BY KEITH BENMAN, Times of Northwest Indiana
kbenman@nwitimes.com
GARY | Gary/Chicago International Airport authority members at Thursday's regular meeting tried to make the case they had picked up priceless experience from Skybus Airlines' 23 days flying out of Gary.
They also took some solace from the fact that in terms of cold, hard cash, the airline's brief stay had a net cost to the airport's budget of only around $3,500.
"In the meantime, we have an airport to market and to find business for," said authority vice president William Staehle. "That's business of any size or shape, whether it's commercial, passenger, or private."
Skybus Airlines abruptly canceled all flights last Friday, leaving passengers stranded at Gary and 14 other U.S. airports. It filed for bankruptcy the next day. The airline had begun flying in May 2006. It began flights between Gary and Greensboro, N.C., on March 13 of this year.
Among benefits listed at Thursday's meeting were the success of the airport's experiment with paid parking and the shuttling of passengers to Chicago via the South Shore train and an airport shuttle.
The $7 per day charge for parking brought in about $12,000 in gross revenue and $9,500 in net profit for the airport, Curry said.
The airport estimates it will lose $300,000 to $400,000 per year in revenue once Indiana's state-mandated caps on local property taxes kick in, Curry said. That is a big reason it will continue to charge for parking, Curry said.
The South Shore and Loop shuttle transported 280 passengers to Chicago, according to airport figures. Also, somewhere between 50 percent and 70 percent of Skybus passengers came from Illinois.
"One of the real positive things that came out of the Skybus experience is it highlights our easy access to the Loop," said Ross Amundson, the governor's appointee to the authority board.
In total, the airport spent $43,660 on marketing for Skybus, according to airport director Chris Curry. Of that, $26,196 came from a $1 million federal small communities air service development grant. Parking and the airport's revenue slice of car rentals came to $13,971.
Curry acknowledged there also were some "soft costs," such as turning the terminal thermostat up for passengers' comfort.
Curry also introduced the airport's new marketing director at Thursday's meeting.
Lori Sloan, 40, will focus on creating a regional marketing plan for the airport, Curry said.
She has a $50,000, one-year contract to provide those services for the airport.
Sloan is a Merrillville resident and earned a Masters of Business Administration degree at Purdue University Calumet.
Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO Speros Batistatos and others have urged the airport to hire a marketing chief.