### Devan From: Kirk Fraser'[fraserkm @ plattsburgh.edu] "",o,Sent: • Saturday, February 13, 2010 10:44 AM To:'" ','**D~any;** Qji)nnis (OST) Subject: Cape Air
- Plattsburgh EAS provider 

## DEtar**Mr:·Oeva~¥,** I urge you to reject the recommendation by the Clinton County legislature to select Colgan as the new provider for air service at the Plattsburgh International Airport. Cape Air has met and will continue to meet the needs required by the area for air service. At this time, there is no need for larger, more expensive planes, which in turn will reduce the number of flights in and out ofPlattsburgh and raise prices dramatlc.{,!Uy" In/at;j9itiQli; Colgan has not**ad~quately** addressed concerns highlighted by their crash last year, which hasim'plicated their**emir~** corporate strategy and culture. ' The Clinton County legislature showed its inexperience and ineffectiveness in their vote for Colgan. Arguably, the two most knowledgeable of the situation, Keith Defayette, current chairman of the Airport and Finance Committees and Robert Heins, the past chairman of that same committee, both voted in favor of retaining Cape Air. It has be,en well documented that two other legislators deferred their vote, fearing theirs would be the decisive vote and open themselves up for criticism., This is hardly an example of making an informed and educational decision which will impact the future of our area for years. I am asking you to correct the grievous error made by our legislature and select Cape Air to continue the area's Essential Air Service. Thank you. What follows is an article entitled "Cape Air loss a big mistake" written by Andrew Schonbek and published in the February 13th edition of the Plattsburgh Press Republican. Mr. Schonbek has eloquently stated the case for retaining Cape Air in Plattsburgh. Kirk M. Fraser Equipment Manager Plattsburgh State FieldHouse 101 Broad Street Plattsburgh, NY 12901 phone 518-564-3061 fax 518-564-3069 kirk.fraser@plattsburgh.edu
Published February 12, 2010 10:57 pm- Cape Air's excellent service, reliability and cost effectiveness position it strongly to continue to grow. Cape Air loss a big mistake By ANDREW SCHONBEK In my opinion Last week, our legislature recommended that Colgan Airbe approved as the area's Essential Air Service (EAS) provider. This controversial decision is not 

### in the interest ofthe community's economic development and wastes taxpayer dollars. 

### Itdoes not-recognize the success ofCape Air, which has tripled traffic to Boston. Cape Air's excellent ' service, reliability and cost effectiveness position it stronglyto continue to grow. ' Apartfrom safety, the most important air-service requirements for an area such as this one are frequency, connectivity, reliability and price. Aircraft size (the factor onwhich the legislature's faulty decision was based)

1also counts, but not at the expense ofother key factors. That ashift toColganAir would have an immediate negative effect onNorth Countryresidents' quality ofair travelis painfully clear. Cape Air plans 21 weekly flights, (28 during the summer). Outside ofa trial "stimulus period" in which there would be 17 weekly**flight~,** Colganproposes only 12. This severely limits connection options at Logan Airport, and is sure to reduce traffic

.

.,A{lditiopaIly, CapeAirhas guaranteed a one-wayticket price of$65, while the best that Colgan could do was. commit to a "target range" of$75 to $125, with noguatantee that this will not be exceeded in the future. In

. . ' practice, Colgarrhasatrack**record'ofaggressiv~IY:1ncreasing** prices in other markets in which it has been**awarde~AS** contracts. '**.~~** ."•• '_.,:1;**~** , -As, ifthat

### ~eren't enough, to deliver this lower levelof,sej-yice; Colgan is asking U.S. taxpayers for a subsidy that is 59 percent higher than Cape Air's; As the government struggles with the effects ofunprecedented. deficits, one would think that this factor, alone, would be decisive

.. CapeAir achieves superior service at a lower cost because ofits unique business model, built around a large and nimble fleet ofsmall aircraft enabling high load factors. As traffic increases, Cape Air can schedule more frequent flights, thereby improving connectivity. Incertain situations they have assigned mUltiple aircraft to a single flight to accommodate temporary load surges; Reliability and on-time performance are enhanced by the ability to quickly bring a replacement aircraft onto a particular route to deal with mechanical problems or compensate for upstream delays. Finally, the cost effectiveness ofthis approach results in lower ticket prices, also boosting traffic. None ofthese advantages are associated with the conventional modelusing larger aircraft that is espoused by Colgan. At any given level oftraffic, Colgan will likely have fewer flights, and fewer connection options. Service is also likely to suffer, as the airline will have an incentive to cancel light-load flights. They will not have the flexibility to work around mechanical or traffic delays. And obviously, larger aircraft cost more, translating into higherticket prices. All this was disregarded bythe legislature, which feels that the flying public will trade Cape Air's compelling cost and service benefits for the option oflarger aircraft. Apparently, it was swayed inthis decision by a survey prepared by theChamber ofCommerce, which indicated that Montreal, residents would be more likely to make use ofthe airport ifitwere serviced bylarger aircraft. As a Canadian, I cannot imagine that this is the case. Certainly, ifthe survey question had explicitlyrecognized the cost and service trade-offs, the response would havebeen very different. Even ifthis were not so, the purpose ofthe EAS program is not for U.S. taxpayers to subsidize travelbyforeign nationals. Therefore, any argument on the theory oftraffic increases based onnon-residentridership should be disqualified. Several ofthe legislators hid behind the fig leafofpublic safety in suggesting that the lack ofa copilot on Cape Air flights is inherentlyunsafe. 

### Inmaking thisbaseless argument, they chose to ignore Cape Air's impeccable safety record, as well as the controversy surrounding lastyear's tragic Colganflight 3407 accident, inwhich the plane, en route from Newark, crashed into a Buffal.o suburb,**killin~ ~O.**  An**impo~ant P~S**  Frontline

. documentary, which aired onFeb. 9, makes the pOIut that economIC Issues**assoclate~** WIth the C.olgan busmess model created incentives to cut comers and take risks that ultimatelymayhave contnbuted to thIS tragedy.

2Knowing all this, it's hardto understand why our elected officials have chosen to tum theirbacks on Cape Air

.

. Their ill-advised recommendation is likely to reduce activity at the airport and to impede the area's economic

development. But it's not too late to stop this from happening. TheDOT is not bound to accept thelegislature's recommendation

- 

### it can come to adifferent conclusion, and it should. I urge all NorthCountry residents to make your voices heard inthis matter. Send e-mails to dennis.devany@dot.gov and brian.swanson@dot.gov

..**~** today; befote theymaketheiriinal deCision.' ._ ..:



### As its CEO, Andrew Schonbek grew Schonbek Worldwide Lightingintoone ofthe region's largest manufacturing employers, before selling it to the renowned internationalfashion company, Swarovski. He has alsocbeen a memberofthe ClintonCQunty Area Development Corp.Boardfor a number ofyears.

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