Airport officials face crucial hiring decision

As Steve Bowser, director of aviation at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, and members of the port authority get ready to hire a consulting firm to help lure a regional airline, there’s a standard that should be applied to the prospective hiree.

Indeed, the presence of Allegiant Air, a low-cost leisure carrier based in Las Vegas, demonstrates a demand for commercial service, even with major airports within driving distance of the Mahoning Valley.

In addition, a $575,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to entice a regional airline to offer daily service from the airport shows that the federal government is open to persuasion — supported by solid data.

Therefore, the standard that should be applied to each of the applicants can be expressed in these questions: What is your record with regard to attracting airlines to regional airports the size of Youngstown-Warren? How many federal grants have you helped secure for your clients?

This is in no way to suggest that we are throwing our support to one of the companies seeking the contract, Landrum & Brown of Cincinnati — even though it assisted the Western Reserve Port Authority in the past.

Landrum & Brown has been credited by Bowser with helping to attract Allegiant to the Youngstown-Warren airport in May 2006, and with assisting local officials in developing the grant application for the federal money through the Federal Aviation Administration.

Landrum & Brown has submitted a proposal, as has another company. Two others are also expected to apply.

It is encouraging that there is more than limited interest in the airport, and it is a good thing that Bowser and members of the port authority will have the opportunity to explore indepth what each of the applicants believes are the strengths and weaknesses of the regional airport.

Support for the airport

We have been unflagging in our support of the airport and have strongly backed elected officials who have called for expansion of airline service and the development of business and industrial parks on land adjacent to the airport.

We have also made it clear that a working airport is essential to the future growth of the Air Force Reserve base, which is a major economic player in the Mahoning Valley.

Congressman Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, like his predecessor, James A. Traficant Jr., has made the growth of the airport and the expansion of the air reserve base top priorities. And like Traficant, Ryan has been successful in persuading the Pentagon that continued investment in the base is a national security imperative.

Regular air service is important, which is why the company selected to market the facility must have a track record of dealing with the airline industry and the federal government.

Bowser has said that the type of airline he hopes to attract would offer service three or four times a day on a 50- to 90-seat regional jet. In 2002, Northwest Airlines provided such service.

Allegiant, on the other hand, has been successful in its narrow focus: Two flights a week to the Sanford/Orlando International Airport. After a year and a half, there is talk of flights to Las Vegas.

There are many factors that go into keeping an airport viable, but one of the most important is to secure the services of individuals who know the airline business intimately and also know how to market a facility such as the one in Vienna Township.