City endorses Cincinnati hub

Travelers through Cape Girardeau Regional Airport soon could be commuting to Cincinnati to catch flights elsewhere.

Before a standing-room-only crowd Monday the Cape Gir-ardeau City Council voted unanimously to endorse the recommendation of the Airport Advisory Board to replace the current commuter service of RegionsAir to St. Louis with Big Sky Airlines' service to Cincinnati. The city will next send a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation asking for service to Cincinnati. The DOT, through its Essential Air Service, will make the ultimate decision in about a month.

The board spent many hours in recent weeks weighing the pros and cons of the four air carriers that submitted bids. Board members were unable to finalize their decision until 1 p.m. Monday, with e-mails flying most of the day.

The two competing options were continued service to St. Louis through the lowest bidder, Great Lakes Airlines, operating as an AmericanConnector, or the new service to Cincinnati through Big Sky Airlines, operating as an affiliate of Delta Air Lines.

Airport manager Bruce Loy admitted the decision was extremely difficult. "I woke up this morning and thought, I can't imagine Cape Girardeau service without service to St. Louis. And to be honest with you I still can't," he said. "But we have a two-year opportunity to do something new and do something really dynamic here."

Cincinnati offers more than twice the number of daily flights as Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and slightly less than twice as many destinations. Additionally, Cincinnati is the world headquarters of Procter & Gamble, whose local factory employs 1,200 people. P&G officials told Loy their executives make about 2,000 roundtrips annually between Cape Girardeau and Cincinnati.

Leaders hope the new service will be the catalyst to finally push Cape Girardeau over the 10,000 annual boardings mark that qualifies airports for $1 million in federal funds for capital improvements. In 2006, the airport boarded 8,270 passengers.

One major concern about Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is high fares. DOT ranked the airport the most expensive to fly out of in 2005 and it is routinely near the top of that list. Delta is one of the last carriers to hold a virtual monopoly on air travel out of its hub.

Cape Girardeau air travelers, however, are being told not to worry about bloated fares.

In a phone interview Big Sky president Fred deLeeuw said prices from Cape Girardeau will be set at or near rates for direct flights from St. Louis. Cape Girardeau passengers will be treated as "thoroughfare" customers and not burdened by the high rates encountered by passengers whose flights originate in Cincinnati, he said.

"You have our good word, and let me tell you we do what we say."

When and if service starts, DeLeeuw said, savvy customers can go on Orbitz or Priceline or any other search engine, type in CGI for Cape Girardeau and find fares comparable to the lowest fares offered out of St. Louis.

Additionally, said deLeeuw, passengers will not be paying the "add on" fare to fly from CGI to Cincinnati. This will make many tickets cheaper than they were under RegionsAir, which routinely charged a $69 add on. Also, frequent flyers will have their status (Gold, Platinum etc.) transferred to Delta's program, according to Loy.

Some people remain skeptical of the proposal. A survey distributed by the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce to more than 200 of its members found only 35 percent favor the switch.

If his company gets the bid, DeLeeuw said, he plans a big "roll out" with marketing and a presence at the Chamber of Commerce and at local events. He also pledges to try to keep local airline employees in their current posts where possible.

"Change is difficult, and the unknown is even worse, but when people see how transparent this whole process is they're going to see this as an opportunity that is very good for everyone involved," he said.

Cape Girardeau must submit its letter to DOT by Wednesday. DOT could still select Great Lakes, favoring its cost, which is about $133,000 lower than Big Sky's lowest proposal. However, if the federal agency chooses that route it will be doing so against the wishes of not only Cape Gir-ardeau but also Owensboro, Ky., and Jackson, Tenn., whose councils have both selected the Cincinnati option. Big Sky bundled Cape Girardeau, Owensboro and Jackson together in its bid.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245