Friday, September 18, 1998

Aviation news lifts Abilene's jetway hopes

The good news about air transportation in Abilene has been arriving faster this week than you can say "jetway."

First, American Eagle announced it will begin commuter jet service into Abilene by mid-November. Initial flights will be somewhat limited - one round-trip between Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport via a 50-seat commuter jet - but it's a big step in the right direction and a promise of more to come. The availability of jet service is widely recognized in the local business community as one of the most significant improvements that could be made for Abilene business and for the city's prospects for economic development.

Jet flights moved closer to being a reality earlier this year when Eagle Aviation Services Inc. in Abilene landed a contract to service American Eagle's commuter jet fleet. If jets were flown here for maintenance, it seemed logical they might carry passengers back and forth, too.

Second, Eagle Aviation's venture got a big boost from another piece of good transportation news this week - that the Development Corporation of Abilene has secured a $1 million federal grant to help fund an expansion of Eagle Aviation's facilities at Abilene Regional Airport, including a 27,300-square-foot hangar, to enable the company to better perform its jet fleet maintenance. That's quite a windfall for the DCOA, which had already agreed to fund the full $1.75 million construction project out of its own pockets.

New jobs, too

This hangar will not only facilitate Eagle Aviation's work for American Eagle, but also enable the Abilene company to more easily attract similar jet maintenance from other airlines - which might, in turn, be induced to widen the scope of local jet passenger service. Even without new contracts, Eagle Aviation will create some 82 new jobs for Abilene.

These developments dovetail with a $3.1 million plan by the City Council to renovate and expand Abilene Regional Airport. The project, which has been agreed to in principle by the council, includes two prefabricated jetways, the tunnels through which passengers can board planes. Having two jetways in place would greatly enhance Abilene Regional's chances of attracting additional jet service. There have been hints recently, for example, that Continental Express Airlines might begin jet service here as soon as the airport renovations are completed, which should happen by the last quarter of 1999.

An architect has been hired to draw up plans for the airport expansion for the approval of the Airport Development Board, which would then forward the project to the City Council for formal acceptance.

With jet flights now taking place out of Dallas' Love Field, thus broadening the destinations to which flights out of Abilene can feed, this week's news opens new horizons of air transportation for those who are already doing business in and out of Abilene. Plus, it makes the city a considerably more attractive site for new businesses being courted to move here.

We can only say, Bring it on!