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Keith Benman
The NWI Times
Study Says NWI Residents Can Fill Jets from Gary Airport
3,200 NWI RESIDENTS PER DAY FLY FROM CHICAGO AIRPORTS
A study commissioned by Gary/Chicago International Airport shows 3,200 people per day are traveling from Northwest Indiana to fly out of Midway and O'Hare airports in Chicago.
The report is the first to show Northwest Indiana on its own could support at least regional jet service to major hubs, even without the south suburban Chicago market, Airport Director Chris Curry told the airport authority board on Wednesday.
"This study, among many other studies, is the guideline the airport uses to determine who is the best candidate for providing service to the airport," Curry said.
The airport authority currently is reviewing a proposal to hire Houston-based ExpressJet to fly from Gary to Dulles International and Denver International airports.
The airport paid aviation consultant Sixel Aviation $30,000 for the market report, which still is in draft form, Curry said. It has been five years since the airport last received a comprehensive report analyzing the region's demand for commercial passenger service, he said.
According to the report, two of the top destinations for Northwest Indiana travelers flying out of Chicago airports are New York and Los Angeles, Curry said. Denver also ranked very high, at least as a transfer point, because it is a hub for United Airlines.
Some 55 percent of Northwest Indiana residents go to O'Hare to fly and 45 percent go to Midway, according to the report. Those going to O'Hare are mainly business-oriented travelers while those going to Midway are going mainly for leisure travel.
Curry said since news broke about the possibility of ExpressJet service to Dulles and Denver, public reaction has been mixed. The idea of the airport and local businesses putting up a one-year revenue guarantee for the airline is the biggest question in people's minds, he said.
Under an arrangement being discussed with Houston-based ExpressJet, the Gary airport would guarantee the airline one year of payments to operate the service, Curry has said. Ticket fares collected would be knocked off the total price of the service, which could be up to $5 million for flying for one year to one city.
"The public wants a reliable carrier that will be here for some time," Curry said. "But what the public may not fully understand is in this environment, when you've never had a mainline carrier at the airport, you are going to have to mitigate their risk."
In board action on Thursday the authority approved by a 7-0 vote a $3.2 million general fund budget for 2010 that would cut airport spending by about 5 percent. Curry said most of the savings would be realized from a position the airport has left vacant, and no drastic cuts will be needed if the budget is passed.
The airport will also be working with the same fiscal monitor that is overseeing the City of Gary's finances after it successfully appealed for relief from state-mandated tax caps. Curry said he anticipates the airport will have to go to the Distressed Unit Appeals Board again next year for some measure of relief from the tax caps.
Thursday was also the first board meeting for new authority member Delvert Cole, who was appointed by the Lake County Commission to replace authority member Harold Foster, whose term expired in September. Cole, 46, is the administrator for the Lake County Board of Commissioners.
This article ran on nwitimes.com on October 15, 2009.
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