Chance to get YNG as busy as ever come September 29th

Saturday, September 29th is a major day for the Mahoning Valley as Youngstown’s own Kelly Pavlik will officially fight Middleweight Champion Jermaine Taylor for the Middleweight title belt! The fight is going to be fought in Atlantic City, NJ, and that is where it all begins.

If you read the monthly passenger numbers which I publish on this site you see that there are as many charters to Atlantic City each month as their is flights to Orlando on Allegiant Air, and you also notice those sites always sell well!

So here is my idea: The YNG Administration of Bowser and the Port need to get on the phone with as many local charter companies to get planes here from morning til afternoon to fly Pavlik fans to Atlantic City! You may think I am crazy: I am not! Allegiant will not be flying during this period and this is one of the few ways YNG can make a few dollars in a historically slow aviation month. I guarentee you flights would be packed with hundreds of fans wanting to see Youngstown’s own Kelly Pavlik take down the big mouth known as Jermaine Taylor: WHICH HE WILL DO.

So what do you say: Should YNG do just that and call the charter companies to get something scheduled for the weekend of the 29th and 30th and would you consider flying one of these flights if you can get a ticket to the Pavlik fight, which you should be able to do?

Make yourself heard: SOUND OFF and your comments will be sent to the Airport and Port!

Allegiant Air’s Scrappers Promotion Big Hit! 3rd Largest Crowd!

Last night an enormous crowd of 7,008 fans packed into Eastwood Field (Capacity: 6,000) as the Mahoning Valley Scrappers lost 4-0; but all good is not lost for the Valley’s Single A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. Last night’s crowd was the 3rd largest in the clubs 8 year history of play; and that is much in part to Allegiant Air’s promotion of Disney Night/Free Airline Tickets to Orlando.

This was a great promotion for Allegiant Air to have, especially when it’s great advertising for over 7000 people who came out to the game. I am not sure how many people were awarded free tickets or how it was setup; but the bottom line is this promotion was a home run for Allegiant Air, the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, and the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. This promotion goes to show that people do want to support the Valley’s airport, and future promotions between YNG and Allegiant with the Scrappers, Thunder, Steelhounds, or maybe even Youngstown State will be a major success!

Congratulations Scrappers on the 3rd Largest Crowd in Team History, but get an OFFENSE!

PS: The Mahoning Valley Scrappers Attendance is up over 700 fans a game from last year to 4166 per game! This is the first time in the club’s eight year history that attendance is actually UP over the previous season! How about that!

YNG gets $150,000 from the DOT

YOUNGSTOWN — U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, announced a grant award of $150,000 from the Department of Transportation to the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport. “I’m pleased the community will be able to improve its airport services through these vital funds,” Voinovich said in a press release issued Friday. The money will be used to acquire safety equipment, install airfield guidance signs, rehabilitate airport aprons and remove obstructions from roads. Voinovich is a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee.

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Voinovich [R] is really backing YNG in their efforts for the SCASD Grant, let’s hope the DOT see’s his commitment and awards YNG that grant as well.

Vindy: State should help Valley lure Continental Airlines facility

Two years ago, the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna Township was one of three sites submitted by the state of Ohio to European airplane manufacturer Airbus, which was looking to develop a production facility in the United States.

And while neither the Valley nor the other two locations in Ohio, Toledo and Columbus, was selected by Airbus, a subsidiary of European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company North America, the state’s Department of Development received invaluable information about the Youngstown-Warren airport and the surrounding area.

The Regional Chamber developed the proposal that was sent to Columbus. U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D17th, and Team Northeast Ohio, a group of business officials from 17 counties, assisted.

We bring that up because the state is today being asked to assist the Valley in persuading Continental Airlines to build an aircraft repair facility at the regional airport.

State Sen. John Boccieri of New Middletown, D-33rd, has sent a letter to Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, who also serves as the state’s development director, suggesting that the administration of Gov. Ted Strickland include the regional airport in the economic incentive package Ohio is offering Continental Airlines to expand its hub at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

Fisher, who is quite familiar with the Valley’s economic profile by virtue of his having served as Ohio attorney general and running for other statewide offices, should have little difficulty putting together a proposal for the repair facility at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.

After all, the development department’s data base should contain a treasure trove of information about the Valley, including statistics submitted by the regional chamber for the Airbus project.

Public dollars

The state has committed $16 million to Continental Airlines for the expansion of its operations, which means the Strickland administration is not about to let other states competing for the expansion get the better of Ohio.

Boccieri, who knows the airport and the area around it from the ground and the air by virtue of his being an Air Force Reserve pilot, noted in his letter to Fisher that the existence of the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics at the airport would provide the Continental Airlines facility with the kind of manpower and other support not readily available in other areas.

The senator also rightly points out that Cleveland Hopkins does not have the space for such a project, whereas there are 10 acres of land available for immediate occupancy on the western side of Youngstown-Warren near Ridge Road, just opposite Aeropark Drive.

The parcel is already paved with concrete and was designated in the airport’s master plan as a cargo area.

Boccieri, who has a personal relationship with Gov. Strickland, intends to pursue the Continental Airlines project not only because it would benefit the Mahoning Valley, but because it would strengthen the state of Ohio’s bid to keep the airline from looking at other states.

While efforts are being made to expand commercial airline service at the airport, the presence of Continental Airlines, even through a repair facility, would be a major shot in the arm for the region.

For Continental, it would mean huge savings because now airplanes are flown to New Jersey or Texas for repairs.

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Also $150k is coming to YNG From the DOT for improvements, that will be a post come Monday.

Boccieri Has an Interesting Idea

Senator John Boccieri is suggesting that Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport could be a maintenance hub for Continental Airlines.

The state of Ohio has offered Continental a financial package worth $16 million to expand its hub at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

Senator Boccieri believes the growth of Continental, which expects to provide nonstop flights to Paris beginning in the summer of 2008, could provide economic growth for the region.

“It makes good business sense with the price of fuel to have a maintenance repair facility close to a major hub of operation. There is tremendous potential for expansion at the airport and we boast one of the largest runways in the state,” Senator Boccieri said.

20% of Local Towns Supporting YNG SCASD

Just 20% of local towns, cities, and villages have sent letters to the DOT in support of the YNG SCASD. Town’s like Austintown and Canfield have no excuse for not sending in letters of support for this grant. The stinking letter is already pre-written, all you have to do is pop your signatures on it, like the 18 communities so far have done.

I am going to post this Editorial by the Youngstown Vindicator on my blog, you know I don’t normally post stuff that I don’t write, but this needs to be put across the net everywhere for local communities to see. I encourage you to call your local trustees or mayor in your town and ask them if they have not sent a letter of support in for the YNG SCASD, to do so.

YOUNGSTOWN VINDICATOR Editorial

At the very least, the U.S. Department of Transportation should receive 91 letters from the Mahoning Valley in support of an $800,000 grant application submitted by the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport. The money would be used to persuade a commercial airline to offer regular service at the Vienna Township airport.

Why 91? Because that’s the number of cities, townships and villages in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties; each of them has a stake in the economic future of the region. As of last week, only 18 local governments had submitted letters backing the airport’s application for a Small Community Air Service Development Grant administered by the federal department of transportation. We hope the July Fourth holiday had something to do with the lack of response from the rest.

The economic viability of the region requires, among other things, a full-service airport. As we noted in an editorial in May, Delphi Packard Electric is proof that air transportation is an integral part of a major corporation’s operation.

In announcing the relocation of its top executives in global operations from Warren to Streetsboro, Delphi said proximity to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport was one or the reasons for the decision. Delphi, once a shining star of the Valley’s manufacturing might, is undergoing a major retrenchment that could result in job losses in this area. Having top executives leave, not for greener pastures but for convenience, makes Delphi’s shrinkage a bitter pill to swallow.

Commercial airline service

Securing the $800,000 federal grant would enable the Western Reserve Port Authority, which governs the airport, to make a pitch to commercial airlines that offer regional service.

Steve Bowser, director of aviation at the airport, said the goal is to have 50-90 seat aircraft flying from Youngstown-Warren to Chicago or Atlanta, catering to business travelers.

While competition for the Small Community Air Service Development Grant money is expected to be stiff, the regional port authority can make a persuasive case for its application — if federal transportation department officials consider past performance in judging viability.

In 2004, the airport received $250,000 for a marketing campaign that ultimately resulted in Allegiant Air launching scheduled flights to Sanford, Fla., twice a week. The service began in May 2006, and since that time the passenger count at Youngstown-Warren has topped 12,000. The federal government’s standard for grant eligibility is 10,000.

In his pitch for local support for the $800,000 grant application, Bower says in a letter, “The USDOT is targeting small communities for this program. Therefore, community support is most essential as this type and caliber of community support will be highly considered in the initial and subsequent review phases.”

U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, state Sen. John Boccieri and Reps. Sandra Harwood, Tom Letson and Mark Okey have sent letters, as have the Trumbull County commissioners and the cities of Warren and Youngstown.

We would hope that by this time next week, the list of supporters will have grown to such an extent that the U.S. Department of Transportation can’t ignore the value the people of the Mahoning Valley place on the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.

THANKS-FlyYNG

What do Allegiant Air and CAK have to do with the MV Scrappers?

Well to start, they each have full page ad’s in the 2007 Scrappers media guide. And secondly, they each are sponsoring special travel days in the coming days. Tomorrow is Las Vegas Get-A-Way Night at Eastwood Field sponsored by none other than the Akron-Canton Regional Airport. Two lucky people will be given free round-trip tickets aboard AirTran Airways out to Las Vegas.

On Sunday, July 22, Allegiant Air is sponsoring Disney Night at Eastwood Field as a few lucky winners will be given FREE Airline Tickets aboard Allegiant Air to Orlando. The sad thing is these people won’t be able to use these free tickets until November, at the very earliest!

There is one thing that Allegiant Air does outdo CAK at, at these Scrappers games, and that is Allegiant Air sponsors a 7th or 8th inning promotion during the middle part of the inning.

NOTES:

Dan Rivers had Airport AD Steve Bowser and Winner Aviation’s Chuck Johnson on his show Thursday to talk about the SCASD Grant and their hopes for new service at YNG for about 75 minutes. I emailed Dan and he said he will get his web guy to upload a podcast of the entire interview within the next couple days. I was told this was a big joke!

Also on 570WKBN today on Dan Rivers, I heard the Winner Aviation Report with none other than Chuck Johnson himself. He mentioned how busy things were out there, with 145 of 150 seats sold on the Allegiant Air flight, one of those seats had Winner Aviation President Rick Hale in it. Chuck went onto say that with the SCASD Grant, things would get even busier out at YNG. He plugged Winner some more and Dan finally got him off the air.

YNG- Go Scrappers

PS: Visit our NEW Sister Site: GuinZone.com [A YSU FAN COMMUNITY!]

Local Communities Pitching for YNG!

Thanks to KarlB737 on Airliners.net who posted this on there and has started a decent conversation!

10 Pitches Of Support For YNG SCASD

Well this caught me out of the blue today. I didn’t realize there was this much penmanship at work for YNG. I knew they were seeking something more. I know they want more from Allegiant. The confidence factor that needs to come from Allegiant appears to be absent at the present time. I hope however that either through SCASD or heavy negotiations with Allegiant or Spirit that something develops after these writings:

Bazetta Township Pitches For YNG
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf101/474937_web.pdf

Boardman Township Pitches For YNG
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf101/474936_web.pdf

Elizabeth Township Pitches For YNG
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf101/474888_web.pdf

Poland Township Pitches For YNG
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf101/474886_web.pdf

Hartford Township Pitches For YNG
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf101/474885_web.pdf

Eric Augustein - Village of Beloit Pitches For YNG
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf101/474882_web.pdf

Vernon Township Pitches For YNG
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf101/474881_web.pdf

John W. Smith - Mayor Village Sebring Pitches For YNG
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf101/474880_web.pdf

Steve Bowser Pitches For YNG
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf101/474878_web.pdf

Milton Township Pitches For YNG
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf101/474876_web.pdf