Sunday, March 29, 1998

Eagle contract clearly points to two jetways

Jets and jobs are two of the nicest sounding words in the English language to those who keep an eye on Abilene's economic well-being.

Jobs mean a more immediate impact in dollars and cents, keeping unemployment down and tax revenue up, boosting retail business, attracting new residents, making welfare-to-work transitions easier. In a slightly longer view, the better air service afforded by regional jets would be one of the biggest improvements Abilene could make at this point in its history.

Both jobs and jets are on their way, thanks to the city's half-cent sales tax and to the use made of those funds by the Development Corporation of Abilene. Last week's announcement that Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Texas will hire 300 more employees here by year's end and that Eagle Aviation Services in Abilene has contracted to maintain American Eagle's regional jet fleet was a double dose of good news. For a year the DCOA predicted would be rather flat, this first quarter spike is a most welcome surprise.

Not to discount the value of Blue Cross/Blue Shield's 300 new jobs, but the news about Eagle Aviation is particularly exciting. By the DCOA's spending $1.75 million to build a hangar for Eagle, Abilene will get some 83 high-paying jobs by 2002. City officials are confident more jobs will follow as the facility attracts maintenance work from other airlines.

But what's really thrilling is that having a maintenance center for regional jets means jet service for Abilene travelers is just around the corner. If American Eagle sends its planes to Abilene from Dallas for routine checks, it's not going to send them empty or take them back that way. It's going to put passengers on them. Other airlines that might come here for maintenance would do the same.

Timely announcement

Eagle's announcement is particularly timely, given that city officials are debating proposals to improve Abilene Regional Airport.

One plan would build a single $250,000 jetway for loading and unloading passengers from regional jets. The second idea is to go ahead and build two jetways. Both plans -- originally designed as speculative ventures to attract jet service that now seems certain to arrive -- would be paid for through a $3 service fee added to passenger tickets, not from raising Abilenians' taxes.

Because we'd need two jetways to take full advantage of jet service, that was the best option even before last week, and that's what the Airport Development Board recommended. Imagine, for example, having to keep one plane full of passengers sitting on the runway idling its time while waiting for another plane to unload and load through the lone jetway.

The announcement that regional jets will, indeed, be coming to Abilene should make the choice of options an obvious, easy call. But City Manager Roy McDaniel remains unconvinced. He greeted Eagle's news by saying:

"That takes care of one jetway. When I see something else might happen, we'll take care of another one."

To help McDaniel see what might happen, we'd suggest a video rental -- "Field of Dreams," whose famous line, "Build it and they will come," hits the nail on the head.