HomeMy WebLinkAboutAirport.Minutes.08-04-2009AIRPORT BOARD MINUTES
Angus! 4, 2009
CAPE AVIATION CONFERENCE ROOM
Members ['resent: Craie Bohnsack, John Dissauer, Bill Dunn, Rick Hetzel, Robbie Rollins,
Wall Wildman
Others Present: Bruce Loy, Airport Manager: Katrina Amos -Atkins. Airport Administrative
Coordinator, Andrew Bonney, Cape Air: Leslie Myrbeck, Cape Air
1. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
The meeting "as called to order at 5:05PM. July _'009 minutes have not been drafted at this
time and will be approved at a future meeting.
Il. APPEARANCES
Mr. Loy Andrew Bonney and Leslie Myrbeck from Cape Air, who will be presenting the
Board their proposal for Essential Air Service
111. OLD BUSINESS
A. Airport Activity Report - Mr. Loy presented an Airport Usage Report for July 2009. He
reported air traffic was sleadN for the month.
B. Cape Aviation Report - Mr. Irwin presented a Cape Aviation Fuel Report for July 1009.
He reported fuel sales were really good this month. He stated there are still some issues
with the control lower frequency changes but the tower is monitoring both frequencies to
try and avoid any problems.
C. Project l 1pdates—
• ARRA Project — Mr. Loy informed the Board that the project is going well. Thep are
almost ready to pour concrete. R.L. Persons will start working on Runway 10 on the 10ih.
Mr. Loy stated that funding and payments are also going well.
• Commander Update— Mr. Loy informed the Board that Scott Meyer, City Manager, had a
conference call with Mr. Strauss on July 31". lie stated they are still in the process of
negotiations. Mr. Loy added that Mr. Strauss was comfortable with most the language in
the Memorandum of Understanding but there were a few items that need revising.
• Airport Foundation — Mr. Loy informed the Board that Mr. Meyer is still looking in the
idea of an airport foundation. Mr. Meyer spoke with Parks and Recreation and the Police
about creating a City foundation. Mr. Het/el objected saying this will not work and will he
another general fund. I he Board agreed to continue exploring the idea.
• Hangar Development — Mr. Rollins asked if it would be possible for someone to build
private hangars on the airport grounds and if so how would it work. Mr. Loy stated it has
already been done, however, private owners or investors have no control of the land and
would have to enter into a land lease. Discussion continued.
IV. NEW BUSINESS
A. Interview with Cape Air Regarding Essential Air Service — Mr. Rollins started off by
informing the representatives of Cape Air on what the airport needs which he said includes:
frequency, consistency, reliability, and decent fares.
Mr. Bonney began his presentation with a power point slide going over the history of Cape
Air. Mr. Bonney said Cape Air started operation in 1989 out of Boston. MA. 'I hey
currently Fly 56 Cessna 402's. lie also noted they have an ATR -42 in their fleet. lie said
the have 550 flights daily and operate out of 17 communities in the northeast. with 12 of
those being FAS communities. Mr. Bonney stated that Cape Air's mantra is -MOCHA
I IAGoTDI" which means, "Make Our Customers Happy and Have a Good 'I Doing Il:'
Ile reported that Cape Air is the largest Cessna 400 Fleet operator in the world and the
second largest consumer of Avgas. I le stated Cape Air carried over 680,000 passengers in
2008 and ltey grew 20% from 2007-2009.
Mr. Bonney added Cape Air has a higher frequency. interline ticketing, and an average fare
of under $50, one way. Ile stated they are a part of the GDS system including: Fxpedia.
Orbitz, and I to%eIoc ity. They have a reservation system already in place and there are no
booking or baggage fees.
Cape Air has a marketing budget of $43,800.00 if selected to be used in the Cape Girardeau
market. Ms. Myrbeck elaborated saying they Will employ a full -lime marketing person
specifically for this area. She slated they would use every avenue for marketing including:
the Chamber of Commerce, direct mailing, donations, and sponsorships.
With regards to the size of the aircraft, Mr. Bonney mentioned they had a similar situation
in Rutland, VT. in which Cape Air was awarded the FAS bid following an airline with a 19
passenger plane and were able to increase traffic by 146%. Mr. Bonney stated that even
though the Cessna 402 is a small plane, they fly a higher frequency and Cape Air has an
STC so that they can take items such as skis and surf hoards. Flight time to St. Louis will
he about 40 minutes per flight. Mr. Bonney added that with fares ranging from $42.00 to
$50.00 per flight, Cape Air will more than compete with Bart and Greyhound.
Cape Air also provides a commuter hook of 10 one way tickets with a 10-20% discount oft
the regular are. They stated that 40% of their revenue comes from these books.
Cape Air would base airplane in Cape Girardeau but maintenance hub would be in St.
Louis. They would ask the Airport Manager his opinion with regards to hiring and would
look to keep stafflrom previous airline.
After presentation, Mr. Bonney asked to meet with the Board again and introduce them to
the company CEO.
This meeting was adjourned at 6:30fam
Minutes prepared by Katrina Atkins, Administrative Coordinator
Minutes
Approved By�
Robbie Rollins
Chairman Airport Advisory Board