Southwest rules out Trenton for now
12/20/00
By LARRY HANOVER
Staff Writer

Letter: Local opposition takes airport off list of possible stops.

(Caption with photo of SWA plane: "As you well know, there currently exists strong local opposition to any expansion in Mercer County, which further precludes Southwest from having any serious interest in the market" --Rachel Paxton, Southwest Airlines)

EWING -- Southwest Airlines has ruled out Trenton Mercer Airport as a new destination for now because of the controversy surrounding plans to expand the terminal, according to a senior airline official.

In a letter dated Dec. 5, the airline official told a vice president of PLANE -- People Limiting Airport Noise and Expansion -- that local opposition "precludes Southwest from having any serious interest in the market."

"The letter from Rachael Paxton, senior communications representative for the Dallas-based airline, erases contentions that the airline would be a shoo-in to locate here if the expansion project is built.

Mercer County Executive Robert D. Prunetti has touted the expectation of landing Southwest, the nation's fifth-largest major airline, as a major reason the freeholder board should approve the $18 million project.

Although Prunetti has relied primarily on the argument that an expanded terminal will spur economic development in the region, he also has said he believes Southwest's arrival would erase annual airport operating deficits of $1 million.

Yesterday, Prunetti said he was surprised to see such statements from Southwest, but he is not backing down from the terminal expansion plan and believes the airline likely would reconsider if it gets built.

Prunetti said he believes the demand is high enough that another major airline such as Midway will come to the Ewing facility, and the success of Shuttle America alone shows the project is economically viable even without Southwest.

"If (the economics didn't) really work, why in God's name would I spend so much time and energy and political capital to move it forward?" Prunetti said. "I'm as much a business person as a politician. If it doesn't add up, I'm not going to stick to something that's not going to work.

"Prunetti said he plans to talk to Southwest to hear the airline's stance first-hand.

Airline spokeswoman Whitney Brewer yesterday said Trenton Mercer is not "ruled out forever." She also said construction of a new terminal would not guarantee the airport a slot as a new destination.

PLANE yesterday declared Southwest's letter a victory in its drive to stop the terminal expansion. PLANE leaders called on Prunetti to shelve plans to increase commercial passenger service from Trenton Mercer, which has lost 10 carriers since 1980.

"If you build it, they will come' is too risky to throw on the backs of taxpayers," said PLANE Vice President George DiDonato, who got the letter from Paxton in response to inquiries.

The fate of the terminal hinges on an environmental assessment, which was supposed to be ready for public review last spring but remains under scrutiny by the Federal Aviation Administration.

As recently as nine months ago, Southwest had been ready to commit to starting service in Trenton Mercer in 2001, Prunetti said. That was based on the assumption of the environmental assessment being completed with no finding of significant environmental impact by the FAA .

In the fall, Prunetti said, Southwest told county officials that Mercer was off its immediate planning chart but that scheduling the airline's arrival could resume once terminal plans become clear.

The 29-year-old, no-frills airline is coveted by regional airports because of its unique operations. It offers low fares and a high frequency of flights, and consistently ranks at the top of customer satisfaction surveys. It has created competition and price reductions in numerous markets, something known in the industry as the "Southwest Effect.

"In March, Prunetti, Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer and other local officials toured Southwest's Dallas headquarters. At the time, Prunetti said it was fairly clear Southwest would come if a new Trenton Mercer terminal were built.

Paxton's letter downplayed that visit.

"The most action we've taken in regard to Trenton is to meet with . . . officials, which is not something out of the ordinary in studying potential new markets," she wrote.

PLANE Vice President Heidi Kahme said Southwest has heard the opposition's wishes and she hopes the airport will operate on a smaller basis indefinitely.

Steven Some of People Restoring Opportunity (PRO), a coalition of business and labor organizations, said PLANE does not represent the general view.

He said the region "screams for the need for a reputable national carrier" because of growth in the last five years. He said that if Southwest is backing out, such news might spur Midway or another airline to jump in.

Southwest, which serves 57 cities and adds two or three a year, has been focusing largely on the Northeast lately. It now flies out of Baltimore-Washington International; Hartford, Conn.; Providence, R.I., and Islip, Albany and Buffalo in New York.

Midway, which flies primarily 50-seat regional jets, is not nearly the performer Southwest is, which flies Boeing 737s. It has lost $9.2 million
through the year's first three quarters after showing a profit of similar size over the same period last year.

In July, when Prunetti acknowledged deficits averaging $1 million at the airport, he countered that Southwest could clean up the red ink quickly with a projected $8 million to county coffers over five years.

Yesterday, he said, even Shuttle America by itself can offer substantial revenues through an expected new ticket tax on all commercial departures. He said the projected $300,000 a year in new revenue is conservative.

That $3-per-ticket tax comes up for freeholder approval Dec. 28. Its first reading was narrowly approved, 4-3.

Freeholder Jim McManimon, an airport expansion opponent whose term ends Dec. 31, called on the administration to stop pushing the expansion plan until theenvironmental and economic impact are determined.

From: http://www.nj.com/mercer/times/index.ssf?/mercer/times/12-20-2RRCFSCC.html