Airport is vital to our local economy

Posted by on October 16, 2015

IAmy Clickner think we all understand the value of the accessibility of air service in a community. Whether you travel for business or pleasure, ship or receive goods or are a supplier to the industry, the success of your regional airport matters. Truly, airports are more than a way to move people and product. They are a critical component of economic development.

For the Lake Superior Community Partnership and our stakeholders, retention and growth of Sawyer International Airport is a key strategy. The problem is, we are one of thousands of small and mid-size airports all clamoring for more frequency, lower fares and additional destinations. In order to define and implement a strategy that separates us from others, we need data. Up to date data.

I am dating myself when I tell you that I remember the last study done back in 2000 by the Boyd Group, which was one of the first major projects taken on by the LSCP. So as you can imagine, fifteen years later, we need an overhaul of that information. That is why we have partnered with our friends at Sawyer International Airport and several project investors to commission an airport assessment. This assessment will provide us the necessary data and open the appropriate doors for us to retain and grow air service. The strategy that will be defined and implemented will be with an eye on the long term sustainability of our regional airport.

In order to accomplish this task, we have retained Trillion Aviation out of Austin, Texas to assist us. The firm is composed of former airline corporate real estate representatives and airport senior staff. Formed in 2006, they have experience with over 100 airports and dozens of airlines at all levels of management operations. One of the reasons we chose Trillion Aviation was because they were selected and had just completed an air service study for the Michigan Department of Transportation, providing them with a great deal of familiarity with our market.

They have already presented some of their findings to the County Board and the LSCP. They noted that flights out of Sawyer are typically at 90% capacity, which is very positive. Airlines will look at this information and may consider increasing the size or frequency of planes flying out. Other options could include adding new flights, adding new destinations or even adding another airline. A strategy is currently being crafted to use their findings to approach the airlines early next year.

Why is our airport so critical? Let’s look at the economic impact of this asset which includes:

  • 990 local jobs
  • 1,068 state jobs
  • $50,339,034 in local wages
  • $48,791,775 in state wages
  • $147,179,147 in local sales due to airport-related activities
  • $164,976,244 in state sales due to airport-related activities

Now that you understand the value of a successful airport within our community, I am sure you are asking “how can I support the retention and growth of our airport?” Fly out of Sawyer whenever possible.  If there is a savings from flying from elsewhere, make a comparison by adding hotel costs, fuel costs and time. A few minutes of research and advanced planning when booking a flight can save money as well. Try changing departure time, return time or date or alter routes via another connection flight. The more time saved by ‘flying from nearby,’ the more time allotted to spend at your destination.

While this process is just beginning, it wouldn’t have gotten off the ground without the financial support of many donors from across the county. I want to sincerely thank our community for once again coming together to ensure we have the tools and resources to be successful in economic development in our region.

Amy Clickner, CEO, writes a bi-weekly column for the Mining Journal.

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