Mar 26, 2006 4 min read

Westmoreland County Airport Authority Executive Director Gene Lakin announced Tuesday that Northwest Airlines has no plans to halt daily commercial flights between the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity Township and Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Michigan. Lakin said the airline has also agreed to not seek revenue guarantees in its second year of operation at the local airport – a term that had been part of the authority’s initial one-year pact with Northwest, which expires at the end of March.

“Of course, the best news is that the airline is staying,” Lakin said.

“But it’s important to note that we are now operating under normal business conditions. We have weathered a ‘probationary period,’ so to speak, and established that this is still a viable location for scheduled service.”

Funds to pay revenue guarantees, if needed, were covered in a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which also included money for marketing the new service. However, it is not yet known how much, if any, money the authority will owe the airline for unsold seats in the first year. That will be determined 90 days after the period ends.

“The Small Community Air Service Development grant program worked exactly as it was supposed to,” Gabe Monzo, airport manager, said. “It was there to help us get started, and now, we’re back in business.”

Dean Breest, media relations manager for Northwest, agreed that airport management has “done a good job in difficult times” for the airline industry.

However, Breest added that the airline’s decision to remain at Arnold Palmer Regional was based in part on “a reflection of our hope that the market will continue to improve.”

He noted that load factors – the amount of seats filled per flight – have ranged from lows of 31 percent to highs of 67 percent, yielding an average of around 50 percent in the airline’s first year at the local airport.

“Smaller markets don’t have the high load factors you see in bigger cities,” Breest said. “But if we could get just eight to 10 more passengers for these flights, we would see load factors on par with comparable markets.” Raising load factors by increasing use of the air service should stand as a well-intended challenge to the local community, he added.

“Obviously, profitability and long-term success would be impacted significantly by this,” Breest said. “In order to maintain and get additional service, we have to see things in terms of being competitive with other communities.” Airport officials are encouraged by the airline’s commitment to remain at Arnold Palmer Regional, and they view that decision as another major step forward in an ongoing effort to grow the region’s air travel opportunities.

But no one is resting on any laurels.

“We have been waiving the Northwest flag and we will continue to do so,” Monzo said. “Building quality air service is a process, not an event, and we are on the move.”

The news is a plus for local business and leisure travelers. It means that the comfort and convenience that the air service offers will be available to meet their air travel needs well into the future.

“This is very welcome news for the business community and for the public at large,” agreed Andy Stofan, president of the Latrobe Area Chamber of Commerce.

“We’re glad that Northwest has determined that this airport is a good fit,” Stofan said, citing the airline’s presence as an asset to the region’s economic development. “The link they provide to not only the country but the entire world should be an attraction for new business as well as existing area businesses that may be looking to expand.”

“We’re thrilled that Northwest Airlines has extended its commitment here,” said Julie Donovan, public relations manager for the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau. “With the airport’s close proximity to many of our signature attractions, these in-bound flights will definitely enhance our marketing efforts in attracting potential visitors.”

Tourism is Pennsylvania’s second largest industry, Donovan said. Each year, more than three million visitors explore the Laurel Highlands spending more than $780 million.

Area attractions draw “not only visitors from across the country, but also from abroad,” she added. “Sites such as the two Frank Lloyd Wright homes – Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob – are popular with international visitors, and flights directly into the region that are closer to sites such as these will assist us in increasing visitation.”

Northwest Airlines, through its Airlink partner Mesaba Airlines of Minneapolis, Minn., began daily flights between Arnold Palmer Regional and Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Michigan on April 4, 2005.

The service filled the void that was left when US Airways Express ended nearly 20 years of commuter flights to Pittsburgh International Airport in Allegheny County on July 11, 2004. Those flights had last been flown by Mesa Air Group Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz.