BOARDINGS UP AT MID-POINT, BUT STILL BEHIND 10,0000 PACE NEEDED

Boardings at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport, which dipped well below 10,000 last year, have rebounded slightly this year but still lag behind the pace needed to secure federal airport improvement funds.

Total boardings through June totalled 4,142, which were 244 ahead of last year's pace. But they're still nearly 900 short of the pace needed to reach 10,000 by January.

The city last year lost $300,000 in annual entitlements from the Federal Aviation Administration because enplanements dipped below the 10,000 threshold.

Airport Manager Mark Seesing said Thursday boardings have picked up during the past 12 months, after bottoming out last February.

Boardings totalled 436 for both February and March last year, compared with 548 and 610, respectively, this year.

In 1990, when the airport barely made 10,000 enplanements for the year, June's year-to-date total was 4,832. In 1989, the figure was 4,796.

But Seesing said he's optimistic the airport can yet secure the needed boardings this year.

"I think it's going to be real close," he said. "I think there's a chance we're going to make it, but it's going to be extremely close.'

TWE handled 2,301 boardings January through June this year, compared to 2,414 during the same period last year.

Cape Central Airways, a fixed base operation that includes charter and freight service, had 1,252 boardings for the first six months of this year, compared to 978 for the same period last year.

Procter and Gamble's shuttle service had 585 boardings for the first six months compared to 506 for the first half of last year.

In the past, airport and city officials have blamed poor service reliability on the part of the airport's sole commercial carrier, Trans World Express Airlines, for declining boardings.

But TWE has steadily improved its reliability during the past year, Seesing said.

"They're running about 96 to 98 percent," he said. "I think the reliability is better, but I don't know if the public's perception is any better. They can fly 100 percent, but if people aren't flying, it doesn't really help us."

Seesing said boardings traditionally pick up in November and December.

"They're usually good months if the weather's good," he said. "They're going to have to be if we're going to make 10,000 for the year."

The city still has nearly $500,000 in unspent entitlement funds that Seesing said will tide the airport over until 1994. Some of the needed projects include installation of a water system and possibly the purchase of fire protection equipment.

If boardings don't surpass 10,000 this year, Seesing said FAA discretionary funds are available for airport improvement projects.

"Next year, we'll try to get some federal discretionary funding," he said. "The problem now is we don't have the local match to do anything if we did qualify for the funds.

"After next year, we really need to get some of that discretionary money. I think we can qualify for it pretty easily. There also is some economic development money available if we do that out at the airport."

Seesing and members of the Airport Advisory Board have said one of the keys to increasing boardings is securing additional airline service at the airport.

That appeared to be a possibility earlier this year after TWE applied for a U.S. Department of Transportation subsidy to provide service at the airport.

By filing notification that it was seeking the subsidy, the DOT opened the door for the city to seek other airlines that might be interested in serving Cape Girardeau.

The city subsequently endorsed Lone Star Airlines' proposal to provide air service between Cape Girardeau, St. Louis, Jonesboro, Ark. and Memphis, Tenn.

But when TWE withdrew its subsidy application, Lone Star's proposal was negated.

But Seesing said Thursday the city still is interested in enticing Lone Star or any other airline to come to Cape Girardeau and provide service to a market other than St. Louis.

"We're still talking with Lone Star and working on some possible options short of a subsidy," he said. "Just because the Essential Air Service subsidy issue is basically dead in the water, we're still talking with other airlines.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to entice them to service Cape Girardeau and other areas."