After idling for 45 years, the Red Deer Regional Airport seems poised to finally take flight, as long as being stuck in the middle doesn’t keep business grounded
by Lucas Warren
Photography by Jessica Fern Facette
RUNWAY SUCCESS: Red Deer Regional Airport CEO Liam O’Connell is a hands-on executive who does whatever it takes – including clearing snow from the tarmac – in his bid to increase business and expand his facility’s passenger count and increase scheduled flights
It was no accident this spot was picked to be part of Canadian aviation history. On a good day – for 95% of the year, in fact – the area boasts fine flying weather. On this mid-winter day, the Red Deer Regional Airport (RDRA) is snowed in to the point of being, for this writer pushing north on the QE2 Highway, nearly impossible to find despite being just 10 minutes south of the city.
Originally called RCAF Penhold (later CFB), the RDRA was used as a pilot training facility during the Second World War. After the war ended, NATO took advantage of the uncongested airspace to train pilots, primarily on the once ubiquitous and notoriously loud Harvard aircraft, the teaching standard of the day. Then, in 1965, the military alliance moved on, leaving behind what the local business community would eventually come to recognize as an opportunity to build a commercial transport hub.
The problem, however, is that this air space has been “an opportunity” for a long time and things haven’t exactly, wait for it, taken off. Passed around between various levels of government, control of the airport was finally granted to its current operator, the Red Deer Regional Airport Authority, in 1999. But 45 years since any major activity at the airport, the question becomes: when is an opportunity not quite what you thought it was?
The answer, it seems, is when your region is too perfectly located. Smack in the middle of the Edmonton-Calgary corridor, the RDRA is situated within one of the strongest economic regions in the province. But it’s precisely this prime location – between two major centres (and two international airports) – that some argue is the biggest disadvantage to airport development. People would just as soon travel to Calgary or Edmonton to fly. Still, there is a growing number that envisions big things for the RDRA, and, because of that, for the city and surrounding Red Deer County.
“If you’re fishing and you want to land the big whale, well, the airport is the one,” says Cyril Cooper, land and economic development officer for the City of Red Deer. “It is, for me, probably the biggest opportunity that the city has for economic development.”
It might be a strange thing to say about an airport that has been in limbo for so long, especially considering its operating revenue has actually decreased in the last four years. But this is no fish tale. There’s a new plan for developing the RDRA, not only in air cargo but also in regularly scheduled passenger service. And, so far, it seems to be working.
Liam O’Connell is not your typical CEO. As comfortable behind the wheel of a snowplow as he is behind a desk, O’Connell has just finished clearing the tarmac when I finally arrive at the RDRA, half an hour late thanks to the winter storm.
Aside from a leftover bright yellow Harvard mounted on a pole by the parking lot, there isn’t anything obvious that distinguishes the RDRA from other regional airports around the province. Two runways accommodate up to a Boeing 737, the short-hauler with a passenger capacity of up to 150. The terminal building maxes out at about 50 people and is clad in standard Alberta 1970s municipal chic – dark wood and brick. Surrounding it are 30 sheet-metal hangers and other airport-related businesses, giving the whole area the look and feel of an industrial park.
Like his airport, O’Connell is not flashy. But if you need proof of his ability and passion, it’s in his sincerity and the credibility he’s established with his staff, the pilots and other various businesses within the airport. If you need more proof, his growing list of accomplishments isn’t too shabby either.
Since taking over as CEO in 2008, O’Connell has been responsible for the addition of more scheduled passenger services by adding more carriers, including Northwestern Air Lease Ltd. with flights to Fort McMurray, and, most recently, Swanberg Air Inc., with scheduled flights to Calgary, Edmonton and Grande Prairie. He’s also behind significantly upgrading the airport infrastructure, securing more government funding and reaching new agreements with a rental car agency to operate out of the airport and for service to the terminal by the local transit authority. More importantly, annual estimated movements to and from the airport have increased by more than 10,000 people since 2004, when a study already pegged job creation and goods and services produced directly or indirectly by the RDRA to be worth $39.4 million to the region.
A lot of credit for the recent signs of progress at the RDRA can be attributed to the plan that O’Connell is working so hard to bring to life. Released in February 2009, the Comprehensive Improvement, Development and Business Plan for the Red Deer Regional Airport is the airport authority’s attempt to finally realize the full potential of this site.
The plan suggests that not only can the airport become financially sustainable, but if well managed and with infrastructure improvements to attract more passenger service, the airport’s economic impact could easily double – exceeding $88 million within the next five years. Key to this potential growth, according to the plan, would be the addition of at least one major carrier with regular service to Kelowna and Vancouver and possibly even Toronto.
On paper, it seems to make sense. The Red Deer region boasts a growing market of more than 85,000 households, 61% of which, according to a 2006 survey, buy nearly five return tickets per year – Kelowna, Vancouver and Toronto being three of the top five destinations. With the Calgary International Airport – an hour and a half away – currently attracting the lion’s share of this business, it’s not unreasonable to think many of these flyers would prefer the convenience (and free parking) of a local airport.
So why hasn’t this already happened?
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