“Small cities in 25 states — almost 100 communities in all — have lost
commercial air service in the last two years for a variety of reasons, among
them airline mergers, high fuel costs, the expense of serving smaller markets
and a reduction in government aid to airlines that serve small communities.
And many of those cities’ economies are suffering…..
When a city loses
commercial air service — finding itself hundreds of miles from the closest
airport — it gives up tourist dollars, airport revenue and income that otherwise
would spread to Main Street. Because airplanes connect businesses with
customers, partners, suppliers and consultants, remote communities without
service are less likely to attract or retain businesses — be they local
entrepreneurs or offshoots of big corporations — that view wasted time and
wasted money with equal disdain.
“Air travel is the way business does
business,” said Michael Boggs, vice president of the air service group at the
consultancy Mead & Hunt. “If businesses in those communities have to have
air service, they’re probably going to move away….”
--from The New York Times story “Lacking Airlines, Small Cities’ Economies Suffer,” Jan 10, 2009 <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/10/business/economy/10airports.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=all>
A few decades ago such a problem would have been unthinkable – thanks to the existence of the Local Service Airlines – Allegheny, Bonanza, Central, Frontier, Lake Central, Mohawk, North Central, Ozark, Pacific, Piedmont, Pioneer, Southern, Trans-Texas, and West Coast . So important to the economic development of their respective regions, each was the result of a 1944 decision by the Civil Aeronautics Board acknowledging the need to provide links for the businesses and people of the smaller, un-served or underserved communities, to the nearest “big city” – and from there to the world beyond. Whether you lived in Utica, New York or Paso Robles, California you could drive to your local airport and catch a flight with ‘your’ Local Service Airline.
As Airlines For the Rest of Us explains (“Chapter 1: Route Planning”), the “Locals” (originally “Feeders”) were the happy result of a combination of governmental altruism and largesse and the ‘can-do’ spirit of American entrepreneurship and private ownership that has made this country a powerhouse. The government NEVER, EVER ran these airlines – all it did was smooth the way for their existence by providing break-even subsidy and by preventing the cut-throat predatory competition that has become a hallmark of the U.S. airline industry since 1978’s Airline Deregulation Act, which, in the hope that market-based pricing would benefit consumer and airline alike, eliminated the C.A.B. and its largely beneficial oversight.
When fiscal conservatives and others ideologically opposed to federal subsidy complained about the cost of helping these airlines, the C.A.B.’s response was that they were subsidizing NOT the airline BUT the community by enabling a service that, otherwise, would not exist. Interestingly, that philosophy was evident in the thinking of even the staunchest advocates of deregulation, because they agreed to the creation of Essential Air Service (see “Chapter 11: Ground Stopped”) which attempted to maintain a modicum of scheduled air service to the smaller communities. Whether the quality of such service equals that once provided by the Locals is certainly debatable, but few deny rhe need for such service.
Unfortunately, as the Times story shows, all too often that need is not being met. OR IS IT? You, the reader, are invited to comment on this topic by responding below. If you live in a smaller community, TELL US:
1. What is your local airport?
2. How many airlines currently serve it?
3. How adequate is that service; i.e. how many flights in/out per day, and to which hubs?
4. Has your community LOST or GAINED service since January 2008?
5. What is your favorite tale about such service, either bad or, possibly, good?
LET’S HEAR FROM YOU!
AND, ALSO, READ AIRLINES FOR THE REST OF US TO LEARN ABOUT THE GOOD OLD DAYS WHEN THE LOCALS SERVED MOST LOCALES.
