Regional airports on life support … may become extinct

3Jun/050

Regional airports on life support … may become extinct

I know, sometimes I write way too much about the airline industry considering I am not in it. What intrigues me about the airline industry is the total switch from being a profitable, well liked industry to a bankrupt, hated one. A new article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch looks at regional airports and their viability in today's marketplace.

The article explores how regional airports have been devastated by what has happened since 9-11. The first example is the Joplin Regional Airport in Missouri. Prior to 9-11, three airlines had 31,000 passengers through Joplin. Today, only one airline has about 10,000 passengers a year.

9-11 isn't the only reason regional airports in Missouri are hurting. When TWA was sold to American Airlines it appeared that Lambert International airport would remain a hub, but American Airlines quit using Lambert International airport as hub and the traffic at regional airports in Missouri really plunged.

When Lambert International airport lost it's hub status, it became easier and cheaper for most flyers to drive to Kansas City, St. Louis or even Chicago to catch flights.

There are a couple other considerations to why people decide to go to larger airports instead of regional airports as well:

They don't have to drive: Many services have popped up in the larger rural communities that offer shuttle services to larger airports. For instance, in Missouri you can catch Missouri Express (MO-X) and get a run to a Kansas City airport. This van based shuttle service is reasonably priced as none of the routes costs more than $72.00.

They don't have to trudge through multiple airports: This is the bane of existence on regional airports. On my first trip to a smaller city in upstate New York, I decided to fly directly into the city through their regional airport. I was routed through four airports and missed my final leg into the city due to delays. When I did catch the next flight it was like an air based taxi service. We made two stops in other smaller cities before I made it to mine. It took 12 hours. Now I fly into the one of the nearer large cities and drive the hour or two. I still make it in 5 hours.

Regional airports are going extinct as even government subsidies can't help. Steve Stockam, director of Joplin Regional Airport said it best:

"We're an airport that through the early 1990s had three airlines and 50,000 enplanements a year. Since 9/11, we've lost a couple of airlines, and American Airlines did their number on St. Louis. This is where we sit right now."