Regional airport’s future is uncertain at best today

Deep within last Sunday’s extensive front-page story about the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport were a couple of statements from aviation experts that should be cause for concern.

“They look at any drive time [of] one hour and a half as reasonable.”

“It’s going to be a tough sell.”

The speakers were Tom Reich and Bob Mann, who provided historical perspective for the story on the 76-year-old regional airport in Vienna Township.

The first statement was from Reich, director of service development for AVPorts, in reference to how airlines perceive the airport’s location between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. He is a paid consultant for Youngstown-Warren.

Reich contended that one of the key selling points of the regional airport – that most of the air travelers live within 30 minutes of it – doesn’t matter to airlines.

He said the drive time from this area to Pittsburgh and Cleveland isn’t a compelling reason for major carriers to consider establishing daily service at Youngstown-Warren.

The second statement was from Bob Mann, an aviation industry analyst, who was talking about the effort by smaller airports to lure major airlines.

The current shortage of pilots and other crew members is forcing companies to take a long hard look at where to provide service.

“The objective on the part of the carriers is to place the crew and the aircraft they have in the markets with the best results,” Mann said.

And then he offered this observation that does not bode well for the push by Youngstown-Warren airport officials to attract daily commercial service:

“At the end of the day it is a carrier’s market, not an airport’s market. There are just so many opportunities for these airlines.”

Clarion call

The analyses by Reich and Mann should serve as a clarion call for a region-wide meeting of government, business, labor and community leaders to discuss the future of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.

A take-off point for the discussion could be the abrupt end last year of daily flights to Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Great Lakes JetExpress, operated by Aerodynamics Inc., a charter company, began the service on July 1, 2016, and ended it on Aug. 24.

Why the pull-out? Low ticket sales.

It is noteworthy that the Western Reserve Port Authority, which governs the airport, lured the airline with a $1.2 million revenue guarantee. The authority funneled about $600,000 to Aerodynamics to cover its revenue shortfall.

Dan Dickten, director of aviation, isn’t giving up on the search for a carrier to provide daily commercial service and is using the $600,000 left in the revenue guarantee fund as an incentive.

For now, the airport’s financial viability rests with Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air, which offers flights to three leisure destinations in Florida.

Of concern is Allegiant’s service to Akron-Canton, Pittsburgh International and Cleveland Hopkins International. Other low-cost carriers are also flying to those airports, thus increasing pressure on Youngstown-Warren.

It is clear that the future of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport is uncertain at best.