NCWV Airport May Destination Flights Ready to Begin; Daily Service Up for Bid and Competition Anticipated
In a little more than a month, the North Central West Virginia Airport will officially see the beginning of its full slate of destination flights during the warm weather months.
On Wednesday, North Central West Virginia Airport Director Rick Rock told members of the Benedum Airport Authority, the airport’s governing body, that Allegiant is nearing the starting point for two additional summer flights.
Flights to Destin begin Saturday May 24, with Saturday being the only flight. The flight to Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport runs through August 16.
The flights to Orlando are currently ongoing. The flights to Orlando Sanford International Airport are on Sundays and Thursdays. However, from June 24 through July 29, there will be an additional Tuesday flight.
St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport flights to the Tampa, St. Petersburg area is ongoing as well with flights Mondays and Fridays through August 11. The Allegiant Web site does show one flight this summer on Wednesday – July 2.
“Our existing flights are going well and the others coming up always do well,” said Rock. “Expect to see the parking lot to get a lot more crowded.”
While the destination flights always attract attention, Rock also talked about the upcoming bid on the Essential Air Service (EAS) front. EAS is the FAA program that provides federal funds to allow for daily service out of rural markets to major hubs.
The EAS grant program will see a new carrier, or perhaps the return of Contour, Dec. 1.
Rock said he believes the request for proposals (RFPs) from the FAA will come out soon – within the next 30 days, through the federal Department of Transportation that oversees the FAA program. To help the airline see as many airlines bidding on the program as possible, Rock recently was in Vail, Colorado attending the Volaire Air Service Forum in March. He was there to meet with airlines to have them considering on the EAS program, which will almost certainly see airlines asking for millions of dollars to fly in and out of Bridgeport.
“There’s a lot of interest out there for us,” Rock told the Authority.
Rock felt confident that there would be multiple quality bidders. While there have been multiple bidders in the past, many of those bidders were not jet service providers. This time, he hopes to see enough quality bids that there will be difficulty deciding.
they can bid the service as it exists now, or they can improve it. Nothing will be known until the bid process begins and is completed.
Also, during Tuesday’s meeting, Rock talked about the City of Bridgeport’s commitment to provide $500,000 to the apron project that will complement the new terminal. The apron project, which is the area at the new terminal where aircraft will park, get serviced, and prepare for takeoff, came in over budget.
Bridgeport City Council committed to assisting with the funding, which comes from B&O dollars from the terminal and other associated projects, only if the Harrison and Marion County Commissions provide the same funding. Harrison and Marion County are joint owners of the airport. Bridgeport, which is the recipient of tax dollars as a result of being the city where the massive business influx at the airport is located, has an appointed seat on the Authority.
Rock was planning on meeting with the Marion County Commission today. He did not have a date when he would be meeting with the Harrison County Commission.
Even without a guarantee those entities would provide funding, the Authority approved the contract for the apron – featuring concrete and asphalt paving – for $6.2 million following an executive session.
Editor’s Note: Top photo is of NCWV Airport Director Rick Rock, while an Allegiant flight is shown taking off from Bridgeport in the second image. Bottom image shows Benedum Airport Authority President David Hinkle, who is also a Harrison County Commissioner.