Facing Rural Air Service Crisis, Benedum Airport Authority Bolsters Airline Relations

Aug. 3—BRIDGEPORT — In a time of unprecedented financial constraint, rural airports are struggling nationwide, and the North Central West Virginia Airport is no exception.

But board members of the Benedum Airport Authority, which oversees the airport, are using the resources at their disposal to mitigate the impact these hardships can pose to the aviation industry in Harrison and Marion counties.

A combination of factors have put rural air service in a position of economic precarity, said Michael Mooney, managing partner at Volaire Aviation Consulting, during a BAA meeting Wednesday. For 12 years, Mooney has provided the BAA guidance on financial decision making.

Air service across the country took a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, and has struggled to return to pre-pandemic numbers. While domestic air traffic has been on the rise since 2020, the United States is facing a pilot shortage, Mooney said.

This, combined with an increase in fuel prices exacerbated by the Russia- Ukraine war, has made it more costly to operate aircraft, especially for the smaller passenger planes that service rural areas like North Central West Virginia.

With fewer pilots and more positions available, pilots are disincentivized to fly smaller, domestic flights, because larger and farther-reaching jets earn them more money, Mooney said. Currently, there is a gap of 13,500 between the pilots available in the U.S. and the number of pilots needed by airlines.

This means that it is harder for small, rural airports to provide its consumers flights, and that "rural America is paying way more to get on the airplane," Mooney said.

Since 1978, the federal government has subsidized airlines that provide service to rural communities where providers would otherwise be discouraged to operate due to low consumer populations through its Essential Air Service program.

The Clarksburg- Fairmont area is one of 159 communities across the U.S. that qualifies for the program. Now, the BAA is looking to buttress its relationship with airlines serving North Central West Virginia, especially those that participate in the EAS program.

When operating with a "business sector that is very challenged," what is most important for small air service companies is to keep a handle on preexisting sources of revenue, Mooney said.

"For a lot of airlines, it's just hold on to what you got" and look toward "future potential to expand" services upon improvement of the inflation rate, fuel costs, and the supplies and labor available, he added.

For the BAA, this has meant meeting with airline providers that service rural communities and encouraging them to keep a stake in North Central West Virginia.

In April, Mooney and representatives for the BAA met with airline Allegiant in Las Vegas, and noted that all of the company's routes through the North Central West Virginia Airport were performing well.

The group developed plans to expand routes in the future, potentially providing flights through the airline from Clarksburg to Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Nashville, and Punto Gorda, Fla.

The group also met with airline Contour, which Mooney noted had a difficult operational start after assuming several EAS routes at once. But the airline is stable now, he added, and is considering offering its own flight from Clarksburg to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

Mooney also emphasized the value of the airport staying connected to a familiar hub — North Carolina's Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

"If you're only going to have one, this is the hub to have," he said. The airport has seen recent increases in its domestic capacity, and is currently building a sixth airplane runway.

While the statewide flight capacity and annual air traffic in West Virginia remains lower than pre-pandemic levels, Mooney maintained that bolstering the BAA's relationship with the airlines that currently service it is the best way to move forward.

Also at the meeting, the BAA approved an amendment to its Huntington Bank credit extension and heard reports by representatives from the Mid-Atlantic Aerospace Complex and Robert C. Byrd Aerospace Education Center.

This year, the Aerospace Education Center's aviation maintenance technician program hit its enrollment capacity of 130, which is determined by the federal government based on facility size and resources.

"Word's getting out," said Brad Gilbert, senior professor and director of aviation technology at Pierpont Community & Technical College.

Currently, the BAA is working toward developing a new facility that will allow the college to increase enrollment numbers in years to come.

Tracy Miller, MAAC president, added that the increase in interest in the program bodes well for aerospace education on the regional level.

"That's good," she said. "That's a really good thing."

Reach Jack Walker by email at [email protected].

___

(c)2023 the Times West Virginian (Fairmont, W. Va.)

Visit the Times West Virginian (Fairmont, W. Va.) at www.timeswv.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.