Golden Triangle Regional Airport is getting closer to winning the West.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that GTRA was one of 16 airports that had been awarded funding from the Small Community Air Service Development Program for local air service needs.
GTRA will receive $750,000 from the grant program. Executive Director Mike Hainsey said having this funding is critical in recruiting airlines that would offer a westbound flight option to GTRA customers. Currently, the airport has three round-trip flights to Atlanta on Delta Air Lines.
Airlines have reduced capacity worldwide and have reduced it so much that there’s a greater demand than they have the capacity to handle, Hainsey said, which has created stiff competition in smaller markets for air service.
“We have a lot of good reasons for them to do service here, but all the airlines, in order to compete, are looking for some sort of risk abatement strategy,” Hainsey said. “What this grant money is for is part of a package, but specifically it would be used for guaranteed revenue, which helps offset the startup costs of service.”
Hainsey said GTRA officials listed three desired locations for possible westbound destinations in their grant application: Houston, Dallas and Denver. They will likely begin discussing options with such carriers as American Airlines, United Airlines and Frontier Airlines among others, Hainsey said.
While it would be next summer at the earliest before a westbound flight option at GTRA may be available, one factor working in the Golden Triangle’s favor in terms of negotiations is the amount of new industry, Hainsey said. Airlines survey markets to measure customer growth or decline before when they consider committing to an area, and big names including Paccar, Steel Dynamics and Yokohama are attractive to airlines, he said.
“The airlines are not going to start service at a location where they come in, take their money and stop their service,” Hainsey said. “They’ve got so many places that want their service. They can pick and choose, so they’re only go into markets where they think they’re going to stay.”
The reimbursable grant offers airlines a buffer in case there are some startup costs that don’t get covered by the market, Hainsey said, but he is hopeful not all the $750,000 will be needed.
“They’ll make enough money where they don’t have losses,” Hainsey said.
GTRA used the same strategy to recruit Delta Airlines, which provided service to Memphis before the airplanes they were using to fly back and forth were retired.
In a press release, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said USDOT is providing a total of $7 million to the 16 airports. Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport was the other Mississippi airport to receive funding. It received $350,000.
“Our smaller communities need to be connected to the national and global economies to be competitive,” Foxx said. “These grants will assist communities in obtaining more affordable and reliable air service for residents, which will help attract businesses and provide better travel options for the future.”
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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