Allegiant Air Qtrly Update

LAS VEGAS, July 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Allegiant Travel Company will hold its second quarter 2007 financial results conference call Aug. 7, 2007. A live broadcast of the conference call will be available via the company's Investor Relations website homepage at http://ir.allegiantair.com. The webcast will be also be archived on the "Events & Presentations" section of the site.

    (Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060516/LATU102LOGO)

   When:  Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 10 a.m. (Pacific)

   Who:   Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr., Chief Executive Officer and President
          Linda Marvin, Chief Financial Officer
          Andrew C. Levy, Managing Director - Planning

   How:   Web Address: http://ir.allegiantair.com

About the Company

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Company , is focused on linking travelers in small cities to world-class leisure destinations such as Las Vegas, Nev., Orlando, Fla. and Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla. Through its subsidiary, Allegiant Air, the Company operates a low-cost, high-efficiency, all-jet passenger airline offering air travel both on a stand-alone basis and bundled with hotel rooms, rental cars and other travel related services. ALGT/G

For further information please visit the company's investor web site: http://ir.allegiantair.com.

Reference to the Company's web site above does not constitute incorporation of any of the information thereon into this press release.

June Airport Minutes

They are on-line, click here. Lots of information regarding rental agreements with Thrifty Car Rental and the renting of the parking lot to Worcester State College. Not much regarding the status of anything IMG is doing, are there any ongoing airline negotiations and nothing regarding the extention of the current operating agreement with MassPort.

Stewart Update

Just a review. Stewart is the airport in Newburgh, New York that was privatized about 10 years ago when it leased the airport to National Express for 99 years. This private company has done a great job and now the Port Authority of New York is buying it back for big monies. Here is a very interesting story and how if a major "Port" Authority owns a local airport can make huge improvements both to the airport and infrastructure.

Rail link eyed for New York-area airport

NEWBURGH, N.Y., July 10 (UPI) -- New York may build a commuter rail stop at Stewart International Airport after the city's major airport operator takes it over, a state engineer said Tuesday. The state Department of Transportation has begun a study into the feasibility of constructing a link to Stewart, 55 miles north of New York City, from an existing suburban train station, Department of Transportation Chief Engineer Robert Dennison said.

This would give passengers an express train trip between the airport and the city or Newark Liberty International Airport, he said. Metro-North Commuter Railroad, which operates the rail line, has pushed for the link, which would involve buying property and building new tracks, Mid-Hudson News Network reported. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans to take over the 2,400-acre airport in Newburgh, N.Y., in October to reduce congestion at Newark, LaGuardia and Kennedy International airports.

The takeover will also "prepare us for tremendous anticipated growth in air travel for years to come," Port Authority Chairman Anthony Coscia said. The Port Authority has budgeted $150 million for improvements, including additional parking and an international passenger terminal. Other plans include runway extensions, new taxiways, major cargo expansions and improved highway access.

Allegiant Link

Thanks Harry;

Allegiant Air Promo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7LI1GtMbyo

This director is good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBH6pdpyU4o

Master Plan

It has been about three years now that the 20 Year Master Plan has been worked on. Last I heard was that the final report will be due this summer??

Linear Lands First VLJ

This is huge for Linear, from the Boston Globe:

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Linear Air lands new "very light jet."

Linear Air, a Concord-based air taxi service, said today it has taken delivery of its first Eclipse 500, a so-called "very light jet" that's designed to reduce the costs of personal air travel.

Linear Air said that the Eclipse 500 will be ferried later this week to Hanscom Field in Bedford, where it will soon enter into service.

According to Linear Air, the Eclipse 500 cruises at more than 400 miles per hour, seats three or four passengers with two pilots, and has a range of more than 1,000 miles.

Linear Air said it has ordered 30 Eclipse 500 jets, which are scheduled for delivery over the next two years.

The Eclipse 500 is manufactured by Eclipse Aviation Corp. of New Mexico.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by Boston Globe Business Team at 07:58 AM

Allegiant 2nd Qtr Results

Why couldn't we get airlines like this? June of last year versus June of this year, passenger count is up 57.50. These guys are growing fast, now with three destinations (Vegas, Sanford and St Pete's and new destinations will surely follow. By the way, they still fly out of Portsmouth.


Allegiant Reports June, Second Quarter 2007 Traffic

LAS VEGAS, July 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Allegiant Air, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Allegiant Travel Company , today reported preliminary passenger traffic results for June and Second Quarter 2007.

                                Scheduled Service

                                 Jun. 2007       Jun. 2006       Change
  Passengers                      281,977         178,988         57.5%
  Revenue passenger miles (000)   263,091         183,590         43.3%
  Available seat miles (000)      296,982         214,359         38.5%
  Load factor                       88.6%           85.6%       3.0 pts

                                  2Q 2007         2Q 2006        Change
  Passengers                      753,716         476,174         58.3%
  Revenue passenger miles (000)   708,616         504,635         40.4%
  Available seat miles (000)      833,475         610,294         36.6%
  Load factor                       85.0%           82.7%       2.3 pts

                                Total System*

                                Jun. 2007       Jun. 2006        Change
  Passengers                      298,935         205,408         45.5%
  Revenue passenger miles (000)   281,855         204,230         38.0%
  Available seat miles (000)      324,308         247,940         30.8%
  Load factor                       86.9%           82.4%       4.5 pts

                                  2Q 2007         2Q 2006        Change
  Passengers                      810,555         535,499         51.4%
  Revenue passenger miles (000)   774,828         563,236         37.6%
  Available seat miles (000)      928,177         703,336         32.0%
  Load factor                       83.5%           80.1%       3.4 pts

   *Total system includes scheduled service, fixed fee contract and non-
    revenue flying.

Worcester Airport Name

Travis e-mailed me asking how Worcester got the ORH designation. I believe it has something to do with it being named O'Brien Regional Airport? Can someone enlighten me to the background.

Thanks

Bill

Rockford

I know this gets boring, but how many times do I have to say it?? Forget about the consultants and the studies-simply copy what Rockford Airport does!!! Story by Tom Bona from the Rockford Register. Couple of things to keep in mind, 1) why is this secondary airport able to succeed after 9/11 (common excuse), 2) able to keep Allegiant happy, 3) potentially reach 250,000 this year while ORH is on track for no passengers and 4) potentially expect 10 major announcements this year? Here is the link or you can read the whole story below:


Airport pushes to add routes
Use of current lineup grows, but not enough to hit goal for year.

By Thomas V. Bona
ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR
Click here for more information about Thomas V. Bona

ROCKFORD — Halfway through 2007, Chicago/Rockford International Airport has seen more than 100,000 passengers come and go — well ahead of last year’s pace. Still, officials who hope to reach the stated goal of 250,000 passengers for the year will have to convince an airline to add flights, because even if they filled the rest of 2007’s scheduled flights, they’d come up short.

“It’s still very doable, it’s still within reach, things are still lining up as we would hope,” Executive Director Bob O’Brien said Tuesday. “There’s a strong potential that we’ll be adding one or two airlines and/or destinations.” In June, 18,286 passengers flew in and out of Rockford, a 12 percent increase from last June. For the year, 114,575 passengers flew here, a 35 percent increase from this time last year.

Airplanes were on average 91 percent full, the most of any month so far this year and above the industry average of 80 percent. United Airlines’ Denver route was again the most popular with 5,215 passengers. Allegiant Air’s route to Orlando had 4,913 passengers, and its route to Las Vegas had 4,785. The Las Vegas planes were 94 percent full.

O’Brien said those numbers make good arguments for more flights a week on those routes. Allegiant actually is cutting flights to Florida throughout its system this fall. There won’t be any flights between Rockford and Clearwater/St. Petersburg from Aug. 24 to Oct. 18. Orlando will drop to 16 flights in September and 28 in October before returning to the mid-30s for the winter.

“We will have a seasonal reduction in service in August/September. This will also happen in Fort Wayne, Lansing, Peoria, Roanoke and Toledo and is based on traffic demands for Florida,” Allegiant spokeswoman Tyri Squyres said. “You will also notice on the Web site that we are already booking October through February for those flights.”

Also returning in December are weekly flights to Cancun. According to Apple Vacations’ Web site, the first flight is Dec. 22. O’Brien said airport officials are lobbying Apple Vacations to add a second weekly flight since last winter’s flights were on average 96 percent full. O’Brien said the airport could have as many as 10 major announcements with companies it works with this year, including airlines and development partners.

He expects an announcement on the airport’s “Charters for Starters” program in the next month or two. The airport plans to charter airplanes for yearlong routes to Fort Myers, Fla., and the New York City and Phoenix areas with the program. It would take about three months after an announcement to start any new service, O’Brien said.

Airport officials previously said they’re interested in flying to the Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip for the New York service in an effort to get Southwest Airlines to take over the route when the year is done. But with Southwest recently cutting three daily flights from Midway International Airport to Islip, O’Brien said officials are thinking about their plans.
Another possibility is for a Myrtle Beach airline to start service from there to Rockford in March.

Water & Sewer Connections

This has nothing to do with the airport , but I know Jahn will want to know this. Effective July 1st the new fees to connect to the water and sewer has risen to 1320 per bedroom. Two years ago the fee was 660 and last year it was 990. In total a new three bedroom will cost 4,960 (3 bedrooms times 1320 plus 1000 for sewer).

We can, however, waive 100,000 in fees for a Performing Arts Center?

Portsmouth Study

Story in the Boston Globe details how Portsmouth hired a consultant to do a study. Why?? Secondary airports like ORH and Portsmouth should stop wasting their monies on consultants and spend the money actually attracting airlines?? Seriously I could have written this report for Portsmouth. Here is the actual story:

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) -- A new study shows more than a million travelers might use New Hampshire's Portsmouth International Airport if it were to expand.

The airport commissioned a consultant's study to identify how to build the airport. It recommends adding chartered international flights, increasing the number of low-cost flights and creating a time-sharing program for corporate jets.

Airport leaders say they're open to those suggestions.

SkyBus, a new low-budget airline, announced last month it would flying in and out of the airport. The study was commissioned before SkyBus made its announcement.

------

Information from: New Hampshire Union Leader, http://www.unionleader.com

Westover

Another story from the Republican:

Chicopee's Westover Metropolitan Airport has received word that it will be able to roll out the equivalent of a $1.85 million welcome map to greet new discount-fare startup Skybus Airlines.
The grant money is good news for Skybus, which is planning its inaugural non-stop flight to Columbus, Ohio, on July 16. Skybus will also offer daily nonstop service between Columbus and San Diego, Calif., the St. Augustine, Jacksonville and Daytona Beach, Fla. area through St. Augustine Airport and a second daily nonstop flight to Fort Lauderdale. "It's very timely for us," said Allan W. Blair, president of Westover Metropolitan Development Corp

The grant money will be used to pay for utilities improvements, increased capacity for hangar upgrades, the reconstruction of Hangar Drive, finishing upgrades to Industrial Park Road and nearly doubling airport parking spaces. Airport improvements are expected to create hundreds of new jobs. With the first-class improvements, Westover Metropolitan Airport could be just the ticket for regional economic growth.

July 1st

Today was suppose to be the 1st day of a new era at ORH. Instead nothing will happen another six months, we will lose even more money the next 6 months to keep ORH open for no reason. Sad day for the airport.

USA3000

USA3000 was one of the first airlines that we ever mentioned on the blog and they are still around doing well. Maybe not as well as Allegiant, but much better then TransMeridian, SouthEast, Hooters or SkyValue. Right now they have 6 Florida destinations:

1. St Petes
2. Melbourne
3. Fort Myers
4. Sarasota
   
5. Fort Lauderdale
6. Orlando

Now add the fact that they are based in Philadelphia and they also work (maybe they even own) Apple Vacations.

New Bedford Airport

Story from SouthCoastToday:


NEW BEDFORD — The city is actively pursuing a return of passenger airline service to New Bedford Regional Airport. "We've made contact with various people in the industry," said James Burgess, chairman of the city's Airport Commission. "We're looking at established carriers right now. Whoever we brought in, we'd want them to be successful."

Mr. Burgess said the commission would like to see the return of connecting flights to a major airport hub, like Newark, N.J. or New York City. The airport can handle small jets that carry up to 50 passengers, he said, but the service might also be handled by a smaller, turbo-prop airplane. "We're never going to be a Providence or a Logan," Mr. Burgess said, "but there is a large population in and around the airport that could be served by such a service."

The service would provide three round trips a day to a hub. Mayor Scott W. Lang said he is pushing for a return of passenger service to a major hub, too. Cape Air already flies out of New Bedford to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, carrying 24,000 passengers a year, according to the city airport's Web site. "We're looking at all options to make the airport an economic development engine for the city and the region," he said.

If and when the commission were to convince a carrier to launch passenger service out of New Bedford two things would have to happen, Mr. Burgess said. The airport would have to re-apply for certification for passenger service. Even though Cape Air already flies out of the airport, the facility would have to receive a different certification for the service being proposed. The move would also require significant upgrades to the security system at the airport, because larger airports in Newark or New York require that bags and passengers be screened according to guidelines from the Federal Aviation Administration. Mr. Burgess said the cost of getting certified and the upgrades "would depend on the airline flying," he said.

According to a story in the Boston Globe last week, Skybus Airlines, a new Ohio-based airline offering fares as low as $10 one-way, will begin offering service out of Westover Metropolitan Airport in Chicopee, to Columbus, Ohio, on July 16. Westover currently does not offer passenger service. Skybus began service to the Boston area recently when flights began from Columbus to Portsmouth International Airport in New Hampshire The airline focuses on airports that are located an hour away from major airports, as well as flying into major airports from smaller airports.

Mr. Burgess said he had not read the Globe story about Skybus but was interested in the announcement.

1.85 Million Grant for Westover

From the Republican:

The city has received a $1.85 million state grant to fund renovations and improvements at Westover Metropolitan Airport. The state Opportunity Relocation and Expansion Jobs Capital Program is providing $100 million in grants statewide to improve public infrastructure with the goal of promoting economic expansion and job growth.

The $1.85 million will be used by airport owner Westover Metropolitan Development Corp. for utilities improvements, increased capacity for hangar upgrades, the reconstruction of Hangar Drive, finishing upgrades to Industrial Park Road and nearly doubling airport parking spaces.
"It's very timely for us," said Allan W. Blair, president and chief executive officer of Westover Metropolitan Development Corp., yesterday. "We wouldn't have been able to do all this work without the grant."

The timeliness of the grant is tied to a discount passenger carrier, Skybus Airlines, that is set to start offering service on July 16. Skybus is the first regular passenger service at the airport since the late 1980s. Skybus will offer once-daily flights on Airbus A319 jets to Columbus, Ohio from the airport, which includes 188 acres in the civilian portion of Westover Air Reserve Base.
Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said the grant, which is overseen by the state Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, was a joint application of the city, Westover Metropolitan Development Corp. and Skybus.

"It's a pretty significant piece of the airport puzzle," Bissonnette said. "This will solve the parking issue. It will also provide some infrastructure needs to the areas near the hangars."
State Rep. Joseph F. Wagner, D-Chicopee, made the grant announcement with other area legislators yesterday afternoon. "Not only is the civil aviation division of the Westover Metropolitan Development Corporation poised to take a giant step forward, but this will mean hundreds of new jobs for local citizens," said Wagner, chairman of the Joint Committee on Transportation, in a statement.

Blair said it's one of the largest grants the corporation has received over the years.
"This is really very important and helpful. It really spurs economic growth and job expansion," Blair said.

Councilor Irish for Mayor

Councilor Irish announced his candidacy for Mayor yesterday. Since then I have heard him on WTAG (Jordan Levy) last night, WTAG (George Brown) and 830AM (Peter Blute) this morning. Although I did not hear the entire parts of the program, I did not hear him mention ORH once his idea about a month ago to invite investment bankers to Worcester and pitch the airport to infrastructure fund managers and investors.

Skybus, Chicopee and Lt Governor Murray

Interesting story in the Springfield Republican.

Nemeth Article

Sorry, there is no story from part Airport Chairman and current Commissioner Nemeth, instead we have an editorial . Before you read the editorial, do you think the editorial is critical about the decision to extend the current agreement six months? Shocker, but the editorial praises the decision to "take time to get airport agreement right." Did we not have three years to get this agreement done "right". What exactly will six more months provide of time provide to help get it done "right".

In addition we all now know what the exact terms of the said agreement will be so why don't we put these number out on the street, test the marketplace and see if anyone else may be interested in paying more, let me explain. First you need to understand that airport breaks there losses (there are no profits) into two categories:

1. non-operating (mainly debt service) approximately 800,000
   
2. operating losses approximately 1,400,000

Right now the operating agreement consists of MassPort subsidizing 68% (952,000) of the operating losses while the tax-payers of Worcester paying the remaining 32% (448,000) and 100% of the non-operating losses. Obviously these numbers change slightly as the underlying losses change, but you get the picture.

Now the deal on the table is as follows:

1. non-operating expenses will be paid 100% by the tax-payers of Worcester
2. operating losses will be paid 100% by MassPort

In the end the City of Worcester would save not having to pay 32% of an operating deficit, which currently means a savings of $448,000 based on an operating loss of 1,400,000. It will, however, still cost the taxpayers of Worcester approximately 800,000 per year for the non-operating expenses.

In the end MassPort would pick up this 32% portion and pay the entire operating deficit, now at 1,400,000. Bottom line is that MassPort would in essence be leasing the entire airport for 1,400,000. Now consider this, what if MassPort were to divert some flights to ORH and start making on money on the airport and eventually wipe out the operating deficit? The cost to lease ORH would in essence be nothing.

All I am trying to say is that a deal whereby a leasing entity would have to pay the operating deficit, which is currently at 1,400,000, but have the ability to lower their lease costs by running an efficient profitable airport to nothing would seem pretty attractive??? Today's editorial should have been "now that we all know the selling price of ORHG", lets test the marketplace to ensure we are getting the highest return for the tax-payers or Worcester. Once again the Telegram comes up short.

Press on the Airport

Still a little surprised and confused about the press coverage regarding the airport. The extension of MassPort to continue the subsidy for another 6 months was portrayed as a good thing and that somehow we would be saving money since there is a subsidy. In actuality, the extension only continues the past 8 years of poor performance 6 more months and will cost the tax-payers approximately $540,000.

Also surprised that there was not more of a reaction from our City Councilors????

Telegram Story

Here is the story from the Worcester Telegram regarding the extension. Please note that even when MassPort takes over ORH either through a long-term lease or outright sale that the debt service will still be the responsibility of ORH, which is approximately 600,000 to 700,000 per year.

We need to invite companies like National Express, who ran Stewart and are selling it for a a tidy profit, and investment bankers as Councilor Irish has recommended to look at ORH.

Final Decision--No Decision

Hate to say this, not really, I was right again. The current agreement will be extended 6 months, here is the story, note the head-line "Bail-out" and the "torturous drive" comment--not exactly positive PR for ORH.

Right now the airport is costing us (the tax-payers of Worcester) 90,000 per month based on the numbers from the first 9 months of this fiscal year. In other words this 6 months extension could cost the tax-payers of Worcester $540,000!!!

We had three years (length of the current agreement) to work on this and now we need another 6 months at $540,000? If this is the path that we have chosen then lets put the airport out for sale to anyone and everyone , invite companies like National Express or anyone else to ORH.

Sorry, but I can say anything good about this when I actually thought the future would be changing for the better on July 1st. Now we are looking at another 6 months where nothing will happen at a cost to the tax-payers of Worcester of over a half million dollars by not being able to come up with something, anything, the past three years.

I can not wait to read Mr Nemeth's column this Sunday.

10 Days

Right now the most important issue facing ORH is what the management/ownership structure will be on July 1st. Obviously the past two operating agreements the past 8 years with MassPort have not worked.

10 days to find out.

11 Days

The current operating agreement has 11 days to go. What will happen during this time:

1. An agreement will be presented to either outright sell or long-term lease ORH and be approved.
2. The current agreement will be extended short-term to work out the details of number 1.

I am leaning towards #2.

Allegiant Map

I have not checked this out for a while. Click here. Sorry to bring this up but Allegiant. As we all know Las Vegas was their first destination and then they added Sanford. Since Allegiant departed ORH, St Pete's has been added as a third destination and now flies to 14 cities.

Should I say it again?? We missed a big opportunity with Allegiant to re-establish ORH as a viable option.

Bob Nemeth

We are due for a Sunday Editorial from ex-Chairman and current Airport Commissioner Nemeth on ORH.

JetBlue

I absolutely love flying with them. Think everyone must remember the incident at JFK where people sat in their plane for hours. Since that time JetBlue has made alot of changes, including replacing Neeleman. Let me tell you a little about my delays with them.

Both times my flights were delayed, I received a $50 credit (believe that was the amount) for the inconvenience. Most recently flying from Orlando with a late flight, I showed up early and was able to take the earlier flight for an extra $30.

Can not say enough about them. Now if I could get dropped off at ORH, hop on a Cape Air flight, fly to Logan bypass the security lines at Logan, traffic, parking fees etc and then connect with JetBlue to fly direct . How good would that be???

Sorry, for all those SouthWest fans there is no comparison between JetBlue and SouthWest although the "ding" ads from SouthWest are much better then any of JetBlue's ads.

May Airport Minutes

Still not on-line. Correction, it is now on-line, click here.

Nothing on prospective airlines or status of negotiations with MassPort.

Postive/Negative Blog

I honestly hope that this blog is neither. In fact I truly believe that the website and blog try to portray an accurate picture of ORH. To that end, let me give you an example. Before I do, I can not say enough about JetBlue. Unless you have flown JetBlue, you do not know what I mean.

I have put alot of emphasis into the City of Worcester putting a big time effort into getting Cape Air to fly out of ORH with a code-sharing agreement with JetBlue, like they have done with P-town, Hyannis, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Recently, I believe it was Harry Tembenis, pointed out that Cape Air had a rather large problem with their fleet of Cessnas. You read the story here. Now putting this link on the blog about Cape Air, does that make me negative towards Cape Air?? No, I still believe we should be looking into them.

Bottom line is that the more information that all of us put forward about ORH will make ORH be the successful airport that we all know that it can be. In addition if anyone wants to start to own blog or website, let me know I will put links to it anywhere I can.



Thanks

Bill


PS Since January 1st of this year, I personally have flown three round-trips to Florida (Tampa, Fort Lauderedale and Orlando) none of which from ORH (2 from Boston on JetBlue and 1 from Providence on Southwest). That is the real story here.

17 Days

Less then 3 weeks to the end of the current operating agreement. If we do in fact long-term lease or sell ORH to MassPort, this is a huge decision based on the mere size and value of ORH. To review an agreement, vote on it and have it effective by July 1st seems almost impossible right now. My bet right now is that we end up extending the current agreement for three months.

MaxJet

On a cruiser so I am having a hard time reading the Telegram. Can anyone tell me if there has been anything since Sunday? I will be back Friday.

In the meantime lets keep a closer eye on MaxJet.

Logan Airport

Seems like yesterday I was stuck at Fort Lauderdale Airport sitting out a JetBlue delay, today I am sitting here at Logan waiting out JetBlue again. Even with the delay, if you have not flown JetBlue, I highly recommend the experience. Plenty of leg room, great leather seats and your own personal television.

Sitting here, I have had a chance to roam the all the JetBlue gates. Bothers me to see the Cape Air gate with all the Cape Air plans utilized for the code sharing agreement theat flies people direct to Hyannis, P-Town, MArtha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Why not Worcester? What next JetBlue will add Chicopee under their code sharing agreement with JetBlue.

Before I left I had a chance to review the City Council agenda, by the way what a great job our city clerk does. Nothing on the agenda regarding MassPort. Good news, however, IMG is still looking for the right airline for ORH. I feel much better knowing that and the final results of the Master Plan will be released this summer. It has taken 3 years to put together this Master Plan and does anyone else see the ironies in the fact the ORH Master Plan will be released when ORH will most likely be under the control of MassPort??

By the way Logan wacks you 7.99 per day to access the net.

22 Days

Do not know what to say, except there are now 22 days left until the end of the current operating agreement..... There is alot to do over the next 22 days if we are in fact going to long-term lease or sell the airport to MassPort on July 1st.

Very interesting story in WoMag yesterday regarding Union Station. Makes you wonder who is checking to make sure the tenants at the Airport and Airport Industrial Park are in compliance with their leases. I know of one property that owes 200,000 in real estate taxes while the current lease requires property taxes to be current?

JetBlue Press Release

NEW YORK,NY (rushprnews) May 24, 2007 — JetBlue Airways Corporation (Nasdaq:JBLU) today launches non-stop service to Nantucket, Mass. from its home base of operations at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. The low-fare, high-value airline is introducing convenient daily service to the popular Massachusetts island resort for the peak season through September 24(a), with additional weekend flights operating throughout the summer.

JetBlue’s regular fares between New York and Nantucket range from $79(b) to $279(b) each way. To celebrate the launch of the new route, the airline is offering its $79(b) each-way fares with no advance purchase required for travel on nonstop flights between New York and Nantucket completed on or before June 30, 2007.

“Nantucket is a desirable vacation destination for many New Yorkers, and JetBlue now connects these locations with direct and convenient service,” said Rob Maruster, JetBlue Senior Vice President Airports and Operational Planning. “We look forward to welcoming many travelers on this new route, which will allow them to experience our roomy leather seats, complimentary snacks and the most live entertainment options available on any airline during their flight.”

“Nantucket Island, a pioneer of the whaling industry, is very pleased to welcome JetBlue Airways, a pioneer of low-cost, quality air service, to Nantucket,” said E. Foley Vaughan, Nantucket Memorial Airport Commission Chairman. “JetBlue’s presence has improved our overall air service to the island from New York, even before their first flight.”

JetBlue’s service between New York and Nantucket:

Council Meeting

Watched about an hour last night. Although I more then understand the importance of Section 18, I did not hear one word on ORH. Only 24 days until the end of the current operating, which not renewed will end up costing the City of Worcester $200,000 per month to keep open.

Maybe I missed something. Did anyone see anything on the airport last night?

Another Update

Next Airport Commission is next Monday.

There is a meeting scheduled to discuss the one RFP that was submitted at the end of April for the land parcels at the airport. Who was is the one bidder is still not know, when final decision to accept or not accept the bid or when the Master Plan will be released is not known.

City Council Meeting

Noting on the agenda for the airport negotiations with MassPort. Today is June 4th, we have alot to do between now and July 1st.

June 1st

30 days till the end of the current operating agreement. I remember when the the counter started at a little over 300 days. I feel MassPort taking control over ORH via a long-term lease or outright sale may be the best thing that ever happened to ORH, although I do feel that the "net" should have been expanded by offering an RFP for the entire airport to attract companies like National Express. At the same time I disappointed that we are 30 days away from the end of the current agreement, whereby the price tag for ORH jumps to approximately 200,000 per month without a "partner" and we have no idea what this new agreement looks like??

Lets hope that the negotiations are finalized shortly so we can see the actual agreement....

New England Regional Air Study Plan

Remember this?? Click here if you do not. This was one of the three reports that we were waiting for the last three years, along with the $100,000 report from IMG and the Master Plan from Leigh Fisher, now Jacobs Consulting. Now that I mentioned it, we have never seen the final Master Plan??? Ironic isn't it that we will most likely see the Master Plan after ORH has either been leased long-term or sold to MassPort?

The reason I bring up the New England Regional Air Study Plan is that the airport in Chicopee was not even one of the eleven airports even considered in the plan. It just goes to show you that waiting around for reports to be done by consultants is not a recipe for success.

Although I am extremely disappointed that Skybus has picked Chicopee, we have to give Chicopee credit. An airport that I had no idea even wanted commercial service, and was not even considered in the New England Regional Air Study Plan was able to land Skybus. Kudos to Chicopee...

Skybus add Chicopee!!!

Thanks Tim MacDonald!!! Yup, you got that right Skybus adds Chicopee (Westover). Check out the story.

Chances of Skybus adding ORH, when Chicopee is so close, seem very remote at best. Not sure what deal Chicopee offered Skybus, but whatever it was we should have at least matched it. Sorry, but unlike Hooters, TransMeridian, SouthEast and SkyValue, who were undercapitalized start-ups that ended up stiffing many of the cities that they serviced, Skybus is the real deal like Allegiant.

Wow, this one really hurts.

Worcester Business Journal

Excellent Editorial.

DayJets

Great story on Florida based Dayjets, an air taxi company, similar to Massachusetts based Linear Air, both of whom have made a large investment in the Eclipse 500. Looks like the Eclipse will be coming on line soon. Maybe ORH should be talking to Linear to base on of their Eclipses here?

City Budget

Check out the line item in the city budget on the airport, click here. In particular page 12 that cites a 750,000 savings. Not sure how this number was arrived at, check out the April 26 blog.
Through 9 months of this fiscal year, I have ORH costing the City of Worcester approximately 812,000 and MassPort another 661,000...

Does this mean Massport will only pay the operating deficit and not the debt service?? We will see.

Skybus

Starts today!!!

Two Million for Airport

Here is the story from the Telegram. ORH is getting $2,000,000 from the FAA to improve runways and possibly build a new one. This is the first of many good things to come as MassPort takes over ORH.

Believe me that it was MassPort and not our airport administration that got ORH $2,000,000. My bet is by the end of the year, you will see commercial service once MassPort takes over and the remaining balances in the DOT Small Community Air Service Grant will be spent. Don't get me wrong, I still think we should have expanded the net looking to privatize ORH but the new agreement (either long-term lease or outright sale to MassPort) will be a huge improvement

Land RFP BIdder

I was e-mailed the following answer as to who the bidder was from our airport liaison:



"Sorry for the delay. Our system was down today and I was in Boston most of the day yesterday. We are not at liberty to disclose the name at this time because there is an internal process that must take place first. The evaluation of the response is being done by a team of people from the city and Massport."

Land RFP

Airport Liaison responded back to my question. There was one responder to the most recent land RFP. I have asked our Airport Liaison who that was and am awaiting his response.

April Board Minutes

On line, click here. Truly classic:

1. no mention of any airline negotiations
2. no mention of any negotiations with MassPort
3. no mention of the operating deficit
4. no discussion at all that the current operating is agreement is ending in less then 3 months
   
5. RFP for the land parcels are due April 30th. I have e-mailed our airport liaison to see how many have submitted bids. My bet is zero.

The only good part is that it looks like photo shoots will not have to be approved by the Board and that the airport director can approve these on his own. Total time of meeting 33 minutes.

ORH

What can you say about ORH? Right now the next 46 days may determine the future of ORH for the next 20 - 30 years. Bottom line I do not see how any airline can come here or anyone can bid on the land RFP, until they know what the future holds. Although I will keep posting airline information, right now the new operating agreement effective July 1st should be our number one concern.

DOT Grant & Rockford Blogger

Again thanks Rockford Blogger for Southern Skyway.

As I review the numbers below, I can not help but think the $100,000 for a consultant seems hire, especially when you consider we had already paid them $100,000 for their initial study. I would rather have seen Allegiant getting that money or even some of the $285,000 that appears to me, we have left to spend.

This goes back to some other comments the other day regarding if we were applying for another grant. I highly doubt the DOT would approve a new application for monies when we still have not spent the monies from the first grant.

Small Community Air Service Grant

I know have all six reports filed with the DOT, here is my summary:

IMG 101,262.90
Advertising 44,989,.37
Allegiant 23,615,.51
Events 11,776.82
Recruitment
Material 9,750.00
LaMar 8,610.00
WXLO 5,060.00
Telegram 3,720.00
Tornadoes 3,200.00
Creedon 2,515.10
Community
Advocate 2,500.00
Charter 2,400.00
WSRS 2,300.00
Waldron 1,947.60
Guertin
Graphics 1,560.50
Radio Ad 1,500.00
Docent
Services 1,260.00
Vocero 1,198.12
Printing 1,001.15
Worc Chamber 1,000.00
Fliers 920.00
Curry Copy 719.16
Ballons 275.00


Total 234,321,.20

We are reimbursed at a rate of 72.73% so if all of these expenses were approved (assume that they were), ORH has received 170,421.79. I believe the initial grant was for 455,000 so it appears to me that we have 285,000 remaining in our Small Community Air Service Grant.

I willl e-mail this blog to our Airport Liaison to see if this makes sense.

Myrtle Beach Direct Air

Add these guys to the list

Myrtle Beach Direct Air

Thanks Rockford Blogger

Charters For Starters

Whats new Rockford has another great idea. Instead of ever hiring another consultant, all we need to do is copy everything these guys do. To long to summarize, click here for the story in Rockford Register my blog favorite Thomas Bona.

Small Community Air Service Grant

As a follow-up to the comments in the prior blog, let me make a few comments on the Small Community Air Service Grant. In the fall of 2004, the City of Worcester received a $455,000 Small Community Air Service Grant from the DOT, mainly due to the efforts of Congressman McGovern, after failing in two previous attempts. Many things were stipulated in the application including preparation of 5, or maybe 6,airline packages to recruit and retain a commercial airline as well as 6 months of free parking.

Although a Blue Ribbon Committee was suppose to be assembled to determine how the monies were to be spent, it was not and sole discretion was left up to the Airport Commission. Immediately the 6 months of free parking in the application was abandoned, when Allegiant came to ORH. This was a mistake since any othersuccessful second-tier airport located in close proximity to a major airport not only offer free parking. but market that fact extensively. To date, I know that two packages have been prepared. To whom were they sent or what is the status, I have no idea and I never received them .

How has the $455,000 been spent?? Recently even Airport Commissioner Nemeth mentioned in one of his Sunday stories that he was unsure how the monies have been spent. In addition my request for all the qtrly reports filed with the DOT on this grant over a month ago has not been answered.

In the past the airport administration said that another application could not be applied for while a grant was outstanding. The current $455,000 was to be spent over three years. Although I believe this factually incorrect, I have found out that the DOT puts alot of weight into a new application based on the performance of past grants. What do we have to show for the $455,000 grant that the DOT has already given us?? Other then IMG (consultant), who has received approximately $200,000 of the grant, our return has not been very good and I highly doubt another application for more monies would have been received very favorably.

SkyValue

In the airline industry these start-ups are very risky. Can you say:

1. TransMeridian
2. Hooters
3. LeHigh Valley Air
4. SouthEast

Looks like SkyValue has joined the above ranks. Although risky, it is start-ups like these that we need to consider, who may take a chance on ORH and for us to re-establish ourselves as a legitimate option. Obviously we need to be careful and not throw marketing monies at these second-tier carriers, like it looks like Gary, Indiana may have done.

At the same time if I would rather have spent 200,000 of the DOT Small Community Air Service Grant monies trying to keep Allegiant at ORH, or another second-tier carrier, then a consultant (IMG). Bottom line scratch SkyValue from the list. Skybus, however, still intrigues me.

Councilor Irish Urges More Airport Talks

Article in today's paper from Councilor Irish says


“Currently, we are only engaged with Massport about the airport’s future and that may not necessarily get us the best deal possible for this valuable asset,” Mr. Irish said. The councilor said he would like to see the city manager meet with investment bankers to see how the city can pitch the airport to groups that deal with infrastructure funds.



I could not agree more; however we have been saying this very thing since right after the current agreement was signed in 2004. Let me set the record straight: The idea of privatization (section about it) was brought to Chairman's Nemeth attention who told us to submit the concept of privatization to the February, 2005 Airport Board Meeting. Instead I have had to read editorials by Mr Nemeth that we should sell ORH to MassPort, which I always think was and is conflict of interest as an Airport Board Member. In the end the idea was dismissed, since IMG did not feel there would be any potential buyers. This never made any sense to me then or now and as I have said what did we have to lose to attempt it. In fact is there not a fiduciary responsibility to the tax-payers of Worcester to get the highest return on our assets?

I agree whole-heartedly with Councilor Irish (and Councilor Rosen who has been saying this also for months), but let me add that we should invite the airport authorities that run Providence, Hartford and Manchester to ORH. In addition, maybe more importantly, we should invite National Express, the company that took Stewart Airport in Newburgh, New York private, but has recently sold the airport back to the Port of Authority of New York and New Jersey for a rather large profit. Let us not forget Harry Tembenis suggestions that we should consider European Airlines that may want to set-up shop in the US like Ryan Air, Easy Jet and Virgin America. I say call Eclipse, SouthWest and JetBlue to see if there is any interest there. Bottom line leave no stone unturned.

Lastly I commend Councilor Irish for putting this idea forward, but wonder why we did not start doing this the day the current agreement was signed on July 1st, 2004, rather then two months before the expiration when we will own 100% of both the operating deficit and debt service. Is 60 days enough time to do all of this?

Skybus

Website has been redone and includes the cities being service including Boston to Columbus.

Skybridge

This blog commented on this on February 20th, check the archives. Good to see that the City Manager has decided not to pursue it at this time, note the article in today's paper, since tax levy monies would have to be used if not enough net "new" tax were created in the "DCU Special District Finance Zone" potentially adding to the existing deficit.

Council Order

Although I like the order 8D) filed by Councilor Irish, it is about 2 1/2 years to late. We simply do not have the time over the next two months to get this done. It is bad enough the airport costs over 90,252 per month right now, but if we take on 100% of the burden (lose MassPort subsidy) on July 1st the cost increases to 163,681 per month based on the numbers the first 9 months of this fiscal year.

	8d.	Request that, in addition to MassPort, the City Manager immediately seek discussions with investment banks and private equity firms on the possible sale of the Worcester Regional Airport. (Irish)

Just a reminder, we have been recommending this for the past two years on the website and filed a request with the airport commission asking the same thing. If we had started this process then we could have done it with the MassPort subsidy, but seriously how can we do it now with two months left and a 21,000,000 budget deficit.

More importantly the order should be changed to include airport management companies like National Express, who are in the process of selling Stewart back to the Port Authority of NY and NJ, airport authorities that run Bradley/Manchester/Providence and discount airlines like JetBlue and SouthWest amongst others. It is absolutely ridiculous that we are only in discussions with one entity (MassPort). Although they in the end may be the best option, their is a fiduciary responsibility to the tax-payers to test the marketplace.

Airport Numbers

9 months into this fiscal year, here are the numbers ending March 31, 2007:

Revenues
Airfield 115,151
Airfield Support 225,680
Terminal 162,815
Misc 136,291

Total Revenues 639,937

Expenditures
Salaries 629,303
Maintenance 720,361
Capital 3,669
Debt Service 486,776
Fringe 272,961

Total Expenditures 2,113,070

Net Loss 1,473,133

Since the debt service is 486,776, the operating deficit is 986,357. Per the current agreement, MassPort pays 67% (660,859) and Worcester pays the balance or 325,498. If you add debt service and our portion of the operating debt, that equates to 812,274 over 9 months or 90,252 per month or 20,827 per week.

Information Request Update

At the beginning of March in light of Sunshine Week, note my March 11th blog, I e-mailed and mailed our airport liaison two requests:

1. Copy of the two packages that IMG prepared for the two airlines that were interested in ORH mentioned in the monthly Economic Development Report for months.
   
2. All copies of quarterly reports filed with the Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding monies spend on the Small Community Air Service Grant.

Since that time I explained that if either of the two packages that I received included airlines that we had on-going negotiations with, I would not publish them. I stand by that. To date, however (beyond the 10 day limit required under the Public Open Meeting Laws), I have received neither of these two packages.

In addition, I have not received all copies of the quarterly reports regarding the expenditures of the Small Community Air Service Grant. A letter or e-mail maybe explaining why either of these requests would have seemed appropriate and appreciated. Instead nothing???

Although I have followed up with at least 5 e-mails to our airport liaison regarding this request, I have received no response via the internet or the mail in regards to either of these requests. Today I will mail another letter. Any other suggestions or comments.

City Manager O'Brien & WCCA

WCCA's Maura DePasquale it taping an interview with City Manager O'Brien for his "Soapbox" show. I urge readers of this blog to submit any questions that they may have by hitting this link.

I asked a question reading the upcoming agreement with MassPort. Since I am assuming MassPort will pay 100% of the operating deficit, will they also pay the debt service (approximately 600,000 per year). At the end of the new agreement or maybe during the agreement, again I assume MassPort will have an option to buy ORH. How is this amount being determined?

City Manager On Radio

I heard the City Manager on WTAG this morning. He indicated, as he said before, that the City of Worcester does not belong in the airport business and that he would be in negotiations with MassPort.

From he said it sounded to me that we can expect a long-term lease with an option to take title to ORH. MassPort will be paying 100% of the operating deficit, but will they pay the debt service (600K per year)? Again please note the City Manager did not give these details, but this is how I translated his comments.

Lastly he also mentioned that we were in discussions with a couple commercial airlines.

Gary International Airport

They have achieved primary airport status with SkyValue from the Post-Tribune. Gary Airport, Rockford and Stewart are all secondary airport close to major Metropolitan cities that are starting to achieve a level of success.

Here is a small part of the story:

We have many reasons to cheerlead for the success of SkyValue USA, the Gary/Chicago International Airport's lone commercial passenger airline that began providing passenger service in December. Since then, more than 10,000 passengers have flown to Florida, Arizona and Las Vegas. The Florida-based airline recently announced it will expand service from Gary to Los Angeles.

Sorry-Rockford Again

Read this story in the East Valley Tribune. Good story about SkyValue and Vision, two airlines that were in a similar position as Allegiant three or four years ago. Although these two airlines would have a tough time considering ORH now, we should be in touch with them so as they grow ORH is on their map.

The thing I want to call your attention to is the upfrontness of Airport Director O'Brien at Rockford:

"Williams also is on the short list for service from Rockford, Ill., said Bob O’Brien, executive director of Rockford International Airport. Rockford, which sits nearly equidistant from Chicago and Milwaukee, plans to initiate air service this summer to three new locations, O’Brien said. Mesa is one of seven targeted destinations, he said. He expects to narrow the list to the three for-sure sites within a month."

Stewart International

Story from the Daily Freeman. Rockford and Stewart, secondary airports similar to ORH are doubling and tripling their passenger counts, while we have no passenger service.

Airline passengers triple at Stewart International

By Hank Gross, Correspondent

04/18/2007

For the third month in a row, the number of airline passengers coming through Stewart International Airport at Newburgh has escalated In March, the number of travelers more than tripled from the same month last year, reflecting the same trend as in February. In January, the increase fell short of tripling, but was nevertheless significant.A total of 82,783 people flew into or out of Stewart in March, compared with 25,459 during the same month last year. The March 2007 figure is 14,000 more than the February passenger coun

Philly Update

Story from Philly.com. Interesting thing here is how the airport is a topic of discussion and more interesting how about a 10 year tax abatement for new construction. Now that is the type of things I would like to hear more in the city 1) discussion on the airport and 2) 10 year tax abatement on new construction.

Rivals trade jabs over airport

Fattah favors leasing PHL; Knox scoffs & declines a wager

By BOB WARNER

warnerb@phillynews.com 215-854-5885

Stung by criticism of his plan to lease Philadelphia International Airport to private investors, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah challenged mayoral rival Tom Knox yesterday to put his money where his mouth was - a $1 million bet on whether Fattah could pull off the deal.

Knox blinked.

The wealthy businessman, who has estimated his net worth at $100 million, turned down the wager but took a shot at Fattah's finances.

"You know, Chaka, I have a million," Knox said.

The exchange took place at the elegant Four Seasons Hotel, at a forum sponsored by the Central Philadelphia Development Corp. The audience of 100 included some of the city's top businesspeople.

Moderator Paul R. Levy, executive director of the Center City District, asked the three candidates participating - Fattah, Knox and Michael Nutter - whether they would continue the city's 10-year tax abatement on new construction.

Airport Privatization

Another great story from the Philadelphia Business Journal on airport privatization. Instead of searching for revenues streams that we have no control of like a local meals tax (unless there is legislative approval), casinos or taxing non-owner occupied as commercial, more emphasis should be placed on getting the best possible deal for ORH. It has become a major issue in the Philadelphia Mayoral race. Here is part of the story:

Can the airport be privatized?

Philadelphia Business Journal - April 13, 2007

by Athena D. Merritt

Staff Writer

In making the lease of Philadelphia International Airport a campaign issue, the five major candidates angling for the Democratic nomination for mayor are heading down a runway Chicago has already embarked upon.

If Chicago succeeds in leasing the Chicago Midway International Airport, the Philadelphia experiment will be grounded unless an act of Congress relaxes the rules on airport leases.

The national Airport Privatization Pilot Program limits the sale or lease of airports to five, including only one large hub. Legislative amendments are in Congress' hands now to expand the program from five to 15 airports and remove the restriction of one large hub airport. Congress will have to act, which is expected to happen before aviation taxes supporting the Federal Aviation Administration expire on Sept. 30, for the Philadelphia mayoral candidates' plans to succeed.

Candidates Tom Knox, former City Councilman Michael A. Nutter, U.S. Rep. Bob Brady and state Rep. Dwight Evans all said they were open to exploring privatization of the airport in interviews at the Philadelphia Business Journal, though they offered no specific plans for the use of such proceeds.

U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, also a candidate, has made an airport lease the centerpiece of his plan to tackle poverty -- estimating that a long-term deal would bring in more than $3 billion.

there is more to the story, click the link above to read more.....

76 Days

76 Days to the end of the current operating agreement.

Public Records Request & Skybus

To date I have received none of the information that I requested from our airport liaison nor have I received any correspondence in reference to them. On another avenue Skybus has become the first airline to utilize the exterior fuselage space available to advertisers.

This from the Businesswire.com:

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Skybus Airlines and Nationwide today unveiled the airline’s first “branded” airplane. The Airbus A319 displays a large Nationwide logo and the tagline, “Nationwide is On Your Side,” on the exterior of its fuselage. “At Skybus, our goal is to provide outrageously low fares to our passengers – fares significantly lower than what Columbus passengers are currently experiencing,” said Bill Diffenderfer, Skybus CEO. “One of the ways we are able to do this is by offering both traditional and non-traditional marketing opportunities – like advertising on our planes. We’re excited and proud to partner with Nationwide, another Columbus-based, hometown company, on our first co-branded plane.”

Skybus is believed to be the only U.S.-based domestic carrier to currently make exterior fuselage space available to advertisers. Advertising opportunities are available on all Skybus planes as well as on the interior of the plane, allowing advertisers to create a complete “brand experience” for passengers. Nationwide will also place branded images inside the plane, including on the plane’s tray tables, overhead bins and restroom doors.

“This is another example of how innovation will help us cut through the clutter,” said Jim Lyski, Nationwide’s chief marketing officer. “We’re excited to be the first to demonstrate how this new medium can deliver our brand to consumers on a grand scale.” Nationwide has introduced a series of innovative marketing efforts in the past year, most notably, the most talked about ad from this year’s Super Bowl, featuring Kevin Federline.

Nationwide was one of several Columbus companies, including Huntington Banks, Battelle and Wolfe Enterprises, to provide initial investment dollars for Skybus. Local investment in Skybus also includes other local companies and individual investors.

Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the world, with more than $158 billion in assets. Nationwide ranks #98 on the Fortune 100 list. The company provides a full range of insurance and financial services, including auto, motorcycle, boat, homeowners, life, commercial insurance, administrative services, annuities, mortgages, mutual funds, pensions and long-term savings plans. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com.

Skybus Airlines, based in Columbus, Ohio, is the next generation of low-fare airlines. The airline expects to begin nonstop service to major U.S. markets from Port Columbus in spring 2007. For more information about Skybus, visit www.skybus.com, or for in-flight advertising opportunities, contact sales@skybus.com.

WoMag

Scott Zobach wrote a story regarding the risks of losing control of the airport via a long-term lease or outright sale. I could not agree more with him that when you lose control of an asset , you are not able to direct the day to day operations of that asset.

Whose fault is that? If we had an airport that was running close to break-even versus at an annual loss of $2,800,ooo, we would not have to give up control. Bottom line is that we had plenty of time to turn the airport around, but failed and have no choice but to turn it over to someone else.

This does not mean, however, we sell the airport for $1 and let MassPort do whatever they want. That is exactly why we urged the Airport Commission three years ago to put an RFP out for the entire airport containing the checks and balances, thus giving the City of Worcester some control while alleviating the financial stress. Instead we put out an RFP for 4.5 acre parcel that received no bids.

This is also exactly why we installed the the time clock on the blog (78 days to the end of the current agreement). We need to have whatever agreement with whomever in our hands for review as soon as possible to ensure that the terms of the agreement are worth giving up control of the airport.

March Airport Minutes

March Board Minutes . Couple comments:

1. Can we please let the Airport Director have the authority on his own to allow photo shoots.
2. Hangar 2 insulation. How many months has it been that this has not been repaired--5???
3. "Our Airport Director met a number of airlines and there was some potential interest in ORH." How many airlines, who, are we preparing packages for them with the help of IMG?
4. Final Master Plan will be done in June..
   
5. No mention at all regarding the future of airport when the current operating agreement ends July 1st.

City Council Meeting

I reviewed the City Council Minutes, in particular IMG:


Staff continues to work with IMG, aviation industry experts, on various airport-related issues, including operational strategies and the identification and marketing of the Airport to increase aviation activity. IMG continues to provide the City with the analysis of potential carriers and the creation of specific marketing packages and strategies for those identifies airlines. The City and Massport are focusing efforts on identifying and recruiting airlines that employ efficient aircraft and service popular destinations which were identified through the local and FAA conducted surveys of passenger preferences.


I have a few questions:

1. What happened to the two airlines packages, which I never received, by IMG to two prospective airlines?
2. How long has IMG been analyzing potential airlines, have they identified any airlines that meet the above critiria?
   
   

Please keep in mind that we have paid over 200,000 for the above answers.

Midway Airport Privatization

From ChicagoBusiness.com. Note the fact Chicago is not just going to talk to one bidder but "potential" bidders. Here is a small part.



Southwest Airlines Co. and other carriers are balking at Chicago's plan to lease Midway Airport to a private operator, putting the brakes on the high-profile deal and the billions it could bring to city coffers. Concerns raised about the plan have pushed back the timetable for requests for potential bidders, a process the city was hoping to begin last month so that a deal could close by the end of this year.

"The more we learn, the more questions arise," says Ron Ricks, executive vice-president for law, airports and public affairs at Southwest, Midway's dominant airline. Leasing Midway, which could fetch as much as $3 billion, is extremely important for Mayor Richard M. Daley, who hopes for a cash windfall to bolster the city's underfunded pension plans and to pay for infrastructure repairs and upkeep. The idea is similar to the agreement to lease the Chicago Skyway in late 2004, which reaped $1.8 billion.

City officials have tried to sell the airlines on the proposal by projecting cost savings over a 20-year period, presuming a private firm can run the airport more efficiently and pass those savings on to the carriers.

Allegiant March Traffic

Allegiant Air, which flies travelers from small cities to Las Vegas and other leisure destinations, said Thursday its March traffic rose 38.6 percent on a 37.1 percent capacity expansion.

The subsidiary of Allegiant Travel Co. said its monthly scheduled-service traffic rose to 268.1 million revenue passenger miles from 193.4 million. A revenue passenger mile is an industry unit measuring one paying passenger flown one mile.

Capacity grew to 307 million available seat miles from 223.9 million. Occupancy improved to 87.3 percent from 86.4 percent. Allegiant Travel shares rose 45 cents to close at $32.04 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Do I have to say it again, losing Allegiant hurt us bad. Not only the $1,000,000 from the FAA for 10,000 passengers, but it sent a message to other carriers. Believe me it is not accident that Skybus, who has kept Allegiant, is looking at Portsmouth and not ORH.

Linear Expands In DC

This from Aero-news.net setting up another base in Manassas:


Linear Air announced Monday the launch of service in the Washington DC-Baltimore area, the first of its kind. The company will base its operations in region at Virginia's Manassas Regional Airport.

Linear Air operates the nation's largest fleet of executive Cessna Grand Caravan turboprops, which offer the flexibility and convenience of private air travel at prices rivaling full coach airline fares. Since 2004, Linear Air has operated the Caravan, in anticipation of adding 30 Eclipse 500 VLJs.

Linear Air’s Washington DC-Baltimore base is at the Next Flight Aviation private terminal at the Manassas Regional Airport, located just 15 miles south of Washington Dulles International Airport -- but, the company notes, without the stress, hassle, crowds and lines.
"There is tremendous pent-up demand for more affordable and accessible short-hop private air service in the Washington, DC-Baltimore metropolitan area," said Ann Moseley, General Manager of Next Flight Aviation. "Linear Air’s Caravans fit this need perfectly."
Linear Air's Caravans are eight-passenger propjet turbine powered aircraft staffed by two pilots, featuring plush leather seats, luxury appointments and onboard complimentary catering.

“With our base at Manassas, we now offer contiguous service from New England all the way down to the Southeast,” said William Herp, President and CEO of Linear Air. “As we’ve grown from our first base in Boston to New York and now Washington DC-Baltimore, we’ve seen tremendous demand for our service among business travelers for day trips, as well as leisure travel to second homes and out of the way resorts like The Greenbrier."

Dayjets

Story from Avweb below. In Florida Dayjets is similar to Linear Air in Bedford. Do you remember Pogo Airlines a few years back that made a commitment to Westfield? They have gone nowhere. I hope we are in constant communications with William Herp at Linear Air, I strongly believe that the VLJ's like the ones from Eclipse that are going to Dayjets and Linear will be huge in the aviaition business.

Bolstered by a $50 million infusion of new funding, DayJet said this week it expects to start offering air-taxi jet service in five Florida cities by the end of June. “This funding is the keystone to the operational launch of our ‘Per-Seat, On-Demand’ jet service,” said Ed Iacobucci, president and CEO of DayJet. “With the necessary capital now in place, we are just months away from delivering regional business travelers something they have never had -- accessible and affordable mobility between difficult-to-reach regional destinations.” The infusion of cash means that construction of DayJet's facilities at Tallahassee Regional Airport's Flightline Aviation will begin within the next 30 days, the Tallahassee Democrat reported Wednesday. The on-demand, per-seat operator’s reservation system will be online within the next 30 days, and DayJet’s fleet of Eclipse 500 jets should start arriving about that same time, according to company COO John Staten.

JetBlue

Had a chance to get away to enjoy some nice weather in Boca Raton, sorry about the lack of posts. My flight back from Fort Lauderdale was delayed for three hours this morning, turns out the Airbus A320 that was suppose to fly out first thing this morning hit a bird landing night and "birds do a lot more damage then people realize."

Waiting around 3 hours was not fun, but JetBlue gave everyone $50 refund for the delay, free movies (besides the free Direct TV) and the plane itself is simply awesome.What really bothered me was watching the JetBlue plane load up for for one of their newest destinations, the privatized Stewart Interanational, which is currently being bought back by Port of New York and New Jersey from National Express for 88 million. What I also found incredible that this morning I was on one of three flights for Boston to Fort Lauderdale.

Just like the flight down, the leg room, the leather seats and the Direct TV (fee speaker phones) is the best and make the flight a breeze. Leaving Boston, the wait for the bags was not bad, but parking cost $88 for 4 days and the drive home was brutal. There is a market here for JetBlue either with a code sharing agreement with Cape Air or, I still believe, a diversion of two of the ten Embraers from Boston to ORH. Are we talking to JetBlue or Cape Air?

• April 3rd posting from Cranky Flier indicates Skybus is looking at Portsmouth, NH. Thanks Matt. Are we talking to Skybus?
  
• South Florida is looking to improve large Section of Route 595. If the government does it themselves, it is projected the costs and time will be too high. As a result they are considering a sale of this section to a private party, who will then install tolls. Great story in the Sun Sentinel.

MassPort

Little late today on the posting, I had to catch an early flight from Boston today to Fort Lauderdale on JetBlue. First time on JetBlue, it really is pretty awesome. Airbus A320 (I think those were the numbers), plenty of leg room, great leather comfortable seats and Direct TV. Just had a chance to read the paper today inluding this story by Bob Nemeth. Now it looks like there may no be enough time to wrap up negotiations over the next 90 days, and we may "simply be extending the current operating agreement, with specific steps leading to the transfer"". I particularly like the title "The Clock is Ticking", wonder if he was refering to my countdown here on the blog which by the way says 90 days today.

What really bothers me in this story is that the reason for ORH's failure is blamed on us, the City of Worcester, for not supporting an East-West connector, in other words access road. Although I agree that an access road would have helped market the airport, it was management at ORH that has caused the consistent steady increasing losses at ORH with no passenger service. Look no further then Rockford, who has no access road but is succeeding faciing the same exact obstacles as ORH. Although MassPort has been a great help and should be thanked, we (tax-payers of Worcester) should also be thanked for the financial support (!,800,000 alone this year) as well and not be blamed for an access road that was not installed.

As far as the statement "there is no long line of suitors banging on the door", how can he say that? If you do not put a "FOR SALE" sign on your house, do you think people walk up and knock on your door with offers? All you need to do is look at Stewart, Tacoma Narrows and the recent mention of a Spanish company wanting Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee. Instead we are suppose to take IMG's word in their $100,000 report that there are no suitors, the same consultant we have paid over $200,000 to recruit and retain an airline with no success.

Good to see, however, that the writer of this story mentions he has sat on the Airport Commission Board the last 8 years. Each year of which has seen the operating deficit increase.

International Airport Construction

Not sure how this relates, but I found the story interesting. If nothing else it shows although the the City of Worcester simply has done a bad job operating the airport, there is an inherent value in an airport. If you want to read the whole story from the Businesswire, but here is a small part:

Among individual countries, China along with India holds considerable potential for investors. One hundred and eight new airports are to be constructed in China between 2006 and 2010, and the decision of the Chinese Government to stop providing subsidies to domestic airports by 2005 and to allow private investors to build, buy, or manage airports makes for considerable potential. The total cost expected to be incurred for the construction of new airports alone is $13.3 billion (110 billion Yuan). In India, the success of low cost carriers (LCCs) has changed the countries aviation profile as well as the outlook of both the government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) toward airports. Eight more airports are likely to be built in the country by 2010, in addition to the 94 airports that exist at present. Existing airports by themselves promise opportunities as none of these airports meet the latest international quality standards.

Overall, the Asia Pacific airport financing market is positioned to grow and sustain its profitability for the next five years, largely due to the aviation boom arising from the growth of LCCs and the recent initiatives of various regional governments to increase private participation. "Recent analysis shows that by 2015, between $150 billion and $200 billion is likely to be invested in airports globally, out of which 40 to 45 percent would be invested in airports across the Asia Pacific region," says the analyst. "The above figures are in line with the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.0 percent for the air travel industry in the long term, with some 4.6 billion people predicted to travel by air by 2020."

Jet Blue & Cape Air

This has been mentioned many times how Cape Air has a code sharing arrangement with JetBlue to connect passengers in Boston to 21 direct destinations from:

1. P-town
2. Hyannis
   
3. Nantucket
4. Martha's Vineyard

Take a minute to go to the JetBlue web site. Try and book a ticket out of any of these four cities and check out the prices. How did ORH get left out, especially since Cape Air was one of the targeted airlines in their initial report nearly two years ago?

Telegram

Once again we have an editorial letting us know what direction the negotiations are going with MassPort. We all know that this is a done deal and MassPort will have control of ORH long-term, but I had always been guessing a long-term lease at a nominal amount with options to renew. Now, I read "some other arrangement", other then a long-term lease??

The only other arrangement is an outright sale. In other words the final agreement with MassPort may an outright sale. In addition I particularly like the fact the Editorial board has decided that MassPort is the only "logical choice". MassPort may definately in fact be the most "logical choice", but why would we not test the market??

In closing the Editorial Board is telling us to sell ORH to MassPort, before any agreements have been even seen by anyone.

Airport For Sale

In today's Telegram.


Topping that list is transferring the control and title of Worcester Regional Airport to the Massachusetts Port Authority, which currently manages the facility under an operating agreement with the city. By transferring control and title of the airport to Massport, Mr. O’Brien said, the city would save about $750,000 annually. That is roughly what the city has to pay to cover its share of the airport’s operating deficit.

Mr. O’Brien emphasized that negotiations with Massport about such a takeover are still ongoing. He said the city simply can no longer afford to be in the airport business.


Note the key word above being "title", which does not mean lease but outright sale. I am not necessarily against this, but we need to make sure we receive fair market value. How do you know what fair market value us? In real estate you retain a broker, put a "For Sale" sign up on your house, advertise it in the Sunday papers and place it on the MLS. Would you only talk to your next door neighbor about taking title to your house?

In other words, if we need to sell the airport, lets put in on E-bay (half-kiddin), runs stories in all the major media outlets. Basically do all the things if you were going to sell your house today.

Information

Today, March 28th, I will e-mail and mail again to the airport liaison my previous request for:

1. all the quarterly reports to the DOT regarding the Small Community Air Service Grant
2. copies of the two airline package prepared by IMG

As of yesterday, March 27th, I have received nothing in the mail nor any e-mails from our airport liaison.

Thanks


Bill

What Else, Rockford?

Another story by Tom Bona at the Rockford Register. Remember Rockford was in a similar poistion as ORH with no commercial passengers who just last month (February) had 18,663 passengers. Please note the differences. There Executive Director, who did an interview here last week, is constantly in the news selling the benefits of Rockford and even freely mentions the airports that they are trying to lure for a Phoenix flight--1) Allegiant, 2) Festival and 3)SkyValue.

Airport wants Phoenix-area route

There’s plenty of interest on both ends, and Chicago/Rockford International Airport and Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa, Ariz., have lobbied airlines to make that link.“Regularly scheduled service from RFD to Phoenix through Mesa is a very high priority for our airport authority as our next destination to be launched, hopefully soon. But needless to say before the fall migration,” Rockford airport Executive Director Bob O’Brien said.

Rockford also has scored high on a survey on Williams Gateway’s Web site, www.flywga.org. As of last week, there were 5,700 respondents and 406 of them named Rockford as a destination they wanted. About 1,200 listed Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, even though there’s already direct service to O’Hare from nearby Phoenix.“People have made a specific mention of Rockford over O’Hare which is, I think, saying a lot,” Williams Gateway Airport spokesman Brian Sexton said. “There’s a strong Chicago base in the valley so it makes sense to connect the two airports.”O’Brien said they’ve spoken with at least three airlines. They are startup Festival Airlines, which hasn’t announced any routes; SkyValue, which flies from Gary/Chicago International Airport to Williams Gateway Airport; and Allegiant Air, which flies to Rockford and Williams.

Staff writer Thomas V. Bona may be contacted at 815-987-1343 or tbona@rrstar.com.

Manchester-Providence

I heard a radio ad the other day about how difficult it was to get into Logan. The ad went on to say that you should look into alternatives like Manchester and Providence and mentioned their ease of access, airlines and web site. The ad itself did not surprise me, but what did was that Manchester and Providence teamed together to put an like that on the radio.

Public Open Meeting Laws

Let me try end this discussion on the "packages", that I do not even have yet nor do I know if are the subject of any current negotiations.. The Airport Commission as a "government body" falls under the auspices of the Public Open Meeting Laws. To that end they need to keep minutes of meetings etc so the public can be kept abreast of the Airport business.

There are times when the Airport Board, however, needs to do things outside the public view and that is when they are suppose to call an Executive Session---for example, negotiations with an airline or MassPort would fall under (in my opinion) #3 of the 9 given in the law. Executive Sessions must occur during Open Meetings, a roll call vote must be taken then entered into the minutes along with the reason for the Executive Session and records must be kept just like any other meeting but "may remain secret as long as publication may defeat the lawful purposes of the executive session, but no longer".

Here is my point, why do we not see an Executive Sessions being called during any of the monthly Airport Commission Meetings for negotiations with MassPort or airlines? If these issues are not mentioned during the monthly Airport Board Minutes and there are no Executive Sessions, when are these very important matters discussed? These are the questions that we should be asking.

A couple weeks back after I requested the airlines packages, I realized that the Airport would have to release these to me, even if negotiations were pending since Executive Sessions can not be cited. If we are in fact in negotiations, why would I post this information and somehow take the chance of damaging discussions with the prospective airline?

In summary the purpose of the Open Meeting Laws is to promote transparency in government, which is good thing. At the same time the law realizes that some things need to be done in private for the betterment of the public. That does not mean that certain rules as stipulated in the laws do not need to be followed.

Lastly I am not a government body and not subject to the Mass Public Open Meeting Laws. I do try to run a blog on the airport that is informative, civil and useful that somehow helps promote the airport and turn it into an asset for the community . If I feel some comments are none of the above, I reserve the right to delete them. There is no "double standard" here.