Business Journal: Airport Lands Grant to Lure Service!
Posted on October 20, 2007
Filed Under General
VIENNA TOWNSHIP, Ohio – A $575,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will be used to help lure daily jet service to the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.
U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, announced the grant, from Transportation’s Small Community Air Service Development program, in a news release issued this afternoon.
The money will be used to attract daily jet service specifically targeted to the local business traveler, helping to subsidize the carrier’s startup costs, said Steve Bowser, aviation director. “This is to help mitigate their costs of introducing themselves to our market, only as it relates to their operations,” he said.
“Basically, we’re going to be re-approaching airlines and letting them know we have this particular grant available,” he said.
The $575,000 award is a little over two-thirds of what the airport had requested. It had submitted a grant request of $800,000.
Bowser could not say why the airport’s grant request was not fully funded — only that Transportation officials stated they would get back to him in a few days to go over details of the grant.
DOT spokesman John Mayfield did not return calls.
In its application, Bowser said, the airport proposed a timeline of about 24 months to find a carrier, then a three-year timeframe to spend the money.
In 2004, the airport was awarded a $250,000 grant for marketing, which was used to attract Allegiant Air.
Allegiant has been operating at the airport since 2006, offering twice-weekly flights to and from Sanford/Orlando, Fla. Under rules applying to the grant, an airport cannot resubmit for the same kind of funds, Bowser said.
“It will be up to the port authority, the community, and any assistance we can get through local businesses to help us promote and market the service,” he said.
Once the airport is able to get one daily carrier, Bowser predicted it would be easier to attract others. “Getting the first one is the hardest one,” he said.
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Just hope that Steve Bowser and the WRPA make the right moves here. I am really happy that they have a chance to get daily air service or service of any type to anywhere other than Orlando.
Also, I think that Steve used his line about, “Getting the first one is the hardest one,” when he announced Allegiant, and Vacation Express, and Pan Am for that matter. I think that he better get a new line before that one gets too old.
But, good for the airport. Thank God that we have people like Tim Ryan and Voinovich and others around or they might not have gotten it.