Thursday, July 03, 2008 |
— By Jo Rafferty for Bandon Western World, and Amy Moss Strong, Editor
Horizon Air announed Friday it will no longer fly between North Bend and Portland, beginning Oct. 11.
The announcement came just days before SkyWest Airlines was scheduled to begin its direct-to-San Francisco flights from the new $20 million terminal at Southwest Oregon Regional Airport in North Bend.
While SkyWest held celebrations Tuesday in anticipation of its first flight out of North Bend July 7, others lamented the loss of service to Portland, including those who depend on getting to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort from the Portland and Seattle areas.
But U.S. Congressman Peter DeFazio made it perfectly clear at the celebrations Tuesday that he won’t let the South Coast be without commercial flights to Portland.
DeFazio said the entire Oregon congressional delegation sent a letter to William S. Ayer, chairman, president and CEO of Alaska Airlines-Horizon Air, asking him to make time to meet with them in hopes of negotiating a deal.
Bandon Dunes Golf Resort General Manager Hank Hickox was at Tuesday’s ceremony and said he has been in discussions with DeFazio and other officials to try to keep the northbound flights alive. A significant number of the resort’s customers have relied on Horizon’s Portland service for years, he said. He said he is sorry to see Horizon go and hopes the airline will reconsider, but is hopeful that the situation “will be OK.”
Bandon Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Julie Miller also has attended meetings on the issue.
“The Chamber of Commerce is taking this very seriously as an economic sort of twist for the entire county,” Miller said Wednesday morning.
“We realize this isn’t a problem just facing our community, it’s facing all small communities in the United States,” Miller added.
She said the Chamber has appointed two members, herself and Roger Straus, to represent Bandon at any meetings concerning the airport.
“We will be as involved as we can and will be supporting the airport in any way we can,” she said.
Miller said the Chamber is looking at the situation as an opportunity to research other transportation options.
“The economic health of our community and our business members are forefront,” Miller added.
Horizon blamed costly fuel and a passenger shortage as their reasons for pulling operations from North Bend.
The passengers who rely on SkyWest will suffer the most, said Mike Lehman, Coos County Airport District’s commission chairman.
Horizon’s 12 North Bend employees will be offered other jobs, but they could be anywhere in the nation, Horizon’s vice president of marketing and communication, Dan Russo, said.
Passengers buy more than 70,000 tickets on the Portland route’s four daily flights each year, according to Airport Executive Director Gary LeTellier. Now the closest service to Portland will be in Eugene.
“Though disappointed, we understand that Horizon’s management is being forced to restructure the airline relative to the current economic downturn and the rising cost of fuel,” LeTellier said.
But Lehman said there could be a spark of hope that SkyWest might add a northbound flight and expand its southbound service.
“My understanding is they put it in the planning process,” he said. “It will take some time.”
In the meantime, Lehman said the airport will freeze hiring and new projects.
Lehman said there is a direct link to fuel prices, and officials had feared something like this for months. Another big factor was the drop-off of winter tourism on the South Coast.
Russo agreed.
“High fuel prices are definitely aggravating the situation,” Russo said. “On a year-round basis, we’ve just always had trouble making money on the route.”
Although the impact on the North Bend airport is significant, Lehman said it won’t be calamitous.
“Long-term, we’ll probably be OK,” Lehman said.
The airline has been serving Southwest Regional Oregon Airport since 1982.
Flights between Portland and Klamath Falls were canceled for the same reasons — fuel prices and seasonal slowdown.
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