Kenmore Air Loses Money, Vows to Keep Flying
Kenmore Air had a 23% reduction in passenger boardings during 2011, which will result in the loss of a $1 million entitlement grant to the Port of Port Angeles. This could jeopardize the removal of trees in Lincoln Park, but airport and FAA officials are confident that the tree removal will still be funded.
Kenmore's marketing manager has said Kenmore will stay put. Kenmore is the only air passenger service between Port Angeles and Seattle.
Kenmore's marketing manager has said Kenmore will stay put. Kenmore is the only air passenger service between Port Angeles and Seattle.
posted by Tom Harper at 12:57 AM
9 Comments:
Makes sense to me.
It's so f***ing simple, yet these simpletons don't get it.
If Kenmore can't make it as a business, then Kenmore needs to go under. And these so-called conservatives who rail against government interference in their lives need to stop trying to funnel government money to Kenmore to keep it afloat. Some businesses fail, it's just that simple.
Then, if Kenmore does go under, then yes, we need to re-examine what, if anything, we as a community need to do to the airport, or to Lincoln Park, before making any decisions.
Worst-case-scenario: We all take the shuttle to SeaTac instead of flying out of Port Angeles. Boo hoo - big heartbreak.
Suck it up, people. We live out on the edge of civilization - it's foolish to expect to have all the amenities right here, right now. Having an airline that flies out of Port Angeles obviously doesn't make economic sense right now. And that's okay. What's not okay is making a series of stupid, expensive decisions in order to try to prop up a failing private business with government assistance. We need to stop wasting funds in the name of economic development.
So, are there 23% less passengers using the Kenmore services because the trees at Lincoln Park have not been cut down?
Do you figure that 23% loss of passengers is because that number of people cut back on their expenses in these economic times, or that those people just moved away?
I doubt that the Homeless Jacks of Port Angeles were the frequent flyers on Kenmore. Who was the demographic that was affected? Did the Port try to figure that out?
So many questions, so little info. Oh, yes, it is the PDN.
Anonymous 8:07 has it dialed. There's a need for this service, or there isn't. It's that simple.
What pisses most of us off is that there is money to fund cutting down trees (which many of us are against) but no money for another police officer downtown, just for one example. Doesn't really seem to be serving Port Angeles' citizens all that well.
Just sayin'.
the schedules became too screwy, the prices too high, no package deals for frequent fliers, and then, the airport parking fees (which went from free parking, to paid, to really paid, to insanity for a stupid small airport) made it just a deal breaker in a bad economy. It's cheaper to DRIVE to SeaTac and park there than it is to park in town and fly out of Fairchild.
When you price yourself out of the market, you lose business. Doesn't help the greedy port had to put in paid parking AND cut the trees so that it's ugly as sin over there, now. How much did they make on the trees, by the way?
I'm one of the 23% less passengers. I used to fly out of the PA airport 2x a month. I started to fly out less, and do more work at home, cut one flight a month out. Then, I started driving because the gas (figure $20 bucks for 130 miles..so $40 bucks each way) and the parking at SeaTac (average: $10 a day x 4 days = $40) was cheaper than the $100bucks for a one way ticket PLUS the $4.00 a DAY parking (weekly is $15.00)-- but that raises the price of the commute to 20-30 bucks higher than the 80 bucks to drive.
The time waste of driving (3+ hours) is a pain, but I can catch up on needed phone calls (with hands free, of course), so not a total loss. One benefit of driving is not worrying about catching a connecting flight OR having a long layover at the airport (which gets pricy, unless you bring your own food, but you still need to buy a beverage).
It's really all about economics now.
If the port really wanted to keep the planes more affordable they'd cut or eliminate their flight fees for the airline, eliminate the parking fees, and start acting like THEY have some responsibility here. I doubt that's going to happen, the greedy bastards.
All I know is that they'll never make a penny off of me, I drive everywhere I go.
I just took a 808 mile trip on less than three tanks of gas.
Of course, the Port COULD have set aside money over the past couple of years, from the million dollars they have been getting all these years, to fund cutting the trees, or what ever else.
But, instead it is all so crisis now, manufactured to try for the maximum leverage for more grant money.
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