At the Texas Aviation Conference in Austin ...

... the topic turned to air service development. In today’s airline environment, it is not a pretty subject – or line of work. The most recent example of how not to start an airline, Skybus, replaces Independence Air as the carrier on the poster. Both were quite popular with consumers (and air service development managers) but had the flaw of not being able to make a profit. ATA and Aloha, at least, had history and some experience with profitability. At Austin, Ron McNeill, a senior consultant for Mead & Hunt, told the audience that more and more, airlines are looking for shorter haul markets to stand on their own, rather than letting “system revenue†subsidize stage-length revenue. He echoes what many are saying – that it is the smaller communities that have the potential for being hit hard by airline bankruptcies and mergers. All is not lost, however. More and more, says McNeill, communities are getting aggressive in putting together support packages to attract new air service. One challenge: Smaller regional jets are leaving the market and the new Q-400 turboprop seats 76, a passenger count that is too large for some communities to sustain. One answer, he says, is to get communities together to promote a region. Besides a broader demographic, a regional strategy brings the potential to tap more financial resources such as economic development agencies. “You have to be on the airline’s radar,†says McNeill, “and sometimes money can do that.†Before a community or region gets to that point, he advises that those making the pitch know well their market. He concludes: “The Small Community Air Service Development Program and the Essential Air Service programs cannot solve all small community issues.†Thanks for reading. jfi