Flight competition worries commission
By KAREN MIKOLS
Since a change in air carriers, fewer travelers are flying the friendly skies from Hays to Kansas City.
"This is the fear we had with having one carrier come in here, that we would lose $99 round trip fares," City Manager Toby Dougherty told the Hays City Commission during Thursday night's meeting. "I know the price of oil and other things have had a factor, but I still feel if we had a little more competition, we would have better fares."
In October, Great Lakes Air took over service of flights to and from Kansas City from U.S. Airways.
Airport Manager Terry Urban said he was surprised by the drastic change but thinks the decrease is related to three items: time change for morning flights, code shares and rates.
The morning flight used to depart for Kansas City about 8 a.m. Urban said the new departure time is 5 a.m.
"Great Lakes code shares with United and Frontier," Urban said. "When you go out of Denver, that's fantastic. They have flights out of Denver all over. But out of Kansas City, they don't have as many destinations, so it affects a traveler."
Code shares allow a traveler to check their bag in at the departing airport and pick it up at their destination. Vice Mayor Barbara Wasinger said travelers going to Kansas City sometimes have to go to baggage claim and re-check their bags in Kansas City, then re-enter the secure area in the airport.
"Once you check your bags if you're going on a long trip, you don't want to have to stop, go down, get your bags, go through security and haul everything," she said. "They're also having a problem with losing luggage, I hear."
Urban said rates are tricky, and obviously the further in advance a ticket is purchased, the cheaper it is.
"They have attractive fares, it just seems maybe when we get closer, those fares are getting higher than before," Urban said.
Dougherty noted he checked on a round-trip ticket to Kansas City about two weeks before the departure, and the ticket was more than $400.
"The closer in you buy, the more expensive they are, that's common," Urban said. "But the previous airline, I think, had some better fares closer in."
The falling departure numbers are concerning because Hays Regional Airport had more than 10,000 boardings in 2007, which qualified it for additional Federal Aviation Administration grants. Dougherty said if the declining numbers continue, the airport stands to lose more than 1,000 enplanements.
"If flights out of Kansas City continue to decline, we may no longer be a dual hub community," Mayor Troy Hickman said. "It's something we've been fortunate to have all this time."
Urban, Dougherty and Hickman sent a letter of concern to Great Lakes, as well as the Department of Transportation.
"We were opposed to the idea to begin with," Hickman said of going to one carrier instead of two. "It's because of a lack of competition, it would cause the loss of dual hub status. That's why we're sending the preemptive letter at this point."
CHART:
Month Boardings 2006 Boardings 2007 Percent increase/decrease
July 357 427 19.6
August 314 417 32.8
September 330 339 2.7
October 344 193 -43.9
November 374 295 -21.1
December 538 289 -46.3
January* 340 203 -40.3
February* 303 161 -46.9
*Reflects 2007 and 2008 numbers
Source: Hays Regional Airport
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