Local air service plan loaded, ready to taxi

Jim Braden/Ruidoso News - April 21, 2005

If you're not moving forward, usually you're going backward.
And a number of business leaders are working to move more visitors and part-time residents to Ruidoso more often - by bringing scheduled air service to Lincoln County's Sierra Blanca Airport.
The airport is located on Highway 220 on a large mesa east of the Spencer Theater for the Performing Arts.
Consultant Kent Myers, president and managing partner of Colorado's AirPlanners firm spoke to more than 100 Lincoln County business leaders April 20 at the Inn of The Mountain Gods resort, and told them that scheduled seasonal airline service from
American Airlines or Continental Airlines would have obvious economic benefits for Ruidoso and the county - and is economically feasible - within some specific guidelines.
"Houston and Dallas are cities of opportunity for us," says Myers. "As you lengthen the distance of the cities you fly from, the longer those visitors will stay in that destination city."
Myers says getting air service - say, 100 days of flights, one or two flights per day - will require a partnership between Ruidoso businesses and local, state and federal governments.
"There are a lot of moving parts. This is not a complex proposal, or opportunity," Myers told the crowd. " It's just a lot of moving parts - you've got the airlines, the politics, the funding, the airport itself, you've got logistics and you've got security.
Myers told the group that if the plan works, the price of a ticket from Dallas to Ruidoso would be $275 to $325 per person. "It will be more than El Paso -- $40, $50, $60 more than El Paso - maybe $100 more to Ruidoso. The price of a round-trip ticket from Dallas to El Paso now is about $200 - but that may change with gas prices."
Myers added that people going on vacation would often spend the extra money to give them more time at their destination.
The proposed jet aircraft-- such as the Continental Airlines' Embraer RJ37C pictured below - is configured to carry 30-35 passengers per flight. The plan would involve seasonal air service, say, 100 days per year, and Myers says he's working to negotiate an annual financial subsidy "cap" of $300,000 paid to the airline that provides the service.
Timelines?
Besides immediately applying for state and federal grant money - one deadline was this week - Myers and the group are working to get airline representatives to Sierra Blanca airport during the next month to analyze its needs. After getting an airline commitment and addressing capital funding issues this summer, the schedule calls for developing business and marketing plans this fall with advertising and flight bookings available by December of 2005. The inaugural flight is tentatively scheduled for June 2006.
Ruidoso businessman and investor Doug McAllister says the largest hurdle Ruidoso air service faces is the past. He's leading the local effort. "The reason it didn't work is because we had an airline working with a government entity and the government entity didn't know anything about the airline business, and the airline was saying 'give me money, give me money.' This time, we've got a guy who's been there before and who's done it. It's fantastic."
McAllister says the key ingredient for getting the air service to Lincoln County is community support.
"When people give, they will make sure they stand behind it; they will advertise it, they will tell their friends." Myers characterized the partnership and support more colorfully, telling the crowd "as long as everyone has skin in the game, this will work."
Part of Myers' presentation included asking those present to support the project in the form of donations and promotions. "I want you to put "Fly Ruidoso" flyers in your mailings, on your advertising, and use them as bill stuffers." Myers says his firm will supply the flyers, which would tout flight schedules, connecting cities and a Web site and that promotion must continue after service starts..
Michael French is chief executive officer of the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino. "Getting air service here would certainly be of help to us," he says. "We think the level of air service that we discussed today could build over time and could have a significant impact on the community."
"We'd like to be able to appeal more to the Dallas-Fort Worth market," French says, "We've done a lot of marketing there already. We'd like to see more corporate groups and conventions come to Ruidoso and right now they avoid us because of the time for traveling."
Myers also stressed that Ruidoso's second-home owners - most of whom live outside New Mexico - would be a strong source of customers for the air service. He said the forecast to bring air service to Sierra Blanca Regional Airport looks good.
"This is not the dress rehearsal. This is the real show".