Joe Bell Reports on Airport Fuel “Report”
Posted on February 6, 2006
Filed Under General
If the Port has held this report under confidentiality and Steve Bowser says the airlines they are trying to bring in like Allegiant Air don’t see this as a major concern, why hasn’t this gone public. Why has Tom Nolan come out 5 years after leaving after 4 airlines left under his time and he blames the Port Board for this ordeal. We need to get some answers. We will try to contact Tom Nolan, Winner and Ready Air and the WRPA on this and we hope to bring the truth out. Anyways here is what Joe Bell reports, Joe I hope we can still set up an interview with you. We look forward to increase membership of the coalition in the community and you can be a major asset to the coalition, we consider you a media friend and partner.
Did Fuel Prices Kill the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport?
The fortunes of the Youngstown- Warren Regional Airport have seen better days. A four-year-old confidential report has surfaced, raising some disturbing questions.
It’s all about the price of fuel. If you think you pay a lot, consider the fact that aircraft owners are currently paying between $3.50 and $4.00 a gallon. Now, a report commissioned by the Port Authority seems to be saying that price-gouging by one company killed commercial air service at our airport.
Every plane that fuels up here gets it through a provider called a Fixed Base Operation. Up until a couple years ago, Winner Aviation was the only one at our airport. Like all FBO’s they charge a small fee on every gallon. In 2001, the consulting firm GPC International reported to the Port Authority that typical FBO fuel fees run around two to four cents a gallon, compared to 70 cents that Winner was charging.
The consultant called that a very alarming development which could result in the loss of all air service to the community.
Within two years, all air service was gone.
But Winner’s president says those numbers are way off base — that the low fees are only had in huge airports and that his company never charged as much as 70 cents a gallon.
“It wasn’t an issue when these three airlines left. None of them came to us and said, ‘Your prices are too high. We’re going to have to leave here,’” said Rick Hale, president of Winner.
This is about more than just what happened to commercial service. It’s about who gets to service planes like this. It’s about the competition between the existing FBO, Winner and the newcomer, Ready Air.
“There’s competition now and they have to respond to that,” said Ready Air general manager Chad Quinn.
Ready Air says Winner has been getting a sweetheart deal from the Port Authority, especially when it comes to building space. According to airport records, Winner pays about $3.41 per square foot. Ready Air pays 29 cents more.
“They had a chance to adjust that and they havened adjusted anything. We’re still paying more rent than Winner Aviation pays right now,” Quinn said.
“These guys show up and they sign it and then they start crying that they have a different rate,” Hale said.
Because Ready Air felt it was getting no response from the Port Authority, it stopped paying the rent back in October. The Port Authority is moving to evict the company and the company is now suing over it. Because of that litigation, members of the Port Authority board are declining to talk about the battle with Ready Air.
One thing airport director Steve Bowser did say is the problems raised in that report have been corrected and that none of the airlines he’s trying to court have raised an issue about fuel pricing.
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If you are seriuos about the future of the airport and the community, I am sure Chad Quinn will be more than happy to talk to you. Call him.