Jet Service at Cambria Airport Makes Good First Impression
Dec. 16—Airport leaders say Johnstown's new United Express jet service has had an impressive launch with 100% reliability.
"They have not missed a flight," airport manager Chad Gontkovic said at Tuesday's Johnstown-Cambria County Airport Authority meeting.
Gontkovic admitted a winter storm forecast on Wednesday could challenge the perfect record.
"I am really impressed with how they do business," authority Chairman James Loncella said.
With the current COVID-19 wave hammering the nation and the travel industry in particular, authority members were not expecting immediate increases in ticket sales, Loncella said.
SkyWest Airlines began operating the Johnstown service Dec. 4, with daily flights to Dulles International Airport near Washington and Chicago O'Hare International Airport.
So far, the 50-passenger twin jet aircraft have carried from three to 12 passengers.
Loncella noted that the new service has not been marketed due to the pandemic and its affect on the industry.
Instead, the authority, United and SkyWest are planning marketing promotions as the pandemic's effects begin to ease.
"We knew we were going to be in lean times," Loncella said. "But when folks around here are ready to go somewhere to get away, we have the service for them."
The United Express connections through Chicago and Washington make the local service competitive with larger airports, such as State College and Pittsburgh, Gontkovic said.
"When we come out of this, we are going to be on fire," he said.
To prepare for the spring and summer travel season, the authority added $24,000 for marketing in its proposed 2021 budget, along with another $20,000 to promote economic development of the airport-owned property surrounding the airfield.
The $800,000 spending plan was approved by unanimous vote on Tuesday and will be submitted to the Cambria County commissioners with no request for the usual $174,000 allocation of county tax revenue.
Loncella said the authority agreed to use funding from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act to replace the county taxpayers' contribution and provide some help for the county.
"We have agreed to take a load off of them," Loncella said.
Authority members are stressing that the agreement to not request a county allocation is made possible by the CARES Act funding. They don't want county leaders to remove the allocation in future budgets, Loncella said.
"We are very concerned about that," he said.
New officers elected at Tuesday's meeting will take seats on Jan. 1.
Those elected were Rick McQuaide, chairman; Tim McIlwain, vice chairman; Michael Parrish, treasurer; and Jonathan Gleason, secretary.
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