Passenger numbers dropped in December by almost 300 travelers, making for the second consecutive month of decline for Johnstown’s commuter air service.
“That was one of the worst months of the year,” Chairman James Loncella said after hearing the numbers at Tuesday’s Johnstown-Cambria County Airport Authority meeting.
“That is obviously not what we are looking for,” he said.
Although December’s 951 total of inbound and outbound Boutique Air passengers were the most for any December since 2012, the normally busy holiday travel month was the third lowest of 2019, behind January and February.
Boutique station manager Sharon Richardson told the authority there were 91 flights cancelled out of 303 scheduled, including 56 flights cancelled due to weather and 35 due to maintenance or crew shortages.
Airline committee chairman Mike Parrish said his group has been in discussion with Boutique executives concerning the maintenance and crew issues.
“They were short on aircraft because of some upgrades,” Parrish said, noting that eight planes were out of service for the work. “We were told they will be available by the end of the month.”
Boutique is wrapping intake of its largest group of pilots to date, Parrish added.
Once the aircraft upgrades are completed, Loncella said, Boutique has agreed to assign two aircraft to each of its routes, including the Johnstown-Pittsburgh-Baltimore route.
“Having two planes here is what we’ve been asking for for a long, long time,” Parrish said.
In other matters, the authority voted to enter contract negotiations with its top candidate for airport manager.
The action followed an executive session called to consider the two finalists submitted by the authority’s personnel committee.
Leaders declined to name the candidate, saying the final terms have not been approved and the candidate needs time to notify a current employer.
“We will continue the process and engage in negotiations and come back to the board for the next airport meeting,” selection committee member Tim McIlwain said.
“We will have a full discussion of the offer before it is made official.”
The new manager will replace Thomas Keyes, whose resignation was effective Dec. 31. Keyes held the position since July 2017.
Tuesday also served as the authority’s reorganizational meeting. New member George Arcurio was welcomed to the board and 2019 officers were reelected, unanimously. They are Loncella, chairman; Jack Babich, vice chairman; Rick McQuaide, treasurer; and Michael Parrish, secretary.
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