municipal ones, and allow individual officials to be fined for improperly closing meetings to the public. Currently, only boards and commissions as a whole are liable for fines of up to $1,000 for violations. The new legislation would also allow fines up to $500 on individual officials for violations. The legislation states, however, that those officials recorded as opposing a government act that is found to violate the open meeting law would be exempt from individual fines.

The bill calls for a seven-member Open Meeting Board based in the office of the state attorney general to receive meeting violation complaints. The board would investigate and review incidents within 10 days of receiving a complaint. Violations would be referred to local district attorneys and the attorney general; enforcement actions would have to be taken within 90 days. Mr. Cabral said the board would have four members appointed by the governor, including representatives of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, the Massachusetts Municipal Association and the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association.

The board would also have an appointee of the secretary of state, and two representatives of the attorney general. New language would ensure that “real time communication” by government bodies, over the Internet or in other forms of electronic communication, would trigger the open meeting law, allowing the public to listen to or watch those sessions. E-mails and other communications involving a majority of any board subject to open meetings would have to be made available to the public. Another provision would change an exemption that allows municipal bodies reviewing job applicants to use closed executive sessions. The committee said the exemption is “overused.”

Another change would require agendas outlining meeting topics to be posted along with advance meeting notices.

February Minutes

I have them and will post sometime today on the website. Of the questions I have been asking

1) Are we applying for a DOT grant this year? Nothing in the minutes.

2) Copy of the most recent filing with DOT as to how money has been spent? Not in the minutes.

Although the February minutes do state that $50,000 has been spent to advertise Allegiant which Allegiant has matched. To date $100,000 for the IMG study, $50,000 for IMG (not sure?) to prepare presentations and $50,000 for Allegiant advertising so there is another $255,000 remaining. Again I am only guessing since there is no documentation.

3) Operating loss for the airport from July 1 thru December 31? Nothing in the minutes.

4) Copy of the monthly report from LAZ parking? Not in the minutes.

Although it does state an average of $425 per operation day and the targeted $15,000 should be met. I guess this means $425 two days per week, since we have flights two days per week, which would equate to $44,200. Less the operating cost for LAZ, which is approximately $2,500 per month or $30,000 per year, would net out the $15,000 per month.

Keep in mind that these are the peak operating months for flights to Orlando, we need to keep an eye on this. The question that needs to be asked would the benefits of offering free parking offset a loss of $15,000 of profit over 12 months? I think is does.

Hooters News Gets Worse

Looks like the service to Orlando is ending too.

http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/14101760.htm

PITTSTON TWP. – Hooters Air service to Orlando could go the way of other Florida flights that were recently scratched. The charter carrier stopped service to Fort Lauderdale and St. Petersburg/Clearwater from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport last week.
Airport director Barry Centini said high fuel prices and dwindling riders have forced the Myrtle Beach, S.C., airline to cut back service.

Those flights were extras Hooters Air added to its main Florida service to Orlando. That service could be in jeopardy, too, and the airport may not be able to recover the $325,000 in federal and county funds used to secure an 11-month contract with the carrier.
Centini said he was not certain if the airport had a legal claim if the carrier cuts short the contract that runs through September. Repeated messages left with Mark Peterson, president of Hooters Air, have not been returned since Friday.

Katie's Allegiant Air Experience

Good Morning, Bill ...

Just want you to know that I was very pleased with my overall experience with Allegiant Air.

First, the Orlando/Sanford: "Tale of Woe"

On 9 March I arrived at the Orlando/Sanford Airport at 7:25 a.m. ~well in advance of the 10:25 a.m. departure time. ... I am disabled, being deaf and unable to walk long distances (using crutch canes) and required a wheelchair (which was requested when I made my reservations). ... After asking a couple of airport and Allegiant employees for a wheelchair, a young man wearing an Allegiant polo shirt, brought a wheelchair to the front entrance for me. ... ... Then he left me there. *Sigh*. ... It was virtually impossible for me to navigate the wheelchair and handle my carry-on luggage. ~ There I sat until another employee was walking past me. ~ I managed to get his attention and asked if he would please assist me to the ticket desk. ... Which he did... leaving me there in the check-in line with approximately six other passengers ahead of me. ~ Finally, one of the gals at the check-in desk, waived to me and motioned me forward. ... Duh? ... I asked for assistance, and she came out from behind the counter and moved my wheelchair up closer to the counter. ~ After handing me my boarding pass, she moved the wheelchair into the waiting area and said someone would be by to take me upstairs. ... An hour later, I was still sitting there. ~ Managed to get someone's attention, and was told they had "forgotten" I was there! ... Had to wait another 20 minutes before an employee arrived to take me upstairs and through security, etc. .... Rather than "pre-boarding" as I always am, I was literally the last passenger to board the plane.

The flight was one of the best I have experienced. ... From the time I was assisted to my seat to the time a cheerful airport employee arrived with the wheelchair to take me to the terminal and the Avis rental desk.... Delightful.

Worcester to Orlando/Sanford: Delightful !

On 13 March, I returned to the airport at 9:00 a.m. for my 11:00 flight back to Orlando/Sanford. ... From the moment I parked the rental car by the curb and requested assistance, everyone was just super. ... Two airport security officers assisted me inside the terminal, into a wheelchair and even brought me and my carry-on luggage to the Avis desk to check the car back in; and immediately called for someone to assist me to the ticket desk. ... Rather than being left in line, I was brought right up to a ticket agent, received my boarding pass and was immediately taken through security and to the boarding gate. ~ When the plane arrived, I was cheerfully assisted onboard and to my seat.

Bill the ENTIRE Worcester Airport experience was an absolute delight. ~ From the time I arrived at the curb to the time I boarded the plane.

The Allegiant flight crew was wonderful ! ... Both the flight to Worcester and the flight home to Orlando/Sanford was a joyous, relaxing experience. ... I would recommend Allegiant Air service from Worcester to Orlando/Sanford to anyone. ... And do hope it continues for a very, very long time. ... And am hoping the problems and lack of service at the Orlando/Sanford Int'l Airport will be remedied soon.

Thank you for your assistance. ... Hope you are keeping warm up there today. ~ It was a joy to return to sunshine and warm temps. ... Smile.

Hooters Story

Hooters Air will cancel flights to two Florida vacation spots after Thursday, an airport official said, just two months after the airline laid off its six locally based flight attendants.Flights to Fort Lauderdale and St. Petersburg, Fla., will cease, said Eric McKitish, marketing director of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.Service to Orlando will continue, and flights to Myrtle Beach, S.C., will begin next weekend as planned, he said.The reason for the change is not clear.“We have not spoken with the airline, but we did get an updated schedule — it looks like we are going to get a service reduction,” McKitish said.

Rough financial times at Myrtle Beach-based Hooters Air may have led to the cutback.The airline has canceled many other routes around the country in recent months.It also reportedly owed more than $1 million in unpaid fuel bills to Lehigh Valley International Airport near Allentown as of last week.All those signs combined suggest the airline’s future could be in jeopardy, said John Pincavage, an aviation industry financial analyst.“The fact that they are not current on bills would indicate they are having some strains on their cash flow,” Pincavage said. “When times are decent, times are good, it never happens.”Efforts to reach Hooters Air President Mark Peterson were unsuccessful Friday. Peterson has previously blamed the airline’s struggles on high jet fuel prices.The price of jet fuel sold in New York Harbor climbed 83 percent over the past two years, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Local Hooters Air flights started in late October as nonstop service. The next month, however, fuel prices forced the Fort Lauderdale and St. Petersburg routes to begin making pit stops in Allentown to pick up more passengers.It appears Hooters will continue flying to Orlando, which is the only destination required by its service agreement with Lackawanna and Luzerne counties and the airport.That 11-month agreement subsidized Orlando flights with $325,000 from a combination of federal and county tax dollars, in exchange for guaranteed service.

It is not clear how long the parent company would be willing to operate Hooters Air at a financial loss, said Michael Boyd, president of the Evergreen, Colo.-based aviation consulting firm the Boyd Group.The airline was created three years ago, in large part to promote the restaurant chain of its parent company, Hooters of America Inc.“Hooters is a little different, in that it really is flying billboards for the restaurant,” Boyd said. “They will come and go (from markets).”Very little financial information is publicly available about the privately held company.There will probably be little or no advance public notice if the airline ceases operation in the future, Boyd said.

Airport Commission Meeting

Tonight 6:30PM at the airport ...

Direct Service Versus One Stop

The other day I posted a message about ORH working with other secondary cities who all have the same goals being direct service to popular leisure destinations (Florida, Vegas and Mytrle).. On top of that maybe consider utilizing a Gary, Indiana. Think about this.

Say we got a company to fly three planes from ORH, Portsmouth, New Haven to Gary. At which these three planes continued to Myrtle, Vegas and St Petes. A person in Worcester would in essence be able to continue on to 4 locations with this one flight:

1. Vegas
2. Myrtle
3. St Pete
4. Chicago

I would much rather have direct service to theser four locations then a stop in Gary, Indiana, Youngstown, Oh but what are the chances of getting four flights to these locations versus one flight to a mini-hub like Gary or Youngstown. Now an airline isn't stupid either if we started getting 80% loads on a flight to St Pete's that makes a stop an airline would decide to make direct to St Pete's.

We all want direct service but we need to be realistic and consider all options. By the way last time I flew to Boca Raton my SouthWest ticket out of TF Green simply said Fort Lauderdale, but we stopped in Tampa.

Next Board Meeting

I have e-mailed our airport director (WaldronE@ci.worcester.ma.us) and airport liaison (NiddrieP@ci.worcester.ma.us) to put the following questions on the next agenda.

1. Copy of most recent qtrly report to the DOT showing how the DOT grant monies have been spent to date.
2. LAZ monthly parking reports.
3. Amount of losses incurred by the first six months (July-Dec 2005).
4. Will ORH be preparing an application for this year's DOT Small Community Air Service Grant?
   

If anyone else wants another question, please e-mail me or leave a comment. I have also checked the board & commissions link on the city web page (http://www.ci.worcester.ma.us) and to date the minutes of the January, 2006 have been published but no agendas are listed for any meetings.

Will MassPort Own ORH?

As the current operating agreement enters month 19 of 36 and our portion of the deficit increases to 32% on July 1st followed by 100% on July 1st, 2007, it is something we need to consider. How will the tax-payers of Worcester feel about $640,000 (July 1st, 2006) and $2,000,000 (July 1st, 2007) of the city's revenues covering the airport operating deficit when we need to close schools??? The political pressure will be intense to do something fast... There are precendents......

Small airport draws interest from SRQ
DANA SANCHEZ
Herald Staff Writer

MANATEE - Airport officials are eyeing a small, private airport north of Port Manatee for possible purchase. Located 10 miles north of Palmetto on U.S. 41, Airport Manatee is one of the largest privately owned public-use airports in Florida.The 345-acre Airport Manatee has a 3,600-foot runway and serves about 100 private aircraft based there.

Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport officials said Monday they were unsure whether the airport was for sale, and are certain it isn't conducive to landing large aircraft.But as more and more small strips close, "where do these planes go?" said Fred Piccolo, CEO and executive director of Sarasota-Bradenton International. "It's a capacity issue. As more small airports close, you compress more and more aircraft into fewer landing strips. You only have a finite number of airports. Where will our capacity be 20 years from now?"

With 1,000 feet of frontage on Highway 41, airport officials worry that Airport Manatee would be an attractive buy for housing developers. "We could operate that facility in the future for the good of aviation," Piccolo said. "We're taking a look at it to see if it can be saved for aviation."
J.T. Reeder, one of the airport's owners, neither confirmed nor denied that the airport was for sale. "I guess everything's for sale everywhere at some price," Reeder said. "We're not advertising it."

The airport is in good condition, and it has some metal hangars, according to airport authority commissioner Jack Rynerson. "We don't want something like that to get away if there's a way to save it." It isn't unusual for airport authorities to own several small airports. In addition to Tampa International Airport, the Hillsborough County Airport Authority owns Vandenberg and Peter O. Night airports and an airport in Plant City.

"If an authority serves the public, they would be interested in keeping an airport an airport," Reeder said. "I doubt there'll be many more." Reeder co-owns the airport with a group of others. He said they built it about 30 years ago."You don't make any money out of an airport," Reeder said. "With us, it's a fun thing. We built it and we're enjoying it, and people who have planes here and who fly in and out enjoy it too."

Airport Authority member Kathy Baylis said in the present environment, a parcel with that much frontage on Highway 41 warrants further investigation. Buying 300-plus acres of property anywhere in Manatee County would be a sizable expense, said Piccolo, who plans to look into possible funding sources.

Gary, Indiana

Although it is in Indiana, it is very close to Chicago. Right now they have no commercial flights since Hooters Air has not resumed service.... Now think about secondary airpots in the Northeast--Portsmouth/New Haven/Worcester to name a few..

What if we could convine someone to make Gary. Indiana hub for secondary airports to popular leiasure destinations like Mytrle Beach, Vegas and other Florida destinations like St Pete's, Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers. Not to mention the fact that you are only 1/2 hour outside of Chicago.

All the airports could work together to put together monies to attract an airline, offer lower overhead to fly out of their airports and between the various catchment areas practically guarantee high loads.

Florida Parent

E-mail I received today, by the way I told her that the best option was to take a taxi to Union Station then catch the train in. If anyone has a better idea let me know.


Dear Bill,

I am a mother from Winter Park, Florida. I am looking into using Allegiant to send my daughter back to school at BU. I am not able to find out if there is any public transportation that will get my daughter from the Worcester airport to Boston. It appears to me that cost of a taxi from your airport would offset any savings I might gain in using your airport. I am unable to find any options from your web site.

I would like to know what my options are. Is there a shuttle to a bus or train station? If so, what stations? Can you give me a link to find out the schedule?

I know I am not the only parent from here that has had these concerns. Travel from the Orlando/Sanford airport is much easier for most families in the northern Orlando communities. Our only real concern is how complex (and expensive) it is when we arrive at the Worcester airport.

I am inclined to make every effort to use your airport simply based on the fact that I am able to email you my concerns. I hope there is a viable solution to my concern. Thank you for your time in responding.

Sincerely,

Maureen May
3081 Heartleaf Place
Winter Park, FL 32792

Bangor-Halifax

Instead of spending more monies on endless studies and consultants, we need to work with other secondary cities in the Mid-West and NorthEast to attract commercial air service. To name a few Portsmout,NH-Youngtown,Oh--Gary, In all have similar needs, why not work together???

I read a very interesting story about Bangor,Me and Halifax, Nova Scotia who reached an agreement more than a year ago to create a committee to explore joint marketing efforts for the two cities. Not exactly sure what the format should be but an alliance between 3 or 4 airports may be able to attract the service that they all need versus working seperately.

http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=130303

Ameristar

John the jet you saw: http://www.ameristarjet.com

Hooters--Future Does not Look Good

Hooters Air is cutting trips from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport to two Florida cities.

The airport director tell us Hooters Air will cut four flights a week to Fort Lauderdale and four flights a week to St. Petersburg beginning March 16.

Hooters Air will continue flying direct to Orlando. It will also add a direct flight to Myrtle Beach around March 16 from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.

Linear Air

About 18 months ago, Tom Moore called Dave Ulmer (strategic flight planner for JetBlue) and invited him to ORH. Ulmer stopped by and was greeted by a pretty large crowd and Tim DeSantis put together the video on the JetBlue Road.

Linear Air is based in Hanscom Field and will be getting the new Eclipse (very light jets). I would call him and invite him to lunch at ORH, if I knew other people would greet him with me. Anyone else in??

Thanks

Bill

Hooters Air

In January when Hooters pulled out of Columbus and Gary, they promised to come back in March... They have not started up and these should be their biggest months.. I can not figure out what they are up to.

Airport Privatization--TBI Management

We should talk to these guys..

http://www.tbiplc.co.uk/

They own and manage Sanford Orlando International Airport. Isn't this the company also talking to Youngstown??

Today's Editorial

As one of ORH's biggest fan I agree with everything in the editorial today, but how about a little reality from the editorial board?? We are 20 months into a 36 month operating agreement. Right now we are paying 15% of the operating deficit soon to be 32% starting July 1st. Based on a $2,000,000 operating deficit that equates to $640,000 starting July 1st (4 months from now). How are we going to justify closing New Ludlow Street School which would cost $300,000 to keep open but are going to be able to pay $640,000???

It gets worse. If we do not get MassPort to resign an agreement we are looking at the entire deficit in 16 months. That's right July 1, 2007, the airport will cost $2,000,000. Actually we have no idea exactly what the current deficit is since my requests to get the semi-annual (July thru December) numbers have not been answered.

Sorry, I do not mean to be negative and I agree Allegiant has been great, but the Editorial Board should be asking tough questions like 1) where is the Airport Master Plan, 2) why have we not made any more progress with other airlines, 3) whats up with Hooters Air, 4) what happened to DJ Air , 5) how are negotiations going with MassPort. I mentioned 6 months ago that the past six months would be pivotal. We landed Allegiant with one destination with a couple flights per week, again that was great news but nowhere near enough.

Here is the editorial:

Allegiant Air’s strong start bodes well for airport

Worcester seems to have landed itself a winner in Allegiant Air, and vice versa. Since it began flying passengers to and from Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 22, the airline clearly has pleased travelers and has posted some sunny statistics. By the industry measure known as “average load,” Allegiant has excelled in its inaugural months. In a report to the City Council, Julie A. Jacobson, assistant city manager for economic development and neighborhood services, said the airline’s average load on flights in and out of Worcester has been 82 percent. By comparison, the average-load figure for the industry as a whole during the 12 months that ended in September was 78 percent. She also said that Worcester Regional Airport’s on-time average in the first two months of Allegiant’s service was 76.9 percent, topping the 75.1 percent average at five other major New England airports for January.

As the statistics show, the Las Vegas-based airline has come in and done the job it said would do. Allegiant’s reliable service record, popular destination and affordable prices, along with the ease of getting to the airport, are drawing leisure travelers from well beyond Worcester and the immediate Central Massachusetts area. An Allegiant survey cited by City Manager Michael V. O’Brien shows that the airline is attracting customers from southern New Hampshire, Northeastern Connecticut and northern Rhode Island as well. A broad customer base is essential for the hoped-for takeoff of the airport itself. According to surveys, area residents would like to see flights to Las Vegas, the West Coast, Tampa, Fla., New York City, Washington, D.C., and other destinations added to the airport’s offerings.

Allegiant’s success brings this future closer. Armed with the Allegiant data, city and Massport officials can make a convincing case to other carriers that Worcester’s airport is a place in which they can prosper.

Delta

Check out this story... http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060308/1044592.asp

Here is small part;

Delta's Chief Operating Officer Jim Whitehurst said the new connections will position the airline to attract more domestic and international passengers. In anticipation of the increased volume, the airline is investing more than $10 million in its Terminals 2 and 3 at JFK.
"Our customers should make no mistake that Delta is committed to New York and that this summer's expansion at JFK is an important step in offering enhanced service to customers in most every direction from New York City," Whitehurst said in a statement detailing the service expansion and terminal upgrades.



Delta is going right at JetBlue... The best way to negotiate is to go talk to the competition... If JetBlue is not interested in us, lets talk to Delta..

Next Board Meeting

The agenda has been put on the city website and I am not sure when the next meeting is but here are the questions that I have resubmitted.

1. Copy of most recent qtrly report to the DOT showing how the DOT grant monies have been spent to date.
2. LAZ monthly parking reports.
3. Amount of losses incurred by the first six months (July-Dec 2005).
4. Will ORH be preparing an application for this year's DOT Small Community Air Service Grant?
   

If anyone else wants another question, please e-mail me or leave a comment. I have submitted the following questions for the next airport commission meeting by submitting an e-mail to the Airport Directort (Eric Waldron) and the Airport Liaison (Phil Niddrie):

Delta Looking for Flights to JFK

We should approach Delta!!!! Check out this story below. It is pretty much the same theory we proposed 2 years ago when we thought about JetBlue and their Embraer 190 to JFK. The only difference is that it is Delta. Maybe we could team up with Portsmouth and put together a package deal???






Delta Air Lines will introduce 46 new nonstop flights a day from New York JFK to 17 new destinations this summer. The new routes will serve destinations across the Northeast and the West Coast connecting passengers with Delta's JFK hub. They will be phased in between June and September. When all of the new services are operational, Delta will boast more flights out of JFK to more destinations than any other airline - 139 peak day services to 67 cities worldwide.

This summer's new and expanded destinations are expected to include Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse; Cleveland; Detroit; Norfolk and Richmond; Philadelphia; Baltimore; Hartford; Providence; Washington, D.C (Reagan and Dulles); San Diego; Las Vegas; and Montreal in Canada. The expansion has been welcomed by Senator Hilary Clinton, who outlined the flights' importance to local economies: "Delta's expansion of air service to cities in Upstate and Western New York is welcome news. It is important to have thriving air service into these regions as it will help the local economies grow and increase tourism throughout the state."

To ensure that there is sufficient infrastructure to support the increased JFK presence, Delta has also unveiled plans to spend $10 million improving facilities at Terminals 2 and 3.

Airport Commission

There is a vacancy!! Deadline is March 31st, 2005. Send a resume and cover letter to hr@ci.worcester.ma.us. Board needs passionate people so please anyone reading this consider applying.

Thanks


Bill

FAA FY2007 Budget

Right now it looks like there are some serious cuts being proposed, including a complete elimination of the Small Community Air Service Grant Program. This could possibly be the last year such funds are available to airports like ORH, I hope we apply????

http://www.ainonline.com/Issues/03_06/0306_smallairports_4.htm

Another Great Idea by Allegiant

Check out the story below--perfect for ORH with all the local colleges. Now they need to put together packages for frustrated golfers to Orlando. As I have said before you can not find an avid golfer who does not travel south, at least once during the winter (usually Myrtle).



Allegiant Air, LLC, has teamed up with University of British Columbia students to launch the company’s new College Representative Program.Throughout the upcoming months, Allegiant Air College Representatives will host a variety of promotional events on and off campus. During these events, Representatives will distribute free materials to students and will be available to answer any question about Allegiant’s nonstop, low-cost service to Las Vegas. Students may sign up for Allegiant Air’s e-mail list which will provide them with information about sales and promotional deals to Las Vegas.

For their efforts, the college representatives who participate in the program will earn flight benefits with the company.Allegiant Air will have representatives for future semesters and is currently accepting applications for the Fall semester. To become a future representative in the program, students may contact Allegiant Air Public Relations at 702-853-4625 or email slopiccolo@allegiantair.com.Reservations can be made on the airline’s website at www.allegiantair.com, through the airline’s Reservations and Information Center at 800-432-3810 or through professional travel agents.

Festival Airlines

We should reach out to them ASAP. Looks to me like they are going to follow the role model set by Allegiant Air. Doubt they will take on Sanford/Orlando but go after the other destinations in Florida from secondary airports like Pensacola/St Petes/Fort Lauderdale/Fort Myers/etc. Check out this story:

A company trying to become a "vacation-only" airline announced Thursday that it plans to serve Pensacola, as well as perform some maintenance and training there.
Festival Airlines, based in Chicago, also plans to offer flights from Chicago's Midway Airport and Rockford, Ill., sometime this year. The idea is to offer cheap tickets at times convenient for leisure travelers.

Festival plans to start by chartering planes, then to get approval as a full-fledged airline from the Federal Aviation Administration. No date for the first flights has been set. Festival hopes to serve as many as 10 destinations in its first phase, all using Boeing 757-200 aircraft.

"We see this as a tremendous opportunity for Pensacola, not only for vacation destination tourists for the upper Gulf Coast, but also the opportunity for Pensacola for non-stop destination opportunities to cities where we currently don't enjoy non-stop service," Frank Miller, the airport's director, said in a statement.

The company's business model calls for offering low-cost flights and vacation packages to different locations that may shift from summer to winter. Among the target markets are Pensacola and other parts of Florida, Las Vegas and ski resorts.

The Rockford airport has been trying to position itself as an alternative to Chicago's O'Hare airport, 60 miles to the southeast. However, some carriers that have offered service to Rockford have pulled out. Some companies have had long and relatively successful runs as charter airlines geared to vacation packages, including Minnesota-based Sun Country Airlines.

But some experts are dubious of Festival's plan, especially the focus on Rockford and Chicago.
"All the danger signs are here," Michael Boyd, president of airline industry consulting firm the Boyd Group, told Crain's Chicago Business. "There is no major opportunity out there, especially out of Chicago," Boyd said.

Festival Airlines

Lets keep an eye on them

http://www.festivalairlines.com

Festival Airlines

Rockford announces new airline---Festival Airlines.. Lets keep an eye on this one.

http://www.rrstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060301/BUSINESS04/103010040

ROCKFORD — Festival Airlines announced today that it has scheduled an event on Thursday at Chicago/Rockford International Airport to announce a “relationship” with the airport, which officials have said will include new air service to several destinations from the Forest City.
The Chicago-based company is a leisure airline that provides nonstop jet service to vacation destinations and vacation packages. The airline will focus on primary and secondary metropolitan airports, according to a company statement released today.

Expected to attend the news conference to announce the service are executives from the company and airport officials. The event will be held at 10 a.m. on the first floor of the airport’s main terminal. The airline is a startup carrier with plans to begin operations nationally. The company’s board of directors is expected to include several people with expertise and experience in the aviation industry.

Hooters Air Problems

FYI.. Hooters has not started up in Gary or Columbus, as they had promised when they discontinued service. Now read this story below, where Hooters owes LVIA (Lehigh Valley) one million for fuel.... Are they going to be another SouthEast or TransMeridian??? We need to keep a close watch on these second-tier privately owned airlines before we break the bank for them.

http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-4/114121758347720.xml&coll=2#continue

Rockford Airport Again

The airport that we should use as the example, has done it again. In case anyone has forgotten, they are very similar to ORH being the secondary airport to Chicago, who also lost all commercial service a few years back. They have gotten back on their feet by targeting the leisure traveler with second-tier airlines, free parking and a name change (Chicago/Rockford International).

In their on-going efforts to differentiate themselves, check this story on the Registered Traveler Program.



ROCKFORD — Chicago/Rockford International Airport could be one of the airports that participates in the Registered Traveler program when it is implemented by the federal Transportation Security Administration this summer.

Nearly two years ago, the TSA launched pilot programs at five U.S. airports that allowed volunteer travelers to provide personal information to TSA, which conducted security background checks on the individuals, to speed up the security process at airports.
Approved individuals then provided fingerprint and iris biometric information. That information was then used at participating airports to identify the registered travelers. Those passengers were allowed to then bypass normal security lines.

Because of the success of the pilot programs, the federal government plans to expand a fee-based Registered Traveler program to airports nationally this summer.
Airport Executive Director Bob O’Brien said the Greater Rockford Airport Authority is interested in the program. He said the airport’s involvement would depend upon the final rules of the program. TSA is now completing the process of creating Registered Traveler.

DJ Air Group

Remember we were one of three finalists--New Haven and Trenton were the other two. What happened? Did DJ Air pick one of the other spots?? Did they not get the $100 million of funding???

Allegiant Wants To Expand

Story on Allegiant, part below. Do we ever have representatives from the airport admin or city attend meetings like these?

http://www.inbusinesslasvegas.com/2006/02/24/feature1.html


Allegiant Air, the Las Vegas-based air carrier that specializes in packaging vacations to local resorts from small-town USA, will nearly double in size in the next two to three years with plans to serve 70 cities. President and Chief Executive Maurice Gallagher made the projection this week at the Airport Revenue News' second-annual airport revenue conference at Caesars Palace, where he was a guest speaker.

The conference brings together airport managers and a variety of products and vendors designed to generate revenue for airports and provide diversions for people spending time between flights. If Gallagher's projections are on the mark, Allegiant would surpass Southwest Airlines in the number of nonstop destinations served and challenge US Airways for offering service to the most destinations from McCarran International Airport. US Airways, which formerly operated in Las Vegas as America West Airlines, and its regional express affiliate currently offer flights to 67 destinations, the most by any carrier.

But the number of cities directly served from Las Vegas is about the last similarity between Allegiant and its rivals. Gallagher said Allegiant's motto, in fact, is "We don't do business," a reference to the airline's focus on serving the leisure market. Allegiant currently has flights to 37 cities with its fleet of 20 MD-80 series jet aircraft. Because the airline focuses its attention on small communities and not big cities, the market is virtually wide open and Allegiant has very little competition.

Gallagher figures there are about 130 small cities with airports capable of serving Allegiant's jets. "These small cities have a total population of 100-plus million people hungry for air service, so that's quite an opportunity," he said. He said that while Allegiant isn't a household name nationwide, "our name is recognized by the people in Sioux Falls" and other cities where the airline is the only scheduled air service they have

New Airline For Cape

Maybe ORH-Barnstable??? (MY COMMENT)

Story below


New airline set to compete for Nantucket fliers
By ERIC GERSHONSTAFF WRITERHYANNIS - The names of the airlines to serve Cape Cod and the Islands read like a list of the dead: Provincetown-Boston Airlines. Air New England. Will's Air. Gull Air.

They were among the many. Some lasted for years, others for months. Most are now defunct. Ocean Wings still operates as an air charter business on Nantucket. Since the 1990s, the local market has been dominated by two airlines - Cape Air (which owns Nantucket Airlines) and Island Airlines. Both offer scheduled service between the Cape and Nantucket every day, year-round. They have faced little competition, save each other.

But next month, undaunted by the fate of others, a pair of Cape businessmen plan to launch a new commuter airline called Nantucket Shuttle Inc. One route planned
Based at Barnstable Municipal Airport, it would initially serve just one route, Hyannis to Nantucket, according to Robert Falanga, a Barnstable restaurant owner who said he is the venture's sole financial backer.

''It's been a long time since these people from Nantucket got a break,'' he said.
The new shuttle would try to lure customers from the established airlines by offering discounted fares on certain early-morning and late-evening flights ($29.95 one-way), and $40 one-way fares on all other flights, he and partner Mark Conway said this week.

Nantucket Airlines and Island Airlines currently charge $91 for a round-trip ticket from Hyannis to Nantucket. Both airlines also offer 10-ticket commuter books for $400.
Nantucket Shuttle would not offer commuter books, Conway said, but instead ''commuter-book fares every day.''

Falanga and Conway acknowledge no one has successfully challenged Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines or Island Airlines. ''They come and go,'' Falanga said of competitors.
But with no debt and no outside investors demanding returns, the company could afford to operate with little or no profit, at least for a while, both men said. 'Very profitable route'' They also think the Nantucket route could sustain three airlines, based on their calculation that the two other carriers moved 320,000 people between Hyannis and Nantucket last year, Conway said. ''It's a very profitable route,'' he said.

Falanga and Conway also said they would control costs by playing multiple roles in the company. Falanga would serve as director of maintenance. Conway, a Nantucket native and a former Island Airlines pilot who is the company's president, would also fly planes. ''All of our pilots are being trained to do every job,'' Conway said - flying, taking reservations and loading luggage.
Nantucket Shuttle's fleet of six aircraft includes five 10-seat Cessna 402Cs - a mainstay for both Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines and Island Airlines - and one eight-seat Cessna 414A.

With 49 402s, Cape Air owns the biggest fleet of the aircraft in the nation. Island Airlines operates a smaller fleet comparable to the new shuttle's. How the new airline would change the market remains to be seen. Harlan Platt, a business professor at Northeastern University who supervised a student case study of Cape Air, predicts prices would fall, in line with basic free market principles. But he said the burden of survival would be on the newcomer, in part because it lacks name recognition. ''But, hey,'' he said, ''maybe they'll bring Elvis back from the dead'' as a promotion.

Nantucket Airlines spokeswoman Michelle Haynes said the company has been ''watching'' Nantucket Shuttle - particularly its choice of name. Nantucket Airlines already uses ''The Nantucket Shuttle'' as a tagline.

''I wish them well,'' she said. ''I just hope they find another name than ours. It's kind of a big deal to us.'' Conway said a lawyer for Nantucket Airlines ordered him not to use the name. Then his own lawyer discovered the claim on the name had lapsed. It is now registered to Conway, according to state records. ''We're still moving forward,'' Conway said.

Eric Gershon can be reached at egershon@capecodonline.com.
(Published: February 24, 2006)

Today's Allegiant Flights

775 and 776 PERFECT!! Allegiant has been great!! The only time there were delays were due to weather problems.

Story in USA Today

Airports play the name game to attract new business
By Barbara De Lollis, USA TODAY

Small airports across the USA have been renaming themselves to boost visibility and gain an edge on competitors. If you want to spend time at Lake Tahoe (either side), your best bet is to fly to Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Reno.

Take Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, N.Y., which is named after a local family. In May, it will become New York Hudson Valley International Airport. In making the change, airport officials convey proximity to both Hudson Valley recreation areas and New York City. The airport is about 70 miles from Midtown Manhattan. "Those are the two biggest marketing pluses that our airport has," says Newburgh airport executive Tanya Vanasse.

Says aviation consultant Robert Mann: "They're all looking for greater visibility and greater identity. If you take Stewart International, people say, 'Where the heck is that?' "
Among recent name changes:

•Rockford, Ill. The airport added Chicago — a city whose airport congestion is legendary — to its name in November: Chicago/Rockford International. It's 90 miles from Chicago.
Rockford convention bureau Chairman Bob Rhea says the change has drawn travelers. "It drives home the fact that it's near Chicago," he says. "Everyone knows where Chicago is."

•Savannah, Ga. About three years ago, the Savannah airport became the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport. Almost half its passengers go to Hilton Head, S.C., where there's a smaller airport. Now, when people search Internet travel sites for Hilton Head and airport, the Savannah airport appears as an option.

Since the mid-1990s communities including Buffalo, Terre Haute, Ind., and Allentown, Pa., have changed airport names motivated by regional marketing. In July 2005, Nevada's Airport Authority of Washoe County became the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority. It creates a closer match with its main airport, which adopted the Reno-Tahoe designation in the mid-1990s. It also gives the authority — in the words of its press release — "a name that resonates from Reno to Beijing and beyond."

Southwest Airlines spokesman Ed Stewart says in the New York Hudson Valley case, "it does make sense" to take a new name to convey location. The much-courted discount carrier doesn't currently fly to Newburgh, and Stewart wouldn't say if the name change would make a difference as Southwest looks for places to expand its route network.

Renaming airports is like renaming an established corporation, says advertising executive Mark Lieberman, of Interspace Airport Advertising. "You don't want a name that's parochial, convoluted or doesn't clearly communicate what the product delivers," Lieberman says.
Controversy sometimes accompanies the name changes.

In Newburgh, some local residents, including members of the Stewart family, have been vocal opponents. The new name will stand, but the passenger terminal will be renamed in honor of Archie Stewart, who donated land for the airport in 1930.

Hooters Story

Although Hooters said they would be returning to the markets below in March, it does not look this will happen. Also note Gary just got 57.8 million from the FAA to lengthen their runway, couldn't we try to get the 8 million from the FAA for a Cat 3 Landing system??

Story from NorthWest Indiana Times:

Hooters Air officials are not saying whether they will return to Gary and three other cities where flights were suspended in December and January for "seasonal adjustments."The airline's Web site has not been taking reservations for flights from the Gary/Chicago International Airport for about a month, though it was taking March reservations when the flight suspensions were originally announced in December.

Hooters Air also is not taking reservations from Columbus, Ohio, Nassau, Bahamas, and Las Vegas, which suffered flight suspensions at the same time.Hooters Air officials did not return repeated calls Monday for information on the possible resumption of Gary flights.Gary Airport Director Paul Karas said he was told by Hooters Air president Mark Peterson on Friday that the airline still is sorting through scheduling arrangements."As far as we are told, it's status quo right now and they are still deliberating," Karas said Monday. "If they restart, we will take that as a positive."

Among arrangements the airline is looking at are tour packages to Las Vegas, Karas added.The regularly scheduled Gary flights went to Myrtle Beach, S.C., St. Petersburg, Fla., and Las Vegas. The airline announced Dec. 19 those flights would be suspended from Jan. 9 until March.The ending of the last Hooters flights Jan. 9 left the airport with no regularly scheduled passenger airline service.

The airport just won approval for $57.8 million in Federal Aviation Administration funding to lengthen its main runway to 9,000 feet. Airport officials say the longer runway will give it a better chance of attracting commercial airlines and cargo services.Hooters ended all service from the Greater Rockford Airport in Illinois on Jan. 5.

Allegiant's Biggest Mistake--Golfers!!

I went on a golf trip two weeks ago. Ask any golfer you know if they went to Myrtle Beach or Florida this winter, 90% will tell you a story. As good a job Allegiant has done marketing Disney, do you remember any golf packages??? Do you have any idea how many nice golf courses are in Orlando, not to mention the weather is much better then Myrtle, where it can get quite cold.

In college, I remember deals where if you got 7 room-mates together to go to Fort Lauderdale then you go for free. Imagine if they had something like this. Forget the Pizza boxes or those ridiculous signs in the malls, I hope next year Allegiant realizes how many frustrated golfers there are in Worcester during the winter months.

Airport Commission Meeting

First of all, thanks to Tom Moore's efforts the minutes and agendas for the Airport Commission are now on the City Web Site (http://www.ci.worcester.ma.us) , click the tab on the left for Boards and Commissions, clicks Agenda on the top middle and then scroll on to Airport.

I have submitted the following questions for the next airport commission meeting by submitting an e-mail to the Airport Directort (Eric Waldron) and the Airport Liaison (Phil Niddrie):

1. Copy of most recent qtrly report to the DOT showing how the DOT grant monies have been spent to date.
2. LAZ monthly parking reports.
3. Amount of losses incurred by the first six months (July-Dec 2005).
4. Will ORH be preparing an application for this year's DOT Small Community Air Service Grant?

If anyone else wants another question, please e-mail me or leave a comment.

Allegiant To Vegas

Recently I took a flight from Providence to Fort Lauderdale. My ticket looked like it was direct but we ended up stopping in Tampe, where people were dropped off and picked up.. This got me to thinking.

Why can't Allegiant run a Worcester to Vegas flight and work with any of the cities in the Mid-West, that already fly to Vegas, to fill a plane?? Lets assume, for arguements sake, that Cedar Rapids has low load factors to Vegas--would it make sense to team up with them to fill a plane??

I do not know the answers to any of these questions but adding Vegas as a destination out of ORH would be great.

Jumpstart 2006

Each year there is a conference where airports can meet various airlines all at one time. I have heard alot of people talk about it. To learn more check out:

http://www.aci-na.org/asp/jumpstart.asp?art=468

This year it is in Austin, Texas starting June 14th... I do not think it would be a bad idea for our City Manager and/or Mayor to attend.

DOT Grant Application

It is the time of year to apply for the DOT (note story below). We should prepare an application to attract USA3000 and/or Hooters. Although we have been told by the airport administration that we can not get another grant, while we are holding one, this is not true. I have read through the documentation and there is nothing that states this??

There are times when a consultant does in fact make sense. This is one of these times. We should retain Boyd Aviation (expert in this grants) to fill out our application. Deadline is April 7th.

http://www.aviationplanning.com/scasd2006details.htm



DOT Seeks Grant Applications For Improving Air Service To Small Towns

Sat, 21 Jan '06
Fifth Year Of Program To Bring Airlines To Anytown, USA

The US Department of Transportation announced Friday the agency has put the word out to communities to apply for grants under a program designed to support small towns and cities working to improve their airline service. DOT representatives tell Aero-News the Small Community Air Service Development Program uses federal funds to support communities working to attract or improve air service. Congress appropriated approximately $10 million for up to a total of 40 grants this year, to help communities address their local air service problems -- such as high fares and insufficient levels of service. This is the fifth year DOT will award grants under the program.

"The Small Community Air Service Development Program supports communities in finding new and innovative ways to improve their commercial air service," said US Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta. "We are seeking to partner with communities who are willing to do the work necessary to connect their economy to the national transportation system."
The Secretary noted that many of the grant recipients from previous years have already gained new or upgraded air service because of the grants. Additionally, passenger traffic according to Mineta.

DOT will give priority to proposals from communities that have high airfares compared to other communities, contribute financially to the project from sources other than airport revenues, have established or will establish a public/private partnership to improve their air service, submitted proposals that will benefit a broad segment of the public with limited access to the national transportation system, and will use the assistance in a timely fashion.

The program was established in 2000 by the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century, and was reauthorized by the Vision 100 -- Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act, which was signed by President Bush on December 16, 2003.

Allegiant --Good Businessman

Check out the story below.. These guys get it, the bottom line is very important. Considering we have the DCU Center, I know that there are branding opportunities for our terminal to help reduce our two million deficit.

Allegiant Air deal with Bodog.com

To complement its online, print, radio and television marketing campaigns, Bodog.com announced today a new advertising deal that will see it take to the skies. Six large Allegiant Air passenger jets will be externally and internally branded in the colors and logo of the international digital entertainment and gaming company.

The advertising initiative will cover a three-month span on six Allegiant Air, 150-seat MD-80 passenger jets. The Bodog.com plane wrapping will be easily visible to travelers waiting to board flights to and from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

Youngstown Lands Allegiant

Right now Youngstown, Portsmouth and Worcester all have one airline--Allegiant Air flying out of their airports. Bet you $100 that the six most popular destinations flown from these three catchment areas are the same:

1. Florida destinations (Orlando/Ft Lauderdale, Ft Myers and Tampa/St Pete)
2. Vegas
3. Myrtle Beach

People will ask about NYC, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Baltimore and DC, but secondary airports like ours need to focus on the leisure traveler first to get the airports back on the map. None of these destinations out of ORH would be able to support multiple daily flights that the business-traveler will require. There are two types of travelers:

1. Business Traveler
2. Leisure Traveler

ORH has neither. Versus trying to target both, you need to target the larger audience. One of the New England Council's studies said 65% of travelers from New England were leisure travelers. More importantly the business traveler needs multiple flights per day, while the leisure traveler will accept multiple flights per week. That is another reason the DJ Air Group plan never made sense to me since their target market market was bother the leisure and business traveler, neither market we have, when our goal (short-term) needs to be the leisure traveler..

Leisure travelers!!! This is not a bad thing... Let the business traveler (for now) go to Manchester, Providence, Boston or Hartford, but we need to convince the leisure traveler going to Florida, Myrtle Beach, Vegas and Bermuda from our catchment area to use ORH. Asking people to think Worcester when flying to Denver on Frontier is nothing short of ridiculous and Frontier knows it too.

Lastly instead of three secondary aiports like Youngstown, Worcester and Portsmouth working seperately, we should work together. It is not a coincidence that all three only have one airline and it is the same airline --Allegiant. Maybe all three can work together to get other carriers???

Hooters Air Thoughts

Although I am excited about the prospect of Hooters in discussions with ORH, I simply do not get the timing. Hooters is a lean operation and cthey did cut flights at Gary, Indiana and Columbus, Ohio during the months of Jan-February when the ridership is done, but are booking for March.

Destinations like Mytrle Beach, Fort Lauderdale and St Pete's would be great for ORH but will Hooters start up during the Spring and Summer months when they shut-down in Gary and Columbus, I doubt it.. In a best case scenario, I feel Hooters is looking at ORH for the next winter season.

Hope I am wrong.

DJ Air

We need to have more of a sense of urgency turning this airport around. Things like our Master Plan, not having a meeting in 2005, is ridiculous. DJ Air should have been pursued for what it is was ( a very very long shot), with the majority of attention on second-tier carriers like Allegiant/Hooters/USA3000. In addition, our model airport should be Rockford Airport , an hour outside of Chicago versus spending $100,000 (that could have been used to help a new airline) on consultants.

The sad thing about Hooters is that we may have already missed this winter season traveling to Myrtle Beach/Florida. Even if we have not, many people may have already have made their reservations elsewhere. At the same time, everything needs to be pursued. I am not saying do not pursue Sun Country/SunShip1/Frontier/DJ Air Group, but lets focus our energies where have our best chances.

Seriously think about how much time we wasted on DJ Air Group. Why did we ever get anyone thinking about an airline that has never ever had 1 flight and is 100,000,000 short in venture capital. We should have been talking about attainable goals like Hooters and USA3000 the past year and if DJ Air Group happend, it would have been an added bonus.

Funny people in the airport administration will not tell us, when we are in discussions with airlines like Allegiant or Hooters, which could only help their efforts, and get people excited about ORH. On the other hand, multiple stories are leaked about grandiose plans for a start-up called DJ Air Group, which has slim to no chances of happening and will only lead to more negativity towards ORH.

CBS News Story

No surprise here. We have been saying now for two years ($100,000 less then IMG) that we need to target second-tier carriers like TransMeridian (went out of business), Allegiant, Hooters and USA3000 with direct flights to popular leisure destinations. Hooters would be a great addition. It only makes sense for secondary airports like ORH target second-tier airports.

Since our new assistant City Manager is from Portsmouth (another secondary airport) maybe we should work with them to help create a combined package to bring Hooters and/or USA3000 into the NorthEast with flights from Portsmouth and Worcester. Both airports currently only have Allegiant. How about a Hooters Restaurant at the airport???

The surprising thing in this story is the demise of DJ Air, which I said from the beginning would never happen. Think about it they wanted to base their hub in Worcester?? This never made sense to me. Worcester Airport can be an asset to Worcester, but w/o an access road it would never generate enought traffic to support the operation DJ Air was proposing, who by the way were short $100,000,000 before their first flight ever got off the ground.

Why I am at, there is no chance of Frontier, SunCountry or SunShip1 (IMG targeted them both) of coming to Worcester. Our next two steps should be to fly the City Mgr.Mayor to USA3000 headqtrs in Philadelphia and invite Bill Herp of Linear Air to Worcester. No!! Better yet, lets give IMG another $50,000 to ask them what to do next...

http://cbs4boston.com/topstories/local_story_047163051.html

(CBS4) WORCESTER Worcester city leaders are courting a new airline for possible landings at their near empty airport. Who are they talking to? Hooters Air.Hooters has about 400 restaurants nationwide, known for its scantily clad waitresses. It is also a successful airline, and the Hooters girls could be touching down next in Worcester."Hooters Air is a well respected start-up airline that has done well in recent years and one we are engaged in conversations with,” says Mayor Tim Murray.

Hooters Air is based in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and currently flies to Florida and some major cities across the country. The question is, will Worcester be added to the list?So why the interest in Hooters Air? City leaders were talking to the DJ Air group, but that looks doubtful so it is back to the drawing the board.“The key is getting airlines up to Worcester Airport,” Mayor Murray says.

“Believe it or not, Hooters has a well run airline and it’s growing, and that’s what we are looking at.”In January, Allegiant Airlines started a handful of flights to Florida from Worcester. But the airport is still basically empty, and has been for years.The airline web site promises two Hooters girls on every flight.The company president tells CBS4 that he is not at liberty to discuss the negotiations.

$8 Million Dollar Shortfall

Today there was an announcement in the paper that 4 elementary schools will be closed due to an $8 million dollar shortfall. Ironically the two elementary schools that are closest to ORH (Mill Swan & New Ludlow) were two of the four.

It will not take long for these upset parents to point out that we can subsidize an airport losing $2,000,000 per year (although partially subsidized by MassPort), but can not keep their elementary schools, that their kids can walk to open. It is great that we have Allegiant flying out of Worcester, but there has to be a greater sense of urgency since two flights per week simply is not even close to enough.

If the airport does not start making greater strides fast, the cry to downgrade to a General Aviation (GA) airport will only get louder and louder. If two flights per week and one airline is the best we can do, I will agree with them.

Portland, ME Courting JetBlue

Full story at the link below. Please note JetBlue is looking to add 8-10 new destinations this year with the addition of the Embraer 190's. Are we talking to them?? Are any of the 6 presentations that we paid to $53,000 to IMG targeting JetBlue??


http://travel.mainetoday.com/news/060215jetport.shtml

Portland airport officials are continuing their ardent pursuit of JetBlue airline and hope their efforts will soon pay off with a serious commitment. "They have a very strong interest in Portland," said Jeffrey W. Monroe, director of ports and transportation. "We are one of the cities they are strongly considering, and that's as much as they'll say to us. We've got our fingers and toes crossed."

An airline spokesman declined to say whether Portland is in JetBlue's expansion plans. The company has indicated that it expects to add eight to 10 new destinations this year, Bryan Baldwin said, and has already announced service to Austin, Texas; Richmond, Va.; and Hamilton, Bermuda.

DOT Grant Monies and IMG

The January, 2006 board meeting states that by September, 2006, we will have spent $304,000 of the $455,000. To date the IMG report cost $100,000. In addition we paid IMG $53,000 (March, 2005 Board meeting page 5) to have them prepare six presentations.

If this is correct then more then half (153,000) of the $304,000 that will be spent by September, 2006 will have gone to IMG. After the March, 2005, mention of the six presentations I can find no mention as to the status of these 6 presentations.

These monies should have gone to airlines or to the passengers (free parking, etc). If I had known that $153,000 was going to be spent on consultants, I never would have pushed to get the grant.

DOT Grant

I just reread the January minutes--by September, 2006 we will have spent 304,000 of the DOT grant monies. I would like a complete break-down as to how the 304,000 has been spent. That is alot of monies. If we only expect to make 15,000-20,000 on parking revenues in the first year, would it not make sense to have used some of the $304,000 to subsidize "FREE PARKING."

We need to see the monthly reports from LAZ to see what kind of net revenues are being collected. Also check out Charley, he is on a roll http://www.closeorh.blogspot.com

January Board Minutes

Now available at on http://www.flyorh.com.

None of my our three requests were in the Janauary meeting:

1. copy of most recent qtrly report to the DOT showing how the DOT grant monies have been spent, although the meeting says 304,000 will be spent by September, 2006.
2. LAZ monthly report. This may actually be premature since they only were in place for December.
3. amount of losses incurred by the first six months (July-Dec 2005). Again this may be a little premature since December had just ended.

I will put these requests in again for the March meeting.

February Airport Commission Meeting

Steve Foley attended the meeting. Here is a quick summary:

• The new Airport Commission Chairman is Mr Delehaunty, replacing Mr Nemeth.
• The Sunday Allegiant flight had been cancelled due to the storm and tookplace Monday Evening. Many of the passengers had taken the Monday Morningflight. Phil Niddrie was giving out free coffee coupons to the inconvenienced passengers.
• Airport Minutes to be posted on City of Worcester Website, at the request of thecity, starting with January minutes.
• Parking income appears to be on target - expected net income of $15,000
• Meeting this Friday with chairs of many committees/commissions with goal to improve communications with city manager.
• Gary Rosen attended last night. Didn't say anything.
• Pat Santa Maria thought there was too little communication betweenthe Airport Commission and City Hall.
• Tim D. suggested sending representative from the airport commission to acity council meeting on a monthly bases. Rotate members.
• The Project Manager in charge of the master plan has left the company (LeighFisher?). Meeting is expected in March.Per Eric W.:
• Phase III of the capital security plan is to go forward withapplication of an explosive resistant film to be applied to all glass in theterminal.
• Pat expressed his opinion that General Aviation should be supported better.He said that he would like to see a hangar built that would house biz-jets.He commented that Fitchburg had recently build and sold about fifty smallhangars. These sold for $70,000 each. This could be funded by either privateinvestors, in which case the airport would only receive a smaller land leaseincome, or by the city, which would provide more income, but would takelonger for the various approvals. The Chair asked him to prepare, for thenext meeting, a brief summary of the highlights of his plan.
• The representative from Swissport stated that his idea for marketingincludes 'putting a stake in the ground on 495 and claiming everything tothe west' as his customer base.Everyone seemed to agree that General Aviation should be better promoted.
• Tim D brought up an idea of having a regularly scheduled meeting with allpartied involved in marketing (Niddrie, Massport, City of WorcesterPurchasing, Allegiant). The question arose as to if this would bring backthe former Airport Marketing Committee, and would the members need to beappointed by the city manager. There was not a clear consensus as to how this meeting could or should take place.
• Pat Santa Maria brought up an idea to allow car dealers to display their cars on the floor of the terminal. He would like the money brought inearmarked for advertising. A discussion took place regarding the loading capacity of the floor (there is a basement below), the ability to get cars inside the terminal, the cost of setting up backdrops, etc.Eric pointed out that you cannot specifically earmark funds. Massport is paying something like $2,000,000 per year and would want a say in how theincome was spent.
• Other notes: Airport operations last year was 65,000 (takeoffs/landings) an increase of 4000 over the previous year.
• The $1,000,000 FAA subsidy has not yet been approved. Jim McGovern isworking on getting it. His office said they expected an announcement shortly. This subsidy is based on 10,000 enplanments per year. WithAllegiant in place, ORH should have no problem making that number goingforward.
• A Change-the-airport-name discussion took place, with everyone generally inagreement that it, at worst (per Pat Santa Maria) wouldn't hurt. Most everyone else appeared to agree that it was a good idea, and almost necessary. Phil said that Allegiant is marketing to Orlando theirWorcester-Boston flight.
• He also said that another, as yet unnamed, airlineis looking at ORG specifically due to it's proximity to Boston.Next Meeting scheduled for 3/13/06.

Airport Meeting Tonight at 6:30PM

If anyone can go, I would appreciate it. Again here are the questions that I have asked to be put on the agenda:

1. Copy of the most recent qtrly filing to the DOT (Department of Transportation) as to how the grant monies have been spent to be incorporated into the minutes of the February meeting.
2. Copy of the LAZ Mgmt monthly parking report to be incorporated into the minutes of the February meeting.
3. Make the financials for the first 6 months of fiscal 2005-2006 part of the February minutes also.

Thanks

Bill

Youngstown Post

This was their post on Friday. If this in fact happens, it casts some doubt on the airport administration that no mgmt company would be interested in running ORH?Breaking News


http://www.yngair.blogspot.com


I have found out the Airport will very well hire a Management company in 1-3 months to help them make decisions and advise them, but the management company will not have complete control.....The more I hear I will post it in the blog but I understand there will be an article in the Vindicator on it today.Maybe we will bring the airlines in by then!

Manchester Airport

I tried to fly into Providence last night to beat the storm but it was cancelled since my connection was through Baltimore. I was, however, able to connect through Tampa to Manchester. Has anyone been there lately??

It is not a TF Green or Bradley, but it is not far behind. Very very impressive. Talked to alot of people on the plane and in the airport. Manchester is drawing alot of people from Massachusetts. Most from the North Shore, Route 2 corridor and Metro-West. That is where they are expecting most of their growth--MASSACHUSETTS!!

In the never ending quest to identify our catchment area, it appears to me that we need to focus more on Worcester Country, West and South of Worcester.

Airport Commission Meeting

Every month the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals meets a couple times per month at the Library in the Saxe Room. I have been at meetings where literally hundreds of people have been in attendance. Last month there must have been 300 people there to protest a large development in Quinsigamond Village.

Many times I can go the city website and check out the agenda the day of the meeting to see if I want to attend. I can even look up old meetings to see how the vote went. Now compare these two Board meetings to that of the Airport Commission.

Golf Week-end

Some friends from college and I are going to Boca Raton to golf the week-end. Mentioned to some of guys (Wrentham area) about Allegiant but Sanford to Boca was simply too far. Instead SouthWest out of TF Green to West Palm. Got me to thinking about one of original ideas--to make Worcester the place to fly out of to get to Florida.

We have the Orlando Market serviced but there are some other really great markets in Florida that we need to enter to really build momentum:

1. St Petes versus Tampa (kind of like Sanford versus Orlando)
2. Fort Myers
3. For Lauderdale

USA3000, based out of Philadelphia, flies to all 3 locations... I have said this before and I will say it again. Forget spending monies on consultants to prepare presentations, lets send the City Manager and/or Mayor down to Philadelphia to meet with Trevor Sadler of USA3000. One more thing, USA3000 is partners with a charter company called Apple Vacations which again would be perfect for ORH.

Today's Comments

Today's comments are what I envisioned when a group of us starting talking about how much we wanted to see the airport succeed. At times our frustration is confused for sarcasm. The Master Plan should be done right now and things like a Category 3 System should be one of the prime focuses. Sorry, asking for information from the airport administration should be as simple as sending our City Clerk or Treasurer a question that is always answered typically the same day.

If someone wants to volunteer to get more information as to what "years and years" in regards to a Category 3 system at ORH, I will be more then happy to post your results as the "blog of the day."


Thanks

Bill

Myrtle Beach Airport Story

If you want to check it out go to Google then News. Do a search for Myrtle Beach Airport and it will be the first story that comes up.. Sorry, I find it amazing that they received grant monies from the FAA for snow removal equipment!!!

Friend's Allegiant Flight

Last week-end a friend of mine and his wife flew Allegiant. Not one complaint. On time flights, Sanford drive to Orlando was easy, car rental agencies at Sanford were close to the gates, etc.

Looks like Allegiant is the complete opposite PanAm when they flew out of ORH. The only delays to date have not been the fault of Allegiant but due to weather, which again would have been negated if we had Category 3 Landing equipment.

Charley Farley e-mailed me this link today from a newspaper in Myrtle Beach. The gist of it was that Myrtle Beach Airport applied for a grant to the FAA' AIP program to get snow removal equipment. It sounds funny at first, snow removal equipment at Myrtle Beach??? What makes it funnies is that they received it.!!!

The ironic thing is I remember an RFP from the City Purchasing department department for snow removal equipment, I hope we applied for the same grant monies as Myrtle Beach to purchase this equipment. More importantly it makes me think that there must be a way to secure grant monies from the FAA to improve ORH landing system to a Category 3.

JetBlue adds Bermuda

Two flights per day from JFK to Bermuda. USA3000, one of the airlines recommended by IMG, flies to Bermuda from Newark and Baltimore. JetBlue knows Bermuda is a popular destination and will most likely add flights from Boston to Bermuda.

We should be talking to USA3000 about starting flights to Bermuda as JetBlue sinks money into advertising this great leisure destination--Bermuda.

February, 2005 Board Meeting

In response to one of Charley Farley's comments to a prior posting regarding the protocol to place items on the airport commission meeting agenda. Check on-line at http://www.flyorh.com under the "Report of the Commission Chairman":


"If a member or someone from outside has an item they would like on the agenda, they are to e-mail or call the Chairman to let him know and discuss it. He will then let Mr Waldron know and he will put it on the agenda."

AIrport 20 Year Master Plan

In the fall of 2004, some of us met with some representatives from Leigh Fisher, including Derrrick Choi who explained the goals of the Master Plan. Last January, Leigh Fisher had a group meeting at the airport to explain the status and completion of the Master Plan. At that time another meeting was scheduled for the Spring with final recommendations to be presented in December of 2005.

As of February 3, 2006, (13 months from the airport meeting with Leigh Fisher) we never had neither the follow-up meeting in the Spring nor the final recommendations last December. An airport that is losing 2,000,000 per year half way through a 3 year operating agreement with Massport needs to have a little more sense of urgency to complete their Master Plan. The excuse that I have heard was that we were awaiting results from the New England Regional Air Study Plan before we went any further???

The time is now to complete our Master Plan.

February Airport Commission Meeting

I have forwarded an e-mail to Chairman Nemeth and Airport Liaison Niddrie asking for the following three items to be placed on the February agenda:

1. Copy of the most recent qtrly filing to the DOT (Department of Transportation) as to how the grant monies have been spent to be incorporated into the minutes of the February meeting.
2. Copy of the LAZ Mgmt monthly parking report to be incorporated into the minutes of the February meeting.
3. Make the financials for the first 6 months of fiscal 2005-2006 part of the February minutes also.

Thanks

Bill

Linear Air

We need to get them to ORH!!!

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060201005644&newsLang=en

LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 1, 2006--Linear Air, a premier air-taxi service that is transforming the private air travel industry, today announced private air luxury and convenience between the Boston and Newark areas at just $598 round-trip, a price equal to the major Boston-Newark shuttle airline. This announcement follows reports earlier this week that Boston-Newark airline shuttle flights are among the worst in on-time performance, and that customers are demanding better alternatives.

"We are proud to offer Boston-Newark travelers the entire private air charter experience for the cost of an airline seat," said William Herp, CEO and president of Linear Air. "Our service translates to less time spent at the airport and more time spent with clients and associates." Lionel Andre of Seibel Systems Inc. and a Linear Air customer concurs: "It's super convenient, and it's really first-class treatment."

Linear Air customers enjoy free planeside valet parking, private terminals, on board refreshments, and a user friendly online reservation system backed up by personalized telephone concierge service. With no lines and no crowds, passengers arrive just 30 minutes before their scheduled departure time. Most importantly, business travelers get to their destination on time, something that has become increasingly difficult for the airlines operating from huge international airports.

Linear Air offers daily service Monday through Thursday from the private terminal at Hanscom Airport in Bedford, Mass., 10 miles northwest of Boston Logan, and arrives at the private terminal at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, New Jersey, just 5 miles north of Newark International and an ideal airport for New York City as well. Flights depart at 8:00 a.m. and return at 5:00 p.m.

About Linear Air

Linear Air, based in Lexington, Mass., is a premier air-taxi service that is transforming the private air travel industry. The carrier currently operates from Hanscom Field in Bedford, Mass., near Boston, Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, N.J., Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Linear Air provides short-hop private air travel at airline rates. The company offers executives and families personalized customer service, flexibility and convenience at attractive fares.

For more information about Linear Air or to book a flight, please visit www.linearair.com or call 781-860-9696 or 1-877-2-LINEAR

MidAmerica & Mike Shannon

St. Louis Cardinals announcer Mike Shannon will again be the pitchman for MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, having promoted the airport in radio ads since September 2004.Shannon's $45,000 contract for this year, approved Thursday by the St. Clair County Public Building Commission, is part of $172,000 the airport will spend marketing itself this year.The majority is being spent on attracting passenger traffic, hence the continued use of a well-known St. Louis personality like Shannon, said airport executive director Tim Cantwell.

Myself I had thought the airport could have used some of the $455,000 to hire a "pitchman" like a Bob Cousy. Again to bad we did not have a "Blue Ribbon" Committee to discuss things like this. As of today, I still have no idea how the $455,000 has been spent, although we have asked repeatedly for a copy of the most recent qtrl report that has been filed with the DOT (Department of Transportation).