BOARDINGS MAY SPUR NEW AIR CONNECTION

Airport Manager Randy Holdman hopes that increased boardings will bolster efforts to secure a second airline connection at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport.

Although overall boardings at the airport continue to plunge, enplanements for Trans World Express -- the sole commercial airline at the airport -- were at a 2 1/2-year high in October.

That's good news for TWE, which suffered a drop in boardings while the airport terminal building was renovated throughout much of 1992 and early 1993.

"Since the terminal has been back in business, we've had about a 9 percent increase in boardings over last year," said Holdman. "We've been a profitable market for TWE since the terminal opened up."

TWE boardings totaled 483 in October, up 70 percent over the 1992 total of 286. In October 1991, there were 418 TWE boardings.

The positive trend continued in November and December, Holdman said, with boardings up about 15 percent over 1992 figures. The 1993 figure also was slightly ahead of the 1991 total of 363 December boardings.

For the year, TWE boardings totalled 4,911 in 1993, a 4.7 percent increase over 1992. In 1991, there were 4,860 TWE boardings.

Still, total airport boardings continue to lag behind pre-1991 levels, when enplanements exceeded 10,000 annually. Fewer than 8,000 boardings were reported last year, which trailed even 1992, when there were 8,087. In 1991, there were about 8,700 boardings.

"I guess the thing you have to realize when you look at the current state of the airport is that it didn't happen overnight," Holdman said. "That's means it's going to take a while to get it back.

"But I think the evidence of the past six months shows that we've turned the corner."

Aside from increased boardings for TWE, Procter and Gamble Co. has reported increased boardings on its shuttle flights.

But general aviation continues to wane at the airport.

"The itinerant traffic has decreased 20 percent every year for the past 10 years," Holdman said. "So the overall net enplanements are not that encouraging."

The 10,000 boardings annually qualified the city for Federal Aviation Administration entitlement funds for airport improvements.

But the airport manager said it's important to build the airport's quality of service and not focus solely on boardings.

"If you have a viable business operating out there, the 10,000 enplanements will come," he said.

This year the city was able to use state grant funds to finance an ambitious airport capital improvements plan. Completion of the airport terminal, parking lot, lighting and apron improvements all were funded by the grant.

But Holdman said the state grants are a dubious source of funding.

"When you look at the flooding last year that wiped out some airports in Missouri, there are some pretty drastic needs out there," he said. "I think some of that money might be harder to come by in the future.

"If we grow the airport into being well over 10,000 boardings, then we're not tied to other people's misfortunes and handouts."

In an effort to better market the airport to potential airlines, Holdman has tried to determine where business and leisure travelers most fly out of Cape Girardeau.

A survey of travel agents and business travelers in the area found overwhelming support for a Chicago connection.

A survey of passengers that was part of a recent TWE promotion yielded similar results. The number of travelers who reported flying to Chicago was more than double those flying to any other destination.

Holdman has been trying to secure an airline connection with Midway in Chicago.

"There are about 650 people a month going to Chicago right now, and it ain't easy," he said. "Our next challenge is to convince Midway that this is a viable market for them."

But he said it's difficult to sway other airlines to take a chance in the Cape Girardeau market, particularly now that TWE is operating with a federal subsidy.

By bringing in competition, though, Holdman believes TWE also would see boardings rise.

"Bringing a non-subsidized airline in and making it successful within two years I think would show TWE that the subsidy is not needed," he said. "If there's a viable market here, they're going to have to market their service better."

Holdman said that since TWE was purchased by Trans States, reliability and service have shown marked improvement. He said service would be further enhanced with competition.

"Any time you have a monopoly, there's not much incentive for advertising and competitive fares," he said.