Let’s pick up where we left off three weeks ago.

With an eye toward restarting good commercial-air service at the Chautauqua County Airport, Chautauqua County government conducted a study to support taking part in the federal government’s Essential Air Services program.

Chautauqua County airport-commission members heard at their Dec. 4 meeting that on Dec. 18, the Chautauqua County legislature will receive the study and hear a presentation that will walk legislators–and by extension, the public–through the study.

Commission members also heard that although taking part in the Essential Air Services program isn’t the only way to have commercial-air service at our airport, it’s the first alternative.

County-airport manager Shannon Fischer said:

�–� An air-service incentive package through the Federal Aviation Administration would last two years, and

�–� The Essential Air Services program would subsidize ticket costs for as long as participation in the program lasts.

The study provides data supporting the market for commercial-air service at our airport. The data are from the perspective of what’s good for the local commercial-air-service market and what service the local commercial-air-service market can support. Thus, the study–that is, gathering data and the review of such data–is an ongoing process, Fischer said.

The study doesn’t say “yes” or “no” to particular commercial-air service at our airport. Rather, it provides data demonstrating that the local market can support good commercial-air service, she said. The next step is to solidify financial support for such service.

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It’s tempting to urge restarting good commercial-air service soon, yet this will take time. Besides, doing this right is way more important than doing this quickly.

Doing this right means, among other things, making sure that any commercial-air service has all–all–of what you, faithful reader of this column, know is “the non-negotiable minimum” of what commercial-air service at our airport must include to succeed.

That’s all. Not some. Not most. All.

If we accepted bad service and it failed–which we know from experience it would–that would not only set us back but also play right into the hands of naysayers who have opposed having any commercial-air service at our airport.

In the wake of such failure, they’d indulge the logical fallacy of pointing to the failure of bad service as proof that no service will succeed.

How do we know that? Because they’ve done it before. When an opposing team has run a play again and again, it takes no coaching genius to anticipate the play. It just doesn’t.

Yet having good service–which we know from experience will succeed–removes their opportunity to run that play.

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Meanwhile, Fischer calls this column’s Nov. 22 analysis “spot on” and says the county-airport commission fully agrees with what this column calls “the non-negotiable minimum” that commercial-air service at our airport must include to succeed:

�–� Service on, or sufficiently connected with, a major airline to a hub airport of the major airline.

�–� Good airplanes.

�–� An airplane at our airport overnight.

�–� Early flights out and late flights in.

�–� Service is otherwise frequent enough to meet the needs of our airport’s market.

�–� Service priced competitively with service to and from Erie and Buffalo.

�–� Luggage-checking service between our airport and final destinations.

�–� Reliable service, and

�–� Rebooking service at our airport to final destinations, and vice versa.

In short, the county-airport commission, which is chock full of talented members from diverse experience, gets it. The commission is on the right track. Or maybe we should say it’s on the right runway.

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The commercial-air service that ended at our airport in 2018 fell short on most if not all nine criteria.

Yet let’s remember this: Even if a proposal met eight of the nine criteria and fell short on one criterion, that wouldn’t be good enough. We can compromise above the minimum, not below it.

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Dr. Randy Elf’s Nov. 22, 2024, column on commercial-air service at the Chautauqua County Airport is at https://www.post-journal.com/opinion/local-commentaries/2024/11/to-succeed-air-service-must-be-good and https://www.observertoday.com/opinion/commentary/2024/11/to-succeed-air-service-must-be-good.

COPYRIGHT © 2024 BY RANDY ELF