Barkley Regional Won't Lose Mesaba

Barkley, Ky., Regional Airport is in no jeopardy of losing its soon-to-be remaining commuter carrier even though Mesaba Airlines and the company it works for, Northwest Airlines, remain in bankruptcy reorganization, airport manager Richard Roof says.

Mesaba operates here as Northwest Airlink, and all Airlink contracts are being rebid by Northwest Airlines, he said. "If Mesaba doesn't get the contract, whoever does get the contract to operate (34-seat turboprop) Saabs will be in Paducah."

Since it began Chapter 11 proceedings last fall, Northwest Airlines and its commuter carriers have ceased operating in only a couple of the more than 230 cities they serve, Northwest said.

"We have no plans to make any changes at the present time," spokesman Dean Breest said of the three daily flights linking Paducah with Northwest's Memphis, Tenn., hub.

Roof said Mesaba has been operating with Barkley for at least two years on a fee system, rather than a contract.

"Whether we have a contract or not has very little impact because the federal government will require service to be maintained at Paducah," he said. If Mesaba chose to pull out -- leaving Barkley with no service -- the Department of Transportation would advertise the route and Mesaba would have to stay until a replacement were acquired, he said.

Roof said the government probably wouldn't have to intervene because Paducah's Northwest flights are financially viable. Mesaba has 84 percent of Barkley riders, compared with 16 percent for American Connection, which will cease its two daily round-trip flights linking Paducah with St. Louis on July 27.

"Northwest runs 50,000 passengers in and out (annually), and that's a significant number," Roof said. "It's not quite the same with American."

RegionsAir, operating as American Connection, blamed mounting fuel prices for the recent decision to leave Paducah. The company said the typically half-full 19-seat planes would have to run virtually full to be profitable.

Unless Roof and his staff can find a replacement, the Regions pullout will leave the airport with only one carrier for the first time since 1951.

Northwest Airlines averted a pilots' strike this month when the union accepted a contract cutting wages over the next 5 1/2 years. That will save the nation's fourth-largest carrier about $360 million annually.

But Northwest still must gain concessions from flight attendants' and ramp workers' unions, and federal bankruptcy court negotiations for Mesaba follow a similar path. Last week, a bankruptcy judge in Minneapolis rejected Mesaba's attempt to do away with union contracts. Mesaba had asked all its labor groups for a 19.4 percent wage/benefit cut over six years and refused to talk about optional cost savings.

Two weeks ago, a low cloud bank kept a Mesaba plane from landing at Barkley and forced 15 passengers back to Memphis. That was because Barkley's main runway is closed for resurfacing and its shorter auxiliary runway doesn't have instruments for landing in extremely overcast conditions.

Roof said the incident marked the only disrupted flight so far, but a recurrence is possible until the long runway is repaved. Despite plenty of rain this month, the project is on schedule unless there is considerably more bad weather, he said.

Weather permitting, crack repair should be finished this week, and paving should start next week, Roof said. The contract calls for paving to be finished within 60 to 65 working days and has built-in contingencies for bad weather, he said.

Roof said Barkley has been assured of help from the Kentucky congressional delegation in getting ongoing federal funding for the control tower. The 2006-07 budget recommended by President Bush does not include $7 million needed to subsidize Barkley and about 270 other small airports, but Kentucky Sens. Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning and Rep. Ed Whitfield have pledged to work to get the money reinstated, Roof said.

Barkley received $300,000 this year, covering the salaries and related costs for five control tower employees. Current funding expires Oct. 1. Reducing hours or closing the control tower could jeopardize commercial air service, Roof has said.

Copyright (c) 2006, The Paducah Sun, Ky.

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