Air service plays vital role in community's life

Airline service has always been an expensive and rarely profitable business, so there were high hopes when industry was deregulated in 1978, given the freedom to decide which cities to serve and how much to charge.

With sparse population, places like Alaska, Wyoming and even Southwest Nebraska were likely to be overlooked by airlines no longer forced to use more profitable routes to subsidize routes that were losing money.

Thus the Essential Air Service program was born, paying airlines to maintain a minimal level of scheduled air services to cities where the number of passengers couldn't provide a profit.

As of June 1, 2009, the program served 152 communities, including McCook's Ben Nelson Regional Airport, which is served by Great Lakes Airlines for about $1.8 million a year under a contract that expires May 31, 2012.

Yes, it is expensive to provide airline service to small, isolated towns, but in many cases, it is that isolation that makes air service "essential."

Not every passenger is bound for a pleasure trip, as a number of local officials told the Gazette this week; many are on business vital to maintaining the economic and physical health of our community.

As one pilot pointed out, airplanes aren't just transportation, they're time machines.

Time is especially important for professionals like those working in the medical field. Community Hospital President Jim Ulrich said scheduled airline service is an important component in recruiting healthcare professionals and their families, who see it as a vital link to children and grandchildren living elsewhere, as well as providing access to continuing education and other opportunities for growth.

Mayor Dennis Berry and Rex Nelson, executive director of the McCook Economic Development Corp., shared similar sentiments regarding recruitment and retention of businesses of all types.

"It is hard to measure, but the value in keeping our businesses connected to the larger markets they serve is immense," Nelson said. Scheduled airline service is "crucial for a well-rounded business environment," he said.

At a more practical level, loss of scheduled airline service means the loss of six local Great Lakes jobs, fuel purchases and local housing, as well as five Transportation Security Administration positions.

Great Lakes Airlines is hosting a morning coffee, 7 to 8 a.m. Thursday at Ben Nelson Regional Airport, 1100 Airport Road in McCook. Sen. Ben Nelson is expected to call in at 7:45 a.m. with the latest news.

McCook is an isolated community, yet serves as an important regional center for trade, education, medical services, manufacturing and transportation. Air service truly is an "essential" component in that mix.