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North Central West Virginia Airport News:
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Airport Continues its Upward Climb
Sees an increasing number of flight passengers, interest in services
July 12, 2007
By Jim Fisher, Metro Editor
The Exponent Telegram
BRIDGEPORT – The combination of a new air service carrier and widespread marketing campaign is continuing to pay dividends for North Central West Virginia Airport, although there still are issues to be addressed, the airport’s marketing director told the board Wednesday.
The Benedum Airport Authority met in regular session at the airport Wednesday afternoon and discussed a wide range of issues – form air service to ongoing projects to real estate deals.
Marketing Director Joan Keith told the board that passenger numbers continue to climb since Colgan Air took over flight operations in May.
There were 275 passengers in May and 376 in June, she said.
When comparing inbound and outbound passenger counts, one thing that the numbers show is the need for an additional mid-day flight, Keith said. Because of the way the flights are scheduled, there are passengers leaving North Central in the morning, but having to terminate in Pittsburgh in the afternoon, and commute back by vehicle.
“It really justifies another flight in the middle of the day so our folks can get back,” she said.
Another telling statistic is the number of bags from other flights that Colgan ferries from Pittsburgh to Bridgeport, Keith said.
In June, Colgan carried 67 pieces of luggage for passengers whose flights ended in Pittsburgh, Keith said. Knowing that there are local residents not flying all the way home, and where they live, helps shape the marketing campaign, she said.
Along with the other marketing methods, the airport’s new Web site, HYPERLINK "http://www.flyckb.com" www.flyckb.com, is off to a fast start, Keith said.
In May, the old side received just 107 hits, or unique visitors.
The new site went live June 1, and got 1,226 hits in the first month, Keith said.
“We’re really excited about the site,” she said. “We’re getting lots of good feedback.”
The most-viewed part of the site is the flight schedule page, she said, followed by airport information and flight booking. However, the booking page only received about half the views of the scheduling page, Keith said.
That led to a discussion of fares and what, if anything, the authority could do to encourage Colgan to further reduce the cost of a ticket.
Keith explained that fares are the product of a number of factors, including destinations and connecting airlines. For instance, flying US Airways Express from North Central to Pittsburgh, then connecting to another city on US Airways, almost always yields the best fare.
Another issue that Keith is dealing with is the perception that fares are different when flying from Morgantown Municipal Airport. Keith told the authority that the trick will be to inform customers that fares advertised for Morgantown are the same as North Central.
Also Wednesday, authority members approved ground leases with two companies that want to construct new hangars. The leases are now in the hands of the executive committee and attorney Dean Ramsey. The plan is to ask the Federal Aviation Administration, which still has to approve the leases, to expedite the process.
Windsock Aviation and AC Express both want to build hangars to house aircraft.
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