Publish Date : 16-Jan-2018
In charting a new course for Wyomings economy, a council created to provide recommendations for diversification of the states economy named improving and expanding Wyomings commercial air service a top priority.
The group, Economically Needed Diversity Options for Wyoming (ENDOW), released a list of 10 recommendations Jan. 2. A $15 million funding request to expand commercial air service in the state was at the top of the list.
ENDOWs report recommended support for a commercial air service plan the Wyoming Department of Transportation proposed in August.
The report said: Commercial air service is a significant limiting factor to expanding and diversifying Wyomings economy Wyoming must be aggressive in finding a solution that will support attracting and retaining reliable air service. Air service is critical to supporting businesses, residents, and entrepreneurs.
The new air service proposal in the form of a capacity purchase agreement originally came from a series of meetings from a working group of Wyoming leaders, which was later presented to WYDOTs Aeronautics Commission by Aeronautics Administrator Amy Surdam.
A capacity purchase agreement could give the state more ability to decrease local airfares, improve service hours for flights, and flights would be less likely to be late or canceled, Surdam said.
Airfares in Wyoming are higher than neighboring states and 27.9 percent higher than the national average, meaning Wyoming customers are paying excess airfare of $100 million each year.
The average flight costs:
$215 nationally,
$171 in Colorado,
and $275 in Wyoming.
Surdam said these issues lead to a high leakage rate the rate at which people leave the state to access commercial air services. Wyomings rate is around 50 percent.
Surdam said a capacity purchase agreement, which is common in the aviation industry, would be a contract with one carrier to provide commercial air service throughout the state. The goal would be to have air service out of all commercial airports up to three times daily to one major hub. The Jackson Hole Airport would not need to be part of the agreement, as the area already supports robust commercial air service.
The ENDOW report quoted William Swelbar, Chief Industry Strategist, Delta Airport Consultants Inc., as saying: With the exception of Jackson, Casper and Gillette (and potentially Cody), Wyoming commercial air service is vulnerable by virtually any metric that is important to sustainable air service.
In other cities in Wyoming, carriers may come and go.
Allegiant Air announced in September it will stop providing service out of Casper in January. Great Lakes Aviation announced it would end service from Riverton to Denver on Nov. 1. Sheridan lost commercial air service for a few months in 2015 when Great Lakes stopped providing service, which was later picked up by Key Lime Airlines. Commercial air service in and out of Worland discontinued completely in the last year when the city lost Essential Air Service funding from the USDOT, and Great Lakes stopped providing services as a result.
This new air service proposal would help address the difficulty some municipalities have in keeping commercial services, it would also address the high cost of continuing to fund air service under the current model, said Surdam.
Currently, the department would need to spend $35 million over the next 10 years for service to be maintained at current levels with use of the Air Service Enhancement Program (ASEP).
While ASEP has been successful increasing air traffic in Wyoming 47 percent since its inception in 2004 Federal Aviation Policy and UAS Program Manager Sheri Taylor told the working group programs at a, Aug. 23 meeting in Casper that other states have taken notice of the Wyoming program's success and may start setting up their own. If other states implement similar programs to ASEP, Taylor said Wyoming could end up in a bidding war that the state cannot win.
Surdam said the new proposal would cost the state less than continuing the current model at $27 million over the next 10 years. Twelve million dollars of that is already available under current appropriations and would be important to maintain for growth markets in communities such as Cody and Jackson. The $15 million ENDOW recommended would cover the remaining needed funding for a capacity purchase agreement in primary markets such as Riverton, Rock Springs and Sheridan, which have one route to a major hub.
The media release from ENDOW titled Chart New Course represents the first steps in long-term efforts, according to ENDOW Chairman Greg Hill.
Actions that must be implemented now include opportunities to grow and diversify our education and workforce training opportunities, improve our infrastructure and develop an entrepreneurial ecosystem that nurtures and retains Wyoming talent, Hill said in the release. The full preliminary report classifies the expansion of air service as part of its focus on infrastructure.
Additional preliminary recommendations from ENDOW included:
Improve Access to Broadband and Technology ($10,350,000 funding request)
Provide Equitable Opportunities for Students to Learn Computer Science (no funding request)
Improve Higher Education Attainment and Retention of Graduates (no funding request)
Allocate Resources for Workforce Training (investment request pending discussions)
Building Wyomings Entrepreneurial Ecosystem by creating a dedicated organization called Startup:Wyoming ($5,000,000 funding request)
Establish a Wyoming Research and Innovation Fund ($6,000,000 funding request)
Establish In-State Contractor Preference for State Technology Contracts (no funding request)
Authorize Virtual Currency Businesses to Operate in Wyoming (no funding request)
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