Sept. 24--The unexplained and sudden announcement that Allegiant Air will stop flying out of the Fort Collins-Loveland Airport next month will be a shock to the region, but it will likely not put too much pressure on Greeley's airport just a few miles east.
The departure, without another small carrier taking its place, could mean the airport would go back to what it was before Allegiant's arrival in 2003 -- a general aviation and corporate travel airport, the same niche the Greeley-Weld County Airport fills on the east side of Interstate 25.
Jason Licon, airport director with Fort Collins-Loveland Airport, said he will pursue another carrier to take its place.
"There's certainly a proven market here," Licon said. "Allegiant has been here for nine years and proven it's a successful leisure market. I'd not be surprised if there was interest from another carrier to pick up those routes or do something a little different.
"We could certainly provide a persuasive argument, and that's our intent."
The commercial carrier service is not a hole that Greeley could easily fill, said Gary Cyr, Greeley-Weld County Airport manager. Any such endeavor would likely cost more than it would be worth, from providing the right infrastructure to finding the right airliner.
Cyr often fields such questions about the potential for commercial service in Greeley, but the logistics, he explains, are just too problematic.
"I have the length, and the system, but I don't have the structural set-up because we have never been programmed or designed for it," Cyr said. "The runway is not rated for the aircraft that flies over there. We have 10,000 feet, but we have a 45,000 dual wheel-load weight limit. Can I land heavier aircraft? Yes. But that's on an infrequent basis.
"Most commercial carriers have a 75,000-pound dual wheel load. That's to take the additional pounding of the weight of the aircraft."
Then there's the security aspect, and facilities for TSA, and though a control tower is not necessary, it's often considered a great plus for air traffic safety. Building a tower has been studied in Greeley. Without Federal Aviation Administration help, the initial $1.7 million cost to build would be prohibitive, not to mention furnishing and upkeep. Federal earmarks for such help also have dried up, Cyr said, and there's no amount of airport traffic that could bridge that gap.
"There would be a pretty good cost factor to do all those things, and that wouldn't be with a legacy carrier. That would be with a low-cost carrier, and 10 (years) later they could do what they did in Loveland," Cyr said. "So then you're sitting with pretty good debt service."
The loss of Allegiant is expected to drain $1 million a year from airport coffers, Licon said.
It wasn't a case of failure of the services. Planes were always upward of 95 percent full, and passenger loads were growing. The airport had 35,671 passengers in 2010, which rose to 44,999 last year.
"They're not saying a word," Licon said of Allegiant officials' reasons.
Cyr said it's likely Allegiant, which has been adding more stops through the West, didn't add a commensurate amount of planes to accommodate such growth, so they picked the destinations where they could charge more for ticket prices.
"I think they have a better fish someplace else, and they folded their tents," Cyr said.
Commercial air service these days has grown pretty cutthroat. Cyr, the former manager of the airport in Springfield, Mo., has experience with Allegiant, which flew 100,000 people a year out of that airport.
"A lot of low-cost carriers are looking for subsidies, because it lessens their risk," Cyr said. "The problem in the market now, who is out there (who) would entertain" coming to a spot so close to Denver International Airport?
"Allegiant wants a cut-rate deal on fuel and services, but (it hasn't) done subsidies. Other airlines would come in that don't have" as much as Allegiant. "When you start that subsidy it's like paying the devil. It never ends."
Licon, however, said with the proven market and numbers, he thinks a new carrier could come into Loveland and pick up where Allegiant left off without further assistance.
Cyr and Licon said they don't believe Allegiant's departure will pit the two airports against the other in a race for GA or corporate service. Pilots use their respective airports based solely on convenience, both agreed. Price-wise, in terms of hangars, Cyr and Licon said the airports are comparable.
Both airports are seeing about 90,000 operations a year (take-offs and landings). The Fort Collins-Loveland Airport has 10 corporate jets based there, amid its 240 aircraft. It also has three flight schools.
Licon said the money that would be lost from Allegiant generally went to pay for airport improvements; fortunately, the airport is in good shape now.
If a new commercial carrier were to come in, Licon said, it would be roughly eight months out because of scheduling issues.
"If we were to sign a deal today, it wouldn't happen until the middle of next year," Licon said. "That being said, we're going to try our best."
Cyr plans to continue to follow the corporate jet and general aviation path that's worked so far for the airport of 225 planes, including two corporate hangars.
Cyr is overseeing development to the east end of the airport to accommodate future growth, especially with Leprino building its largest plant here, and the continued oil and gas boom. Construction recently extended a 16-inch water main and a sewer line to the east side of the airport.
"Hopefully, in the next year or two, with the completion and full maturity of Leprino, and continuation of oil and gas activity going on, and everything in general, we're kind of in a position where someone contacts me and says, 'Do you have a spot to build a hanger?' I can say yes," Cyr said. "We're in a position to accommodate that activity as we move forward."
Copyright 2012 - Greeley Tribune, Colo.
