Sunday, October 12, 2014

Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport (KYNG) director to seek permission to approve new airline route

Western Reserve Port Authority board members will be asked Wednesday to approve start-up of a new daily airline route between the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport and a Midwestern hub airport.

The request will come from Dan Dickten, aviation director at the airport. But the agenda for Wednesday’s 8:30 a.m. port authority meeting doesn’t identify the airline involved.

Wednesday’s meeting will take place at Squaw Creek Country Club.

The meeting notice says Dickten is also asking the board of directors for permission to announce that route — but doesn’t say when the announcement will be made.

It says the timing of the announcement is contingent on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s approving the route and the airline’s agreeing to the timing of the announcement.

When reached, Dickten said he could not provide additional information about the proposed route.

Mahoning County Commissioner Anthony Traficanti said he first learned of the potential new airline service from a reporter who called him Saturday afternoon and did not know any details. “It’s great news,” he added.

Dickten has been courting airlines for several years in hopes of finding one that would offer flights between the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna Township and a hub airport. Business travelers would benefit by the ability to fly from the local airport to destinations around the world.

Dickten had discussions with United Airlines earlier this year, but those talks collapsed in May after United evaluated the idea and said there was “not a solid business case for establishing service.”

United Airlines dropped its plans to establish a route to Chicago and said the local airport’s revenue guarantee was far below what it would need to start and sustain daily service.

The airport’s team had secured $1.2 million in federal grant money and local matching funds from the port authority, and it was in the process of securing contributions to bring the total safety net to $1.75 million.

But according to a letter released in May by Dickten, the Chicago-based airline wanted $7 million in revenue guarantees to be raised annually. He said at the time that the airport was in talks to secure daily service from other major carriers for a significantly lower guarantee.

Even United didn’t rule out the possibility of future plans.

“As with all communities, we will continue to analyze and maintain the possibility for future service if demand for air travel makes a solid business case for annual profits and network benefits,” United said. “As you know, we frequently meet with communities around the country to discuss potential air service and are always exploring possible new routes. YNG is no exception.”


- Source ► http://www.vindy.com

No comments:

Post a Comment