Central Alberta passenger counts show there is more than enough demand out of Red Deer Regional Airport for Air Canada Jazz service, says airport authority chairman Randy Preece.

A 2007 study showed Central Albertans bought 232,000 airline tickets, but only about 1,000 flew out of the regional airport 10 km south of Red Deer because of the lack of full passenger service.

But there is other research that shows if convenient passenger service is offered in a community, the number of airline tickets purchased more than doubles. If only a portion of those ticket buyers flew out of Red Deer Regional, the potential passenger loads would be more than enough to fill planes and provide millions for the airport, Preece said at the authority’s annual general meeting at the airport.

The authority is actively pursuing Air Canada Jazz because it believes its 37- and 50-seat Dash-8 aircraft are the perfect vehicle to get regularly scheduled passenger service off the ground here.

Preece hopes for three flights a day initially out of Red Deer on 37-seat Dash-8s. As area residents became more aware of the local flying opportunities he is confident more flights and bigger planes would follow.

One member of the audience questioned why Jazz would succeed when Regional 1 was unable to sustain its scheduled passenger service to Kelowna and Vancouver, folding the routes in the summer of 2005 after less than a year.

Preece said that airline had been hampered by a lack of financial backing, which limited marketing. Service quickly dropped to four days a week from five and ticket pricing was also an issue.

There was some skepticism expressed at the meeting that Central Albertans would be so willing to embrace local service when Edmonton and Calgary airports and their wide range of connections were so close.

Grant Edwards, chairman and interim president of the Red Deer Regional Airport Business Association, who co-authored a report released in March critical of the airport authority remained frustrated by all of the attention paid to recruiting a passenger carrier.

“They just don’t get it. We keeping asking them to come up with a plan,” he said following the meeting. “They’ve got all their eggs in one basket. It’s irresponsible.”

Edwards and other airport businesses want a plan developed mapping out the long-term viability of the operation while exploring the opportunities for developing some of the 700 acres of airport lands. It is estimated the airport already generates about $40 million in economic activity for the region without the passenger service.

Edwards said he is not suggesting abandoning pursuit of scheduled passenger service. “I don’t think they should give up on it. I do believe it can’t be their central focus.”

Preece countered that the authority is looking at all options.

“I have no idea what other revenue opportunities there are that we are not looking at. We have been very successful in leasing land.”

A major study is expected to be complete in November that will outline the options available for all aspects of the airport including passenger, service, land development, leasing and employment opportunities.

It will likely be at least a year or two after that work is completed before land could be sold for development, and that would require extensive public consultation before going ahead.

Preece doesn’t see the pursuit of airline service as putting all eggs in one basket, “it just happens to be a basket we’re getting into. And if it works, it’s a big basket.”

Contact Paul Cowley at pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com