DOT must act quickly on airline-service challenges so this region can take off

Just when we thought the skies had completely cleared for takeoff of the Mahoning Valley’s first daily commercial airline service in 14 years, along comes a new and un- expected gust of turbulence.

That turbulence has taken the form of two formal objections to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s clearance for Aerodynamics Inc. to begin daily flights to Chicago from the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport this spring.

On Jan. 28, DOT granted ADI a certificate of public convenience and necessity to begin its service to O’Hare International Airport, deeming the airline “fit, willing and able” to safely and professionally launch the flights.

A week later, however, JA Flight Services LLC and Sun Air Express each filed separate objections to the order, citing problems with SeaPort Airlines, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization this month and which shares ownership with ADI.

The filings claim that SeaPort lease agreements with the Beardsley family who also owns ADI have gone unpaid and further allege safety deficiencies in the owner’s fleet of SeaPort aircraft. JAFS argues that SeaPort has had “significant issues with the quality and documentation of the maintenance of the aircraft” including “some 25 major nonairworthy defects.”

In a swift response, ADI characterized the two objections as meritless and countered that the objectors are essentially making illogical apples-to- oranges comparisons.

“Although SeaPort and ADI may have common ownership, they are completely separate business entities and separate air carriers with separate DOT and [Federal Aviation Administration] authorities,” ADI’s motion of response states. The carriers operate different types of aircraft, offer different services, operate independently of one another and have separate full-time officers and key personnel, it added. In short, any possible stains on SeaPort should not reflect on ADI.

Appearances

Even though it appears as if the objections carry little weight, as long as they remain unresolved, appearance will reign as reality in many observers’ eyes.

That’s why we strongly urge Department of Transportation officials to expedite their review of the objections toward a hopeful rejection of each. Then and only then can ADI and officials at the Vienna Township airport seriously move on to the urgent business of planning the schedules, rates, marketing and promotion of the service, which is expected to offer about 10 flights weekly to Chicago and from the Vienna Township airport.

As long as the objections remain unresolved, the longer the cloud of gloom and uncertainty will hang over startup of the service.

In addition, we also would hope officials of ADI would engage in a good-faith commitment to its newest customer base in the Mahoning Valley by meeting face to face with members of the Western Reserve Port Authority, which oversees the airport, and others in our community to outline the potential complications the objections present and to explain options available should DOT accept the objections to the startup of the service and revise its initial decision.

Such actions would go a long way toward reassuring the flying public and ensuring the critical need for initial success of the service, tentatively scheduled to begin in early May.

As the port authority and airport begin their initial discussions on the promotion, advertising and marketing of the service, we remain confident that the service will fly and will bring the host of benefits to the community that we outlined in an editorial in this space two weeks ago.

Those include upgrading the image and status of the YNG airport, providing greater convenience for hundreds of thousands of air travelers and acting as a promising catalyst for diversified economic development in the Mahoning Valley

But those perks will best be achieved without a loss of momentum in this critical phase of the project. Toward that end, we urge the U.S. Department of Transportation to make a firm and final decision on the objections posthaste.