MOUNT ALTON — While the Bradford Regional Airport continues to register impressive passenger traffic numbers, subsidy costs are still higher than the federal subsidy for rural airports allows.
Under the Essential Air Service program, an airport is to enplane an average of ten or more passengers per day during a fiscal year and meet a rate of subsidy per passenger of not more than $200.
At Wednesday’s Bradford Regional Airport Authority meeting, Ryan Dach, director of stations for Southern Air Express, the low-fare airline offering daily non-stop service to Pittsburgh, reported the airline’s September figures showed 454 outbound and 415 incoming passengers for an average of 17 passengers per day. Once again, all of the scheduled flights — 103 — operated.
For the year, 8,008 passengers were enplaned.
Despite the increase in average passenger numbers, the subsidy per passenger cost stood at $275.34, much of which, according to officials, is due to rising service costs.
Bradford is fully compliant following fiscal year 2019. Southern’s amendment to the 2018 Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Bill states that EAS compliance will be reached if the current fiscal year subsidy is less than the subsidy-per-passenger of any of the three previous fiscal years, or if the current fiscal year subsidy-per-passenger is less than ten percent higher than the subsidy-per-passenger of any of the three previous fiscal years, though the ten percent rule may be used only once.
Southern’s Chief Commercial Officer Mark Cestari and Airport Manager Alicia Dankesreiter led a discussion during the meeting about strategies to get under the $200 cap. Dankesreiter said, “We are doing well with the leisure passengers.” Cestari agreed, but added, “We need to do a better job with the business market.”
In the continuing effort to have more of the nearby communities use the airport, Dankesreiter recommended increased emphasis on the positives: “The airline’s low fares and 100 percent completion rate, as well as a great hub in Pittsburgh.”
The need to attract a national car rental brand that can be found online is a critical challenge.
“Currently, Zook Motors in Kane has three rental cars available at the airport, and they are doing a very good job,” Dankesreiter said.
Cestari reviewed Southern’s data through Aug. 31. For 32.1 percent of the outbound passengers, Pittsburgh was the final destination, while the remaining 67.9 percent continued on to other cities. American Airlines, with whom Southern has an interline agreement, remains the most popular connecting carrier.
The three most popular destinations beyond Pittsburgh remain, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Las Vegas. Bradford, Kane and Smethport still rank as the top three towns for passengers.
Following the authority’s monthly meeting, the air service committee met to discuss marketing strategies and methods to increase the passenger traffic.
In other matters, authority members accepted the following bids for the airport terminal rehab project: general contractor: CBF Contracting, Sligo, $574,925: Fred L. Burns, Shippenville, plumbing, $26,600; and Pure Tech LLC. electrical, Bradford, $139,330. No bid was received for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
