Fort Smith airport to lose an American flight in December

story by Aric Mitchell
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Airport Director John Parker wasn’t anticipating one item at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Fort Smith Regional Airport Commission. No one was. Parker informed the five members of the Commission that Fort Smith Regional Airport will be losing an American Eagle Airlines flight starting Dec. 16.

The meeting took a frustrated tone at the announcement.

Commissioner Rick Deramus said, “We’ve done a good job of keeping our rates affordable. But we’re often at the mercy of the airline industry. This will affect last-minute travel more than anything else, especially during the holidays.”

Continuing, Deramus noted: “Our fares have been very, very competitive. If you book in advance, we’re close, and sometimes cheaper than other airlines. We have been working; we’ll continue working; and we’re going to do everything in our power to keep our fares reasonable. It’s just the timing of something like this — it makes you cranky.”

Details were too sketchy to know the exact effects as Parker was only briefed over the phone by an American Eagle representative. However, Parker said one flight shouldn’t make a dent in the airport’s overall 280 available seats per day.

Parker assured the Commission that numbers shouldn’t adversely affect the budget projections in place and up for review before the end of the year. He noted a growth in available seats from American Eagle over the last year as an indicator. The 2011 budget is in the drafting stages among airport staff.

Total revenues are 80.7% of the budgeted amount for the year with 75% complete. In October 2009, the number was 69.2%. Overall revenues reflect 52.9% of the budget against 43.2% from 2009. Operational expenses are 66% against 61.8% for 2009. Expenditures total 50.2%, up from 35.3% for last year. Revenues for the month were $299,981.53 while expenses were $405,441.12.

The deficiency comes mostly from capital outlay of which the pavement rehab project for the west corporate taxiway plays a large role ($157,315.64). Parker said the project is “progressing well.”

“The final section of concrete construction is in front of a corporate hangar and should be complete at the end of the month with final payment (of the $500,000 state grant) in November,” Parker said.

The airport was granted $129,987 in grant monies from the Arkansas Airport Operators Association (AAOA) at the organization’s meeting in Hot Springs.

New developments in September budgeting activity were sparse with a motion to add $20,000 to the previous $24,000 allocated for the upgrade of the airport’s computer security systems being the only addition. The figure includes hardware and software updates as well as labor. It will also incorporate a more secure firewall and move email storage to a remote location.

The goal is to improve the system’s security and server functions now, so that future costs may be maintained incrementally, negating the need for a larger and potentially more expensive overhaul a few years down the road, Commissioner Ryan Carter noted.

Other topics included an update on September’s bond refinance measures. The Commission had approved a resolution to save at least 7.5%, which would count to about a $30,000 savings on bond refinancing. The initial timeline was that pre-pricing would occur on Oct. 27 with the official offering on Oct. 29.

However, Dennis Hunt of Stephens, Inc. has since advised the Commission to wait approximately 2-4 weeks before proceeding on pre-pricing measures. In an email to Parker, Hunt indicated that while the bond market is very stable nationally, that is not the case in Arkansas. Parker will still take a resolution to the City of Fort Smith on Nov. 2 to issue the bond on the current parameters.

The next Fort Smith Regional Airport Commission meeting will be held Nov. 23.