Service to: Edmonton, Grande Prairie (with connections to Dawson Creek, Fort St. John and Fort Nelson), Fort McMurray, Calgary, Swift Current, Regina and Estevan
“In the past an airline would come in and we as the airport authority [would say], ‘OK, have at ’er,’” O’Connell explains. “What everybody failed to connect on was some of the airlines that came in here never advertised. They didn’t know how to and we didn’t realize that we had to play a very integral part. We had to have a leadership role to make sure that people knew the carrier was here, in advertising, in promotions, everything. We didn’t realize just how much we had to do.”
To remedy this, the RDRA recently launched a new marketing campaign. “It’s In Your Backyard” features one simple message – Red Deer has an airport. The theory being that the more people who know about the airport, the greater the expectations of what the airport should provide. It’s this expectation of service that will draw, if all goes according to plan, a new major carrier such as Air Canada Jazz. All the airport has to do is make sure the infrastructure is in place to handle both the demand and the planes.
Not everyone, however, agrees with the build-it-and-they-will-come approach. “What happens in a lot of these middle-sized communities is that they have aspirations of trying to get improved air service,” says David Gillen, YVR professor of transportation policy and management in the Sauder School of Business and director of the Centre for Transportation Studies at the University of British Columbia. “[But in the end] airlines are smart enough to realize if the market is there or not. And if you’re not getting any services, then the market is telling you something. And putting in a whole bunch of infrastructure isn’t going to solve that problem.”
Having spent much of his time researching business strategies and models in airlines and airports, he points to the example of the Prince George Airport that spent $36 million expanding its runway. A grand total of one Boeing 747 has landed there since its completion.
“It’s not the infrastructure that’s stopping the development of the services. It’s that the market is not there,” Gillen adds. He explains that, especially considering Red Deer’s proximity to both Edmonton and Calgary, the RDRA “[would be] much better off trying to attract tertiary and service industries such as maintenance and flight schools and charter operations.”
But, if you look at the aggressive expansion plans of similar-sized airports such as that of Nanaimo, a city of roughly 80,000 on Vancouver Island, it’s clear there are at least two schools of thought on the matter.
Looking to expand and develop its airport’s passenger service, the Nanaimo Airport Commission has recently completed a $16-million improvement project on its facilities. This was the first of three planned development phases that includes lengthening runways, increasing terminal capacity and generally improving other airport infrastructure to attract larger carriers.
“What we’ve done is build the infrastructure, because the airport’s mandate is to provide safe and reliable infrastructure and then it’s the market and the air carriers who will dictate what routes come in [and] when,” says Mike Hooper, CEO of the Nanaimo Airport. “When you do a project like this, it’s a 50-year project…. It’s OK if you don’t have a new air service the day after you finish.”
O’Connell knows the RDRA has to play to its strengths. “Our plan is not to do the same thing Edmonton and Calgary are doing – our plan is more regional,” he explains. “We believe there is a huge market for people to want to travel from Red Deer to Kelowna, Vancouver and also to Toronto and points east.”
That said, O’Connell isn’t putting all his eggs in the passenger-service basket. He sees great opportunities to complement Edmonton and Calgary rather than compete with their international airports.
“[The internationals] want the scheduled traffic and air cargo. We, on the other hand, offer a viable alternative to provide an airport that will take care of an industry that likely Edmonton and Calgary do not want. We think everybody wins,” he says, referring to already proven businesses in Red Deer such as flight training that busier airports aren’t keen to accommodate.
Despite early successes in attracting carriers and increasing movement, taking those next steps to lure business from Edmonton and Calgary and to expand passenger service hasn’t been easy. Blame the economy for that.
After seeing 17 new private hangars open up at the airport in the last four years, things slowed considerably in the last year. “[Right now] everybody’s sitting on the sidelines going, ‘What’s going to happen?’” O’Connell explains. “Had this been a banner year, I think you’d be seeing companies hauling out of Vancouver, for example.”
Regardless of the economic slowdown, the RDRA and its municipal partners are sticking with the plan and moving forward with commitments to develop the area – with the City of Red Deer and Red Deer County working towards an area structure plan that addresses the need to develop the airport region, including the adjacent hamlet of Springbrook. Proposed within the Springbrook-Gasoline Alley Major Area Structure Plan are recommendations to increase airport access by adding more roads and to promote growth and investment by building new education and recreation facilities and other infrastructure.
“As a county, of course, we’d like to see our industry-commercial base develop. And with good air connections,” says Earl Kinsella, mayor of Red Deer County, “it should be incentive for a lot of air-related industries to locate [within the county].”
Ultimately, he adds, “We expect [the RDRA] to stand on its own two feet. With scheduled air service, it should quickly move into an airport that can maintain itself but grow into what is a really vibrant and viable part of this region.”
“We have to walk before we run – and right now we’re walking,” says O’Connell. “But the pace is starting to pick up.”
Pages: 1 2
Pingback: "Learning to Fly" Article by Lucas Warren | uc/communications