Watertown Int'l Airport to launch car rental service in March

Feb. 03--Starting in March, passengers arriving at Watertown International Airport will have access to a car rental service, as Rent-A-Wreck, Watertown, will have a fleet of five to 10 cars available at a station at the east end of the terminal in an expanded parking lot.

The new rental service is part of the airport's 1,600-square-foot expansion project that was completed two weeks ago at the terminal on Route 12F near Dexter, work that included a secure waiting area on the west end for screened passengers and a baggage return system with conveyor belt at the back.

Started in October, the $794,750 project was spurred by American Eagle Airline's decision to offer flights to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago this fall, said airport Manager James L. Lawrence Jr., who said the additional space was needed for the increase in passenger traffic. The airline received an annual subsidy of $3,047,972 from the federal Department of Transportation Essential Air Service as an incentive to do business here.

"There have been numerous requests for a rental service here, and all we could do is point people in the right direction," Mr. Lawrence said, adding that the airport will receive a small portion of the rental fees. "We know it will be used consistently."

The project also included an expanded parking lot to the east of the terminal that will add 40 spaces, to make 90 available, upgrades to offices and a conference room on the second floor, and separate administrative offices for the airline and county. Improvements to be finished in the next three weeks include 49 secure seats in the waiting area, a public address system to be used by American Eagle, folding security gates and exterior lighting for the parking lot.

The general contractor for the project was Continental Construction, Gouverneur, with work also completed by Nytric Electrical Contractors and Hyde-Stone Mechanical Contractors, both of Watertown.

Investing in this project is expected to be a boon for the county, Mr. Lawrence said, because the increase in enplanements from the new airline will allow the airport to garner more funding from the Federal Aviation Administration. If the airport records more than 10,000 enplanements a year for three straight years, he said, its annual subsidy could be bumped from $150,000 to $1 million.

"That money would assist with the airport being self-sustaining," he said, noting that it now depends heavily on federal grants to fund projects.

In addition to providing much needed space for passengers -- a temporary mobile unit was used for passenger seating during construction -- the project has made the airport an even more convenient place to travel, said Cynthia M. Sawyer, the county's marketing coordinator for the airport. Customers used to have to wait in lines at a check-in counter to pick up their baggage, for example, but now will be able to collect it in a baggage area.

"As we wrap this project up, we feel very confident that our numbers are only going to grow," she said. "More parking spaces and the baggage return area will allow for an ease of transition. And as our passenger loads and flow for the terminal increases, we're going to have to expand again."

Customers have said that what distinguishes Watertown from other airports is the convenience of checking in and out, Ms. Sawyer said, as well as free parking. People making business trips benefit from the rental service.

"Getting here is easy, and getting through the security checks is a lot easier than at other airports," she said. "Because we're a single airport service, people aren't standing in line with other passengers."

Passenger traffic at the airport slowed down in January compared with December, Mr. Lawrence said, when it booked a record 1,396 departures and 2,244 arrivals. But enplanements are expected to rise again in February and March, he said, as families take more vacations.

"We'll see an increase in traffic as we see spring break for high schools and colleges," he said.

Copyright 2012 - Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.