2nd airline to get $800K

Source: The Arizona Daily Sun, FlagstaffSept.儲存 20--Two years after receiving an $800,000 federal grant to lure a second airline to Flagstaff, city officials are ready to solicit proposals."We did a lot of outreach to airlines," said Stacey Button, Flagstaff's economic vitality director.She added that she expects at least one airline to bid, but she declined to name any.The RFP calls for at least two flights a day to a hub airport in a major city other than Phoenix. The contract is for one year, and in addition to a payment of $800,000, all rental and landing fees will be waived."There are a lot of startup costs for a new route," said Barney Helmick, Flagstaff airport director, adding that the first flights aren't likely to take off before the spring of 2015.This isn't the first time Flagstaff has tried to attract a second airline to Pulliam Airport. In June 2008, Horizon Air, an affiliate of Seattle-based Alaska Airlines, began two years of service to Los Angeles International Airport. The city paid Horizon a total of $508,000 and added a second ticket counter and other improvements at Pulliam.But Horizon pulled out after the payment package expired, citing a downsizing of its feeder route network.Button acknowledged there is no requirement in the RFP for the winning bidder to stay in Flagstaff beyond a year or to return any of the $800,000."The (passengers) have to make that guarantee," Helmick said, with Button adding: "We're looking to Flagstaff residents to step up."During the second year of Horizon's air service from Flagstaff, there were 41,000 passengers.Button declined to say ho迷你倉 many passengers a second airline could expect this time. She said that a study showed there were a total of 658,000 airline tickets purchased last year by passengers with a Flagstaff area ZIP code, but only 18 percent were for flights out of Pulliam."We're hoping to capture that remaining 82 percent," she said.Currently, Mesa Air, flying as a connector airline for US Airways, has five flights a day out of Pulliam on 50-passenger jets, Helmick said. He has been assured by Mesa Air that they will continue to operate flights to Phoenix even if a second airline comes to Flagstaff."US Airways has been a really good partner," Helmick said. "But our customers also want to go east and west."Button said she has heard from the Flagstaff business community "loud and clear" that they want the option of a second airline flying to a different hub, depending on their destination. She mentioned four major hub cities: Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Denver and Dallas-Fort Worth."Our analysis has determined that the need is there," she said, adding that airlines have told the city they want to fill at least 80 percent of their seats on every flight.The window for applications closes in 60 days, and Button said city staff would review them and make a decision by early next year. After that, she estimated it would take a new airline up to a year to get approval for a new route and do sufficient marketing for a launch in early 2015.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Ariz.) Visit The Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Ariz.) at .azdailysun.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesmini storage