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North Central West Virginia Airport News:
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Flight service taking off, thanks to Colgan Air, new marketing director
by Jim Fisher METRO EDITOR
Friday, May 11, 2007
BRIDGEPORT — Barely a week into flight service at the newly renamed North Central West Virginia Airport, Colgan Air already is making a difference.
Colgan began serving the area May 1 and, in the first week, had 106 outbound passengers. For a full year, that would put the airport on pace to have more than half of the 10,000 passengers now needed for guaranteed federal assistance.
And that’s without a fully active ad-vertising campaign, which is scheduled for a June 1 launch, complete with new name, logo and Web site.
Still, the word is getting out, thanks in large part to new marketing director Joan Keith, who has been said to be working tirelessly since taking the position more than a month ago.
Last week, the airport and the Aero Club restaurant hosted a wine tasting/Colgan kickoff party. Keith told the Benedum Airport Authority Wednesday that about 400 people showed up.
She’s convinced that event at least partly contributed to the passenger numbers. Considering the airport only spent about $3,000, that puts it well ahead of where it would’ve been with the former advertising company, which planned a series of ads that would’ve cost in the neighborhood of $24,000.
And the airport still has about $80,000 left from a federal grant to use for marketing.
Another potential factor in the good start is that Colgan already is garnering a better record, and reputation, than the previous carrier.
Since beginning service, Colgan has experienced two flight delays, one resulting from a tornado warning in Pittsburgh and one from a minor mechanical problem.
And there are other incentives, from the Aero Club’s offer of free Continental breakfast for passengers on the first flight of the day, to complimentary newspapers, water and “thank you” chocolates.
In addition to the passengers boarding at the airport, Colgan also accounted for 54 inbound passengers. While those don’t count toward the airport’s numbers, bringing people to North Central West Virginia is an important component of Keith’s plans to grow the airport.
Airport Manager Jim Griffith told the board that a similar kickoff event at another airport drew about 40 people. Colgan officials seemed most impressed with the effort at North Central, Griffith said.
Keith has been working with The Phillips Group from Elkins on a new advertising campaign, which is scheduled to begin June 1. The campaign includes the new airport name, which was officially adopted by the authority Wednesday, a new logo and an updated Web site.
In a related move, the authority discussed incorporating the name and logo into new signs around the airport.
After an employee at the airport commented a few weeks ago about the lack of signage, Authority member Jim Christie began searching for a solution.
Christie, also Bridgeport’s mayor, talked to City Manager Kim Haws and Finance Director Keith Boggs about purchasing a sign for the airport in the same design as others around the city.
The sign, which will cost between $6,300-$7,800 depending on specifics, will be paid for by the city. The airport authority would just have to pay to have it installed.
Because some have commented that the terminal building itself isn’t clearly marked, the initial thought was to have the sign outside the terminal. But Keith’s suggestion of placing the large sign along W.Va. 131, with similar signs around the actual airport grounds, seemed to gain support.
The issue was referred to the executive committee to explore cost, placement and feasibility.
Authority members also discussed a proposal from the Aero Club to build a deck outside the restaurant overlooking the runway.
After exploring the issue, it looks like the roof on the adjacent building, which the deck would be built on, will have to be replaced before that can happen, Griffith said. The contractor that last replaced the roof more than a decade ago gave an estimate of $35,000.
Keith said the restaurant, which will pay to build the deck, has received estimates of $20,000-$30,000 for the deck.
Christie suggested looking into an alternative process that uses recycled tires to consolidate the new roof and deck into one project. He said that was used on his new building under construction at Charles Pointe, and the cost is considerably less.
Metro Editor Jim Fisher can be reached at 626-1446 or by e-mail at jfisher@exponent-telegram.com |
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