July was yet another excellent month for passenger traffic at the Bradford Regional Airport as Sun Air Express’ low-cost one-way flights to Pittsburgh continue to be popular, according to a report presented Wednesday to the airport authority.
Airport Manager Alicia Dankesreiter said for the month there were 464 outbound passengers and 430 inbound, easily surpassing the numbers for June, the best month since 2008. “That equates to a fantastic average of 16.56 passengers per day,” she said.
The airline’s load factor came in at 49.3 percent, while the flight completion factor stood at 98 percent because one flight was canceled due to weather.
“This has been a truly great summer,” Dankesreiter said. “The community has really embraced the Sun Air Express service.”
With these numbers, more than an average of ten passengers a day and the fact that the passenger subsidy cap remains below $200, requirements have been met under the Essential Air Service program that ensures small communities maintain a link with the national transportation system through subsidies to airlines.
The current two-year EAS contract, administered by the U. S. Department of Transportation expires in 2016.
While these record numbers represent many leisure travelers, this segment of the passenger traffic could drop when the summer is over, but Dankesreiter noted that college students returning to classes at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and St. Bonaventure University could keep the enplanements and deplanements at good levels.
Then too, Sun Air Express will soon announce new low-fare promotions. With one current promotion, “Flying Friends and Families,” six passengers, booked on the same itinerary, can fly to Pittsburgh for $79. Flights must be completed by Sept. 30.
In her airport report, Dankesreiter said the “Wings Over Bradford,” held Saturday at the airport was very successful. Presented by Sun Air Express and co-sponsored by the airport and the recently revived McKean Aviation Association, the first aviation awareness day at the airport in over two decades drew an estimated 1,500 people.
Two hundred fifty people paid for plane rides, and 105 took rides in the helicopter. Forty-five passengers had scenic flights aboard five Sun Air Express flights.
The Clarion chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Young Eagles, which introduces youths to aviation, had 45 passengers on its flights.
Authority members executed the acceptance of a Federal Aviation Administration grant offer for $218,003 to resurface and repaint Taxiway “D.” This is a 95 percent matching fund, with the airport’s share at five percent. At the authority’s July meeting, the Bob Cummins Construction won this contract.
The directors also approved a supplemental agreement with GAI Consultants in the amount of $1,118 for additional time spent on a project.
Engineer Brian Wolfel of GAI Consultants reported the installation of runway end identification lights project is completed, but some documents must be submitted to the FAA before it can be closed.
