Take off at BIA

No one thought getting more and better-priced air service at Bangor International Airport was going to be easy, but several recent events suggest the BIA staff and a state Air Service Task Force are making important progress. It is in the city’s interest to encourage this any way it can.

Gov. King was in Bangor last week to catch up on the task force he created to help address the pressures that airline deregulation have brought to BIA, and how local, state and federal officials could help. The airport is a transportation hub for the region and plans to expand bus, rail and road connections to it both depend on and contribute to the health of its air service. If the region is going to grow, BIA must be an active part of it.

The task force already can check a couple of items off its recommendations list. For instance, BIA has been awarded federal and state money to support marketing, and has attracted a low-cost carrier and begun a marketing campaign here and in the Pittsburgh and Orlando markets. After some start-up time in the Bangor market, the carrier PanAm has seen its bookings triple. Regional jet service is proving to be a desirable alternative to the smaller turboprop planes and may soon be expanded. As important, direct flights to Philadelphia and New York (LaGuardia) have done well enough to be continued through the winter. The arrival this year of Telford Aviation and Ages-Volvo Aero with a national parts and service center adds measurably to the airport’s fiscal stability.

The next stop for direct flights from Bangor may be Washington, a popular destination for many flying out of Bangor but at times decidedly difficult (and expensive) to get to. Several organizations, such as the University of Maine, Eastern Maine Healthcare, Lemforder and Jackson Laboratory are looking to consolidate bookings through a single airline to ensure an adequate customer base for a regular Bangor-Washington connection. The airport is further looking to consolidate inbound tourist bookings through a local travel agency to make it easier for visitors to come through the city. BIA currently is preparing golf packages – both inbound and outbound – to help lure tourists to use the airport.

All of this is slow-going and incremental because Bangor isn’t alone in feeling the effects of deregulation or in trying to persuade airlines to help reduce those effects. What matters is that BIA keep pressing on ways to tap into national markets on areas such as tourist travel, and find ways to bring lower prices to travelers both in and out of the airport, which will certainly increase the number of regional users who are now forced to drive several hours south to find affordable flights.

It may take several years to bring the kind of air service this region needs to thrive. But clearly progress is being made, and given the cutbacks at other small airports around the country, that’s something to cheer about.