Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: A consultant has told Humboldt supervisors. The county's main airport, the California Redwood Coast Humboldt County Airport has hit new passenger records with peak growth in the percentage of residents flying locally.
Jack Penning of Volaire Aviation Consulting reported the great News at the February 25 Board of Supervisors meeting, telling supervisors of record levels of airport use we are.
[00:00:30] Speaker B: Going to hit when we get our final audited 2024 numbers. A new passenger record. We're averaging 351 passengers a day who are departing from ACV. That is about one and a half times where we were just 10 years ago. We've added 211 people a day in the last decade using our airport. It's absolutely terrific, the growth that we have seen and the affordability that we are seeing for the first time in many, many years in using this airport. If we move forward, you go back to 2019, the last time that we studied this market area. We pull all the tickets by zip code within our market area, our immediate area. Here In Humboldt County, 2019, only 23% of people were using ACV, 77% of people were going to airports. It's just five years ago, right before the pandemic in 2024, if we move forward, one slide. We're up to 41% of this community using our airport. That is the highest share of passengers not driving to other airports that we have ever had in this community.
[00:01:44] Speaker A: The airport offers direct flights to San Francisco, Burbank, Los Angeles and Denver via two airlines, United and Avelo. Penning attributed the growth to the variety of destinations and a trend of lower average fare prices. Volaer's study document gives a clearer picture of what's happening. The average catchment or transfer fare has risen by 24% since 2019 to $263 each way. An average fare drop from the airport itself is due to the entry of Avelo Airlines and its flights to Burbank, according to the firm's study.
Supervisors acknowledged the airport as a boost to the county's economy, with 5th District Supervisor Steve Madrone highlighting its value to its base of operation, McKinleyville.
[00:02:41] Speaker C: I'm proud to be in the district where this McKinleyville International Airport is.
You know, McKinleyville is an interesting place, right? It's unincorporated, but the airport is a huge asset to that community. And there's a lot of land around the airport that's undeveloped. We have the airport business park that is really. It's primed and ready to go into a whole lot more development with more motels, other things McKinleyville is looking at or exploring incorporation there's been a concept for the Vista Point facility to actually become functional to where you could actually get into it when you're driving north and pull people off the highway that then would stop at a visitor center or at that million dollar view of the ocean in Trinidad, which is the first place you see the ocean after crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. And we don't stop people and they keep going with their money to Oregon or wherever. And so, you know, the combination of the airport development, Vista Point park, airport business park developing, and there's even room on our own property on the airport for an additional motel or two or other things and we're working on a town center. So these things all tie together in a great way for McKinleyville's economic future.
[00:03:52] Speaker A: Supervisor Mike Wilson said airport investment boosts revenues and the economy having a big multiplier effect.
The Redwood Region Economic Development Commission has played a key role in negotiating new airline service agreements. And Greg Foster, its executive director, highlighted the payoffs of giving airlines incentives to bring flight service here.
[00:04:16] Speaker D: I just want to key off a little bit what Supervisor Wilson was talking about in terms of the incentives, and that's really key.
Redec was able to negotiate and secure the air service agreements for both the LA and Denver service. The LA service was funded without federal money and we pledged in a minimum revenue guarantee agreement $505,000 because that service was so successful that they only used some of that incentive in the first quarter. We were able to return all, But I think 93% of the money went back to the donors. So it was an interesting call when I called the Headwaters Fund when the air service contract between United and Redec ended and said, I'm going to return 93% of your money.
They were very excited by that.
[00:05:09] Speaker A: Penning said a future vision sets Seattle as a number one target and there's an effort to regain service to Salt Lake City.
Other goals include regaining service to Las Vegas and getting new service to Phoenix and San Diego in Eureka. For KMUD News, this is Daniel Mintz.
