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If there's a will, there's a way, and as a federally-funded air service study shows, scheduled flights from Roseburg Municipal Airport may be viable to and from Portland and San Francisco.
The Northwest Regional Air Service Iniative was conducted last year in 12 small to midsize cities across Oregon and Washington to address the problem of air access outside of the large cities.
None of the cities were directly profitable on single flights, but when combined with destinations made available by hub airports, the initiative found 20 flights that could be profitable to the air network.
Flights from Roseburg, which has a catchment area of 93,000 people, to San Francisco in a 30-seat turboprop would lose $800,000 annually in the first segment, but add $1.9 million in profit to the greater air network.
On flights to and from Portland, $620,000 would be lost on the segment, but $560,000 could be added overall to the system profits.
"I think everybody recognizes theres a need for that sort of thing for economic development," said Councilor Mel Cheney, who chairs the city's Airport Commission. "I think the surprising result is that, indeed, there is the potential here to have scheduled service, especially to San Francisco."
The study found that service to California may be more viable if done in conjunction with Klamath Falls and North Bend, who currently have service only to Portland. It may also require some kind of federal subsidy to keep ticket costs down.
Interim Airport Manager Jim Johnson said Eugene was able to expand service to Los Angeles when the Chamber of Commerce went around and secured guarantees from local business people.
Similar promotion and guarantees would be most likely necessary before any Roseburgers can avoid driving to Eugene, Medford or Portland before flying out of Oregon.
Roseburg's airport does face a number of difficulties. First, there's no terminal, although the Aviation Suites building was used by United Airlines in the 1970s.
"This has been something that's been looked at, dreamed about by the airport commission for some time," said acting City Manager Sheila Cox. "It's something that everyone would like to see happen, but we have to realize our limitations at the same time."
There are no baggage handlers, no Transportation Security Administration officials.
The runway, at 4,600 feet, cannot accommodate much more than a 30-seat turboprop plane, and most commercial airlines are moving away from the smaller planes.
"Our airport suffers because of the hills on either end," Johnson said. "Larger planes are limited. They have to climb quickly."
Airport plans to lengthen the runway or elevate an area north of Palm Harbor Homes at the north end of the airport to create a new terminal would depend on grants from the Federal Aviation Administration or the state through the Connect Oregon projects.
A recent Connect Oregon application was withdrawn amid a slew of problems with and already existing expansion to the airport, including inadequate hangars, misplaced utilities and uneven pavement.
"We're trying to fix the airport issues we have now, rather than start a new initiative," Johnson said. "Probably more important is to get the airport on a firm financial footing."
Still, Cheney remained interested in the potential and said if an effort were put forth, Roseburg could make it happen in five years. He said he recently visited the Moscow, Idaho, airport for a convention, and he found the tiny airport small, convenient and easy to get in and out of.
"We have rail and I-5 going through here, if we could implement air transport, both freight and passenger, I think that we'd see a great economic boon for the area," he said. "We need to dispel the myth that the airport is just a toy for some rich persons in town."
* You can reach reporter Chris Gray at 957-4218 or by e-mail at cgray@newsreview.info.
The Northwest Regional Air Service Iniative was conducted last year in 12 small to midsize cities across Oregon and Washington to address the problem of air access outside of the large cities.
None of the cities were directly profitable on single flights, but when combined with destinations made available by hub airports, the initiative found 20 flights that could be profitable to the air network.
Flights from Roseburg, which has a catchment area of 93,000 people, to San Francisco in a 30-seat turboprop would lose $800,000 annually in the first segment, but add $1.9 million in profit to the greater air network.
On flights to and from Portland, $620,000 would be lost on the segment, but $560,000 could be added overall to the system profits.
"I think everybody recognizes theres a need for that sort of thing for economic development," said Councilor Mel Cheney, who chairs the city's Airport Commission. "I think the surprising result is that, indeed, there is the potential here to have scheduled service, especially to San Francisco."
The study found that service to California may be more viable if done in conjunction with Klamath Falls and North Bend, who currently have service only to Portland. It may also require some kind of federal subsidy to keep ticket costs down.
Interim Airport Manager Jim Johnson said Eugene was able to expand service to Los Angeles when the Chamber of Commerce went around and secured guarantees from local business people.
Similar promotion and guarantees would be most likely necessary before any Roseburgers can avoid driving to Eugene, Medford or Portland before flying out of Oregon.
Roseburg's airport does face a number of difficulties. First, there's no terminal, although the Aviation Suites building was used by United Airlines in the 1970s.
"This has been something that's been looked at, dreamed about by the airport commission for some time," said acting City Manager Sheila Cox. "It's something that everyone would like to see happen, but we have to realize our limitations at the same time."
There are no baggage handlers, no Transportation Security Administration officials.
The runway, at 4,600 feet, cannot accommodate much more than a 30-seat turboprop plane, and most commercial airlines are moving away from the smaller planes.
"Our airport suffers because of the hills on either end," Johnson said. "Larger planes are limited. They have to climb quickly."
Airport plans to lengthen the runway or elevate an area north of Palm Harbor Homes at the north end of the airport to create a new terminal would depend on grants from the Federal Aviation Administration or the state through the Connect Oregon projects.
A recent Connect Oregon application was withdrawn amid a slew of problems with and already existing expansion to the airport, including inadequate hangars, misplaced utilities and uneven pavement.
"We're trying to fix the airport issues we have now, rather than start a new initiative," Johnson said. "Probably more important is to get the airport on a firm financial footing."
Still, Cheney remained interested in the potential and said if an effort were put forth, Roseburg could make it happen in five years. He said he recently visited the Moscow, Idaho, airport for a convention, and he found the tiny airport small, convenient and easy to get in and out of.
"We have rail and I-5 going through here, if we could implement air transport, both freight and passenger, I think that we'd see a great economic boon for the area," he said. "We need to dispel the myth that the airport is just a toy for some rich persons in town."
* You can reach reporter Chris Gray at 957-4218 or by e-mail at cgray@newsreview.info.
