# Proposal under the Small Community Air

Service Development Program For

Casper/ Natrona County International

Airport

Docket DOT

- OST

- 2012

- 0069

Sponsor: Casper/ Natrona County International Airport

DUNS Number: 092766013

Congressional D istrict Code: WY 01

Contact: Mr. Glenn Januska

Airport Manager

Casper/ Natrona County International Airport

8600 Airport Parkway

Casper, WY 82604

gjanuska@iflycasper.com

Due Date: June 11, 20121 APPENDIX C

SMALL COMMUNITY AIR SERVICE DE VELOPMENT PROGRAM

DOCKET OST

- 2012

- 0069

SUMMARY INFORMATION

All applicants must submit this information with their proposal, along with a completed form SF

424 on http://www.grants.gov

A. APPLICANT INFORMATION: (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY)

Not a Consortium Interstate Consortium Intrastate Consortium

Community now receives EAS subsidy

Community previously received a Small Community Grant in 2002 i n

conjunction with Gillette, Wyoming

If previous recipient: Date of Grant: September 2002 Expiration date of grant: 2005

Federal Funds Requested: $ 500

, 000 to help lease an aircraft for Big Sky Airlines to provide

service between Casper and Gillette to Billings.

B. PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNE RSHIP

Public: Private:

1. Casper/

Natrona County Int’l Airp ort 1. Casper Area CVB

2. Natrona County 2. Casper Area Chamber of Commerce

3. City of Casper 3. Casper Star Tribune /Casper Journal

4. State of Wyoming 4. Casper Area Economic Deve lopment Alliance

5. Town of Edgerton 5. Allegiant Airlines

6. Town of Mills 6. United Airlines

7. Town of Bar Nunn 7. SkyWest Airlines

8. Town of Evansville 8. World Wide Travel

C. PROJECT PROPOSAL (Check All That Apply)

X Ma rketing Upgrade Aircraft X New Route

Travel Bank X Service Restoration

___ Subsidy

___ Surface Transport X Regional Service

_ Revenue Guarantee

_ Launch New Carrier

_ _ Start Up Cost Offset First Service

X Study Secure Additional Carrier

___ Other X

XD. EXISTING LANDING AIDS AT LOCAL AIRPORT:

X Full ILS X Outer/Middle Marker X Published Instrument Approach

X Localizer Other (Specify)

_ _

E. PROJECT COST:

Line Description Sub Total Total Amount

1. Fede ral Amount Requested: $ 10 0,000

2. State cash fi nanc ial contribution $ 1 5 ,00 0

Local Cash Financial Contribution :

3a. Airport cash funds: $ 15,000

3b. No n

- Airport cash funds: $ 10 ,000

3. Total local cash funds: $ 25 ,000

4. TOTAL CASH FUNDING

$ 140 ,000

In

- Kind Contribution

5a. Airport In

- Kind contributi on* $ 13,74 0

5b. O ther In

- Kind contribution** $ 1 6, 26 0

5. TOTA L IN

- KIND CONTRIBUT ION

_ $ 30,00 0

6. TOTAL PROJECT COST $1 70,00 0

F. IN

- KIND CONTRIBUTIONS **

For funds in lines 5a (Airport In

- Kind contribution) and 5b (Other In

- Kind contribution)

describe the source of funds for each.

Airport In

- Kind

- $ 6,24 0 for airport per turn ground handling equipment fees waived during

first year and $7,5 00 for barter advertising

. Other In

- Kind

- $ 6,240 for barter advertising by C hamber of Commerce; $2,500 by the

Casper Area Economic Development Alliance ; and $ 7,520 by local TV,

Radio, and Newspapers

.

G. IS THIS APPLICATION SUBJECT TO REVIEW BY STATE UNDER EXECUTIVE

ORDER PROCESS? Progr am is not covered by E.O. 12372.

H. IS THE APPLICANT DELINQUENT ON ANY FEDERAL DEBT? No

### T ABLE OF CONTENTS

Subject Page

Summary of Proposal 1

New Grant Proposal 1

Previous Grant 2

Our Community Team 2

Our Airport 2

Our Plan is Consistent 2

Air Service Background 3

The Casper/Natrona County International A irport (CPR) 3

Air Service History 3

Current Air Service 5

Casp er Community Profile 5

Economic Indicators 7

Passenger Market 7

Local Market Demand 7

Passenger Leakage 8

Pa ssenger Forecast 9

Action Plan 9

Action Plan Elements 9

Marketing Program 10

Market Research 10

Media Selection 10

Total Incentive Package 12

Performance Measurement and Sche dule 12

Performanc e Measurement 12

Schedule 12

Community Support 13

Assurances 15

Support for Air Service Development Zone Designation 16

Letters of Support

Letter from Allegiant Travel Company 17

Letter from Senator B arrasso and Senator Enzi 18

Letter from Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis 19

Letter f rom Governor Matt Mead 20

Letter from WYDOT A eronautics Division 22

Letter from Natrona County Commission Chairman 23

Let ter from City of Casper 24

Letter from Town of Edgerton 25

Letter from Town of Midwest 26

Letter from the Casper Area Economic Deve lopment Alliance 27

Letter from th e Casper Area Chamber of Commerce 28

Letter from Wy oming Office of Tourism 30

Letter from Casper Area Con v ention and Visitors Bureau 31

Letter from Atlantic Aviation 321 

### PROPOSAL OF CASPER/N ATRONA COUNTY

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Summary of Proposal

New Grant Proposal

Casper/ Natrona County International Airport is seeking a grant under the Small Community Air

Service Development Program to help fund a comprehensive market ing and advertising pr ogram

to: (1) expand service in the Casper

- Las Vegas market, (2) support new regional jet service in the

Casper

- Salt Lake City market, (3) support additional regional jet service in the Casper

- Denver

market; and (4 ) add service in the Casper

- Phoenix market

.

Allegiant Airlines currently provides air service between Casper and Las Vegas for nine months

of the year and will operate flights in the three month suspension period if the passenger demand

can be increased to su pport the additional flights. The D elta Connection is upgrading its flights

between Casper and Salt Lake City from 30 EMB

- 120 aircraft to 50 seat CRJ

- 200 aircraft. This

is a 67% increase in seats and additional marketing and advertising needs to be undertaken to

support this new service to generate passengers to fill the additional seats. United Express is

adding a fifth daily flight to Denver with a 50 seat CRJ

- 200 aircraft, a 25% increase in seats.

Again, additional marketing and advertising is needed to help generate more passengers fo r this

new flight. A marketing and advertising campaign has been developed for the support of current

air service and is presented in this proposal.

M embers of the Airport Board of Trustees and Airport M anagement at Casper have had

discussions with Alleg iant Airlines regarding implementation of new seasonal service between

Casper and Phoenix/Mesa Airport and have received a letter from Allegiant supporting our

efforts to receive a grant to support their service. Allegiant Airlines does not require a “rev enue guarantee” but does require a strong local marketing and advertising program. A marketing a nd

advertising campaign will be developed for the support of this new air service

.

The funding from the grant and the local funding will be dire cted into thre e projects: (1)

Develo pment of a Marketing Plan; (2) Advertising and public relations program to support the

Allegiant Airlines curre nt air service to Las Vegas, the new Delta Connection CRJ service to Salt

Lake City , and the additional United Express flig ht to Denver; and (3) Advertising and public

relations program to support the new Allegiant Airlines service to Phoenix/Mesa Airport.

The development of a Marketing Plan will include a catchment area analysis, point of sale

analysis, market research, pass enger forecast, marketing strategy for each market, advertising

plan, promotional plan, public relations program, direct sales strategy, and email program. The

data and information in the Marketing Plan will be the basis for the overall marketing and

adve rtising program for the current and new air service.

To support this program, the sponsors of this grant are seeking $100,000 in Federal fu nds that

will be matched with $40,000 in cash and $3 0,000 in

- kind by the Airport and the community.2

This should be sufficient to retain the experts needed to develop and manage this program to

improve passenger traffic for current and attract passengers for the new air service. If follow up

funding to support additional marketing and advertising is needed , the funding will be provided

by local sources

.

Previous Grant

Casper/Natrona County International Airport received a grant under the Small Community Air

Ser vice Development program jointly with Gillette

, Wyoming in 200 2 . The grant was $ 500 ,000

and was intended to support new air service between Casper/Natrona County International

Airport , Gillette Airport and Billings, Montana by providing funds to lease a B

- 1900 aircraft for

Big Sky Airlines. The airline had a small co nnecting hub in Billings and it was thought t hat

Casper and Gillette c ould be contributor s to the Big Sky operations at Billings. Air service was

started in 2003 but the passenger demand was minimal and the airline ceased this operation after

a year in Casper and Gillette and returned the aircraft t o the leasing company.

Our Community Team

Our community team includes: the Convention and Visitors Bureau, City of Casper, Town of

Edgerton, Town of Mills, Town of Bar Nunn, Town of Midwest, Natrona County, Casper Area

Chamber of C ommerce, World Wide Tra vel, Casper Are a Economic Development Alliance, and

will be led by the Casper/Natrona County International Airport. This group has been able to

develop incentive programs that have led to equipment and service upgrade as well as new

nonstop jet service to Minneapolis, Chicago, and Las Vegas.

Our Airport

The Casper/Natrona County International Airport meets all FAA and TSA requirements for the

type of service we are seeking. T he Airport has the ticket counter and gate space to conveniently

handle the cur rent service of Allegiant, Delta Connection, United Express , as well as any new

service

.

Our Plan Is Consistent With DOT Priorities

This project to develop a marketing and advertising program to support current and new air

service is consistent with the priorities established by the Secretary of Transportation. The new

air service will not detract from the current air service and should help create a stronger

awareness of the Casper/Natrona County International Airport . The Community and the Airport

will work with the current airlines to provide low er fares b y offering them an incentive package

to advertise and be part of local sales promotions

.

The upgraded air service to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City and new air service to Phoenix/Mesa

will benefit lo cal businesses, education al institutions, vacation/pleasure travel, and the general

public

. With a 40% leakage of passengers to Denver, the improved and new air service will get

the air traveler out to their car and back onto an airplane for trips from Ca sper/ Natrona County

International Airport

.3



### Air Service Background

The Casper/ Natrona County International Airport ( CPR )

The Casper/ Natrona County International Airport meets all FAA and TSA requirements for the

type of service we are seeking. It is the p rimary commercial airport for jet airline service for

approximately half of the State of Wyoming. It is estimated that the population of the total

Airport catchment area is over 2 60 ,000

. Casper/Natrona County International Airport has

traditionally provi ded the best link to the National Transportation System for the residents of the

many small, rural communities throughout the central part of Wyoming . The economies of the

region continue to grow. Population is increasing, retail sales are up, and new com panies are

moving into the area and demand for airline service continues to be high.

The Casper/Natrona County International Airport is a full service Airport. The passenger

terminal has space to accommodate six airlines , and currently has three rental car companies and

other customer amenities . Convenient, reasonably

- priced automobile parking is available on

Airport. The Airport is seven miles northwest of downtown Casper and is owned and operated

by Natrona County . The primary runway at the Airport i s 10,165 feet long and 150 feet wide.

Tenants and vendors at the Airport provide a full range of aviation services including fuel

service, student instruction, charter flights, aircraft and engine repair, and aircraft storage.

Air Service History

The Ai rport passed from military control to ownership by Natrona County in 1949. The Airport

is governed by a five member Board of Trustees that are each appointed for a five year term.

The Airport has had scheduled air service since the early 1950’s. Prior t o the Airline

Deregulation Act of 1978, the Casper/Natrona County International Airport had frequent service

by Western Airlines to Denver, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, and through points in M ontana to

Calgary, Canada with B

- 737 aircraft. The peak year fo r enplaned passengers for CPR was 1979

with 142,079.

In the 1990’s, service at the Airport was transferred from the mainline air carriers to the regional

airline partners of Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. Flights were provided with commuter

turbo prop aircraft. Northwest Air Link upgraded its service to Minneapolis in the summer of

200 6 with 50 seat regional jets. Allegiant Airlines started service to Las Vegas in the fall of

2008 with MD

- 83 aircraft. The flights to Minneapolis were eliminated when Delta acquired

Northwest in 2008. Flights declined but seats remained somewhat constant due to United

Express replacing turbo prop aircraft with regional jet aircraft.

Both United Express and Delta Connection are adding seats in July. United Expre ss is adding

one more regional jet flight to Denver and the Delta Connection is upgrading from 30 seat EMB

120 aircraft to 50 seat CRJ

- 200 aircraft to Salt Lake City. This will increase the daily seats from

260 seats to 350 seats to the two hub airports. Allegiant will continue operating two trips per

week to Las Vegas. Allegiant is increasing its seating on the MD

- 83 from 150 seats to 166 seats.4 HISTORICAL NONSTOP SERVICE AT CPR

Year Nonstop Markets Weekly Flights Weekly Seats

2000 DEN, SL C 83 2,487

2001 DEN, SLC 89 2,667

2002 DEN, SLC 68 2,180

2003 DEN, SLC 76 2,280

2004 DEN, SLC, MSP 77 2,590

2005 DEN, SLC, MSP 88 2,920

2006 DEN, SLC, MSP 69 2,210

2007 DEN, SLC, MSP 76 2,692

2008 DEN, SLC, M SP, ORD, LAS 77 3,102

2009 DEN, SLC, LAS 43 2,110

2010 DEN, SLC, LAS 42 2,300

2011 DEN, SLC, LAS 43 2,030

2012 DEN, SLC, LAS 50 2,700

Source: Official Airline Guide, summer issue

Since 1995, the Airport has experienced a growth in pas sengers. For the fifteen year period, the

Airport saw enplaned passengers increase 42%. There was a drop in passengers in 2002 after

the impact of 9/11

, but growth thereafter. Passenger enplanements leveled off with the

switchover to regional jet aircr aft where the airline reduced flights but added larger aircraft. The

market experienced growth in enplaned passengers with the addition of Allegiant Airlines

service to Las Vegas. Allegiant reduced capacity in 2011 with a corresponding drop in

passengers . With a strong increase in seats in 2012, the Airport should see passengers return to

2010 levels.

CASPER/NATRONA COUNTY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PASSENGER S

Source: Casper/Natrona County International Airport Data5

Current Air Serv ice

As of July 20 12

, Casper/Natrona County International Airport had nonstop service to Denver,

Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City. The servi ce to Denver is provided by Sky West Airlines

operating as United Express. The re are 34 nonstop flights per week with 50 seat CRJ

- 200

aircraft. Allegiant Airlines operates two flights per week to Las Vegas with 150 seat MD

- 83

aircraft. The service to Sa lt Lake City is provided by Sky West Airlines operating at the Delta

Connection . There are 14 flights per week with 50 seat CRJ

- 200 aircraft

.

CASPER AIR SERVICE

– JULY 2012

Market Airline Depart Arrive Aircraft Frequency

CPR

- DEN United Express 6:00 am 7:02 am CRJ Daily

United Express 9:33 am 10:35 am CRJ Daily

United Express 12:28 pm 1:30 pm CRJ Dai ly

United Express 5:09 pm 6:10 pm CRJ Daily

U nited Express 8:09 pm 9:10 pm CRJ x Saturday

DEN

- CPR United Express 8:05 am 9:06 am CRJ Daily

U nited Express 11:01 am 12:02 pm CRJ Daily

United Express 3:42 pm 4:43 pm CRJ Daily

United Express 6:42 pm 7:43 pm C RJ x Sa turday

United Express 8:00 pm 9:00 pm CRJ Saturday

United Express 9:59 pm 11 :02 pm CRJ x Saturday

CPR

- LAS Allegiant 10:32 am 11:20 am MD

- 83 Mo, Fr.

LAS

- CPR Allegiant 7:05 am 9:50 am MD

- 83 Mo, Fr.

CPR

- SLC Delta Connection 6:00 am 7:36 am CRJ Daily

Delt a Connection 11:35 am 1:15 pm CRJ Sat & Su n

Delta Connection 12:55 pm 2:35 pm CRJ x Sat & Su n

SLC

- CPR Delta Connection 9:45 am 11:12 am CRJ Sat & Su n

Delta Conn ect ion 11:00 am 12:40 pm CRJ x Sat & Su n

Delta Connection 9:55 pm 11:15 pm CRJ Daily

Source: Off

icial Airline Guide, July 2012

Allegiant Airlines will suspend their service to Las Vegas from August 14 th to November 8 th and

then start back up on N ovember 9 th

. There will be seven flights in November and sixteen flights

i n December. The goal of Casper/ Natrona County Airport is to keep the Allegiant Airlines for

the entire year in 2013 and not lose service d uring the three month seasonal stoppage

.



### C asper Community Profile

The Casper/Natrona County c ommunity is a growing, diverse area that needs and depends upon

airline service to connect its populace to the nation’s air transportation system and to assist6

others who serve and visit the area from t hroughout the United States and abroad. Casper is the

number one market for the state of Wyoming. The Airport catchment area now covers almost

half of the state’s residents.

The Casper/Natrona County area has a diverse group of employers, a low cost of l iving, and a

relatively high median household income. The main industries are in retail/wholesale trade,

services, natural resources, and medical. Oil and gas plays a prominent role in the community.

In 2010 Casper was ranked as the highest rated family

- friendly small city in the West and ranked

eighth overall in the nation. The u nemployment rate for t he area was reported in April of 201 2

as 4.9 % , down from 7.1% in 2011

.

NATRONA COUNTY HAS A DIVERSE ECONOMY

Sector % of Employment

Retail/w holesale Trade 19.7%

Government 14.5%

Services 14.3%

Health Care 12.7%

Hospitality/entertainment 10.9%

Mining 8.8%

Construction 7.7%

Finance/real estate 5.1%

Manufacturing 4.7%

Transportat ion 2.3%

Source: Casper Area Economic Development Alliance

The business market is strong and diverse in Natrona County. Community leaders will continue

to support existing employers while attracting new businesses that will contribute to the

e conomic well being of the area.

MAJOR EMPLOYERS IN THE AREA

Casper College True Companies

City of Casper U.S. Postal Service

Hilltop National Bank Walmart

Mountain View Regional Hospital Westech/WOTCO

Natrona County Wyoming Beha vioral Institute

Poplar Living Center Wyoming Machinery

Sheppard of the Valley Care Center Wyoming Medical Center

It should also be noted that Casper is the media and communications center for the state of

Wyoming. There are nine television stat ions in Wyoming with five of them based in Casper (all

of the networks plus PBS). There are eight radio stations based in Casper. The largest

newspaper in the s tate is the Casper Star Tribune which has statewide distribution.7

Economic Indicators

In 20 11 , the Casper/Natrona County International Airport total catchment area had a popu lation

of approximately 2 60,813 residents with 1 20,022 housing units . Total retail sales for the Airport

primary catchment area was approximately $51,632 per household. The effective buying income

for the Airport primary market area was $ 49,900 per household. Approximately 4 0% of the area

households have an annual buying income in excess of $50,000. Wyoming ranks 6 th in per

capita personal income and fourth in the nation f or overall economic outlook. The economic

indicators for the Airport market area are about t he same as the average for the S tate of

Wyoming.



### Passenger Market for Casper

Local Market Demand

An analysis of passenger bookings was developed by Sabre Airlin e Solutions for the tw elve

months ending June 2010 . T he analysis came up with 203 outbound passenger bookings per day

from the Casper/Natrona County International Airport primary catchment ar ea. This equated to

74,000 outbound passengers and total of 2 96

, 000 origin and destination passengers. There were

529.8 passengers per day for the total catchment area. This equates to 773,000 total origin and

destination passengers for the total catchment area.

TOP CPR DESTINATIONS FROM SABRE STUDY

Annual Outbound

Market PDEW Passengers

LAS* 82.8 30,222

PHX 19.0 6,935

DEN* 18.5 6,752

MCO 16.0 5,840

LAX 15.1 5,511

IAH 13.8 5,03 7

ATL 13.3 4,855

SLC* 12.0 4,380

SEA 11.5 4,198

SAN 10.0 3,650

DTW 9.5 3,468

MCI 9.0 3,285

DFW 8.9 3,249

SFO 8.8 3,212

DCA 8.1 2,956

* Current Markets Served

Sourc e: Sabre MIDT data YE June 2010

Even though there are 12 airports in the total catchment area, t he low fare service by Allegiant

Airlines to Las Vegas from Casper/Natrona County International Airp ort has been responsible

for capturing 65.5 outbound passengers per day

, or 79% of the total passengers from the primary8

and secondary catchment areas. On the other hand, the high fare service of United Airlines to

Denver only captured 23% share of the to tal market. This indicates a leakage rate of 77%.

CHOICE OF AIRPORT FOR CPR AREA PASSENGERS

The Sabre Study presented the passenger bookings from the Global Distribution System for the

total Casper/Natrona County International Airport total catchment a rea for a twelve

- month

period. Approximately 239 passengers per day originated at Casper/Natrona County

International Airport and approximately 290 passengers per day went to other airports to

originate their trips. Overall, Casper was able to retain 45% of the total passenger from its total

catchment area.

Passenger Leakage

In the primary catchment area, Casper/ Natrona County International Airport captured 65% of the

passenger bookings with 31% going to Denver International Airport and 4% using other a irports

in the region. This is an increase from 57.6% since the introduction of Allegiant Airlines service

to Las Vegas. For the total catchment area, CPR captured 45% with 25% using DEN and 30%

using other airports in the region. This is an increase fr om 36% since the introduction of

Allegiant Airlines service.

Nonstop service tends to retain almost all of the passengers in the primary catchment area. The

service to Las Vegas retained 93% of the primary CPR market, service to Denver retained 91%

of th e primary CPR market, and service to Salt Lake City retained 93% of the CPR market. In

the primary market, only 74% of the passengers going to Phoenix used CPR and in the total

catchment area, only 48% of the passengers going to Phoenix used CPR. These c apture rates

will be much higher if there was nonstop air service.9

Passenger Forecast

Prior to the introduction of nonstop service to Las Vegas by Allegiant Airlines, the Casper

- Las

Vegas market was approximately 5,700 origin and destination passengers per year. The first full

year of nonstop service by Allegiant Airlines, the market produced 23,290 passengers and in the

second full year, the market produced 29,966 passengers. The air service by Allegiant Airlines

to Las Vegas provides an excellent exa mple of what low fares will do for the Casper market. In

2007, prior to the entry of Allegiant Airlines, the average one way fare between Casper and Las

Vegas was $207.11. In 2009, after the entry of Allegiant Airlines, the average one way fare

between C asper and Las Vegas was lowered to $79.78, a reduction of 61.5%. The stimulation for

the new air service in the Casper

- Las Vegas route was 406%. Since 2000, the Casper

- Phoenix

market has averaged over 5,000 origin and destination passengers per year, very similar to Las

Vegas.

Listed below is the passenger forecast for the Casper

- Phoenix/Mesa market for service by

Allegiant Airlines. The base data is passenger booking data developed by Sabre. Market

stimulation and capture rate are based on Allegiant Air lines experience in the CPR

- LAS market.

The passengers for the primary market are large enough to support two trips per week for six

months of the year. The passengers in the total market are large enough for flights all year.

PASSENGER FORECAST FOR ALLE GIANT AIRLINES

SERVICE TO PHOENIX/MESA

Primary Secondary Total

Market Market Market

Initiated Passengers/ Day 4.1 5.0 9.1

Leaked Passengers / Day 1.5 8.5 10.0

Total CPR

- PHX Pa ssengers/Day 5.6 13.5 19.1

Annual Pass enge rs 4,090 9,850 13,940

Stimul ation 406% 406%

Total Pa ssengers 16,600 39,990 56,590

Captu re Rate 92.7% 47.7%

Allegiant Pa ssengers 15,390 19,070 34,460



### A ction Plan

Action Plan Elements

The goal of the Action Plan is to address issues associated with the proposed air service that are

critical to the long

- term success of that service. In this regard, this action plan will focus on

marketing for Casper/Natrona County International Airport in two areas : (1) funding fo r

marketing, advertising and promotion for the existing air service ; (2) funding for marketing,

advertising and promotion for new air service.10

Marketing Program

Government review of the previous grants under the Small Community Air Service Development

Program has shown that the successful projects had strong marketing and advertising program s

developed by the sponsor s and the airline s

. Casper/ Natrona County International Airport has

created very successful marketing, advertising, and promotion program s for the introduction of

new air service : Northwest Airlines to Minneapolis and Allegiant Airlines to Las Vegas.

The target market for Casper air service is a combination of local business, leisure travel, and

visiting friends and relatives in the Caspe r market area. The marketing in the local area will

include advertising, promotions, and public relations in the twelve county region served by CPR

. These mediums will be combined in a campaign to promote the existing air service to Las Vegas,

Salt Lake City

, and Denver , as well as the new air service to Phoenix/Mesa.

The strong marketing and advertising program instituted by the community in the Casper market

will allow the a irlines to concentrate their marketing and advertising funds in the ir hub marke ts

. T he mo st effective way to contact the new customer is by targeting: (1) the traveler ; ( 2 ) the

travel agent ; ( 3 ) the c orporate travel coordinator; (4 ) the business associations ; and (5) social

media . All of these targets can be approached utilizing th e same advertising media

– television,

radio, newspaper, magazine, direct mail, email, internet

, and billboards

.

Market Research

In the past, the Casper/ Natrona County International Airport has utilized market research to

determine the location of the po tential passengers and the destinations of these travelers. The

best tool for this is the Passenger Booking data by zip code developed by Sabre Airline

Solutions. This data was formulated into a “Catchment Area Analysis and Leakage Study”

giving the Air port detailed booking data for the total catchment area. Studies were developed i n

2008 and 2010 and gave Casper/ Natrona County International Airport excellent data to track

passenger booking s and evaluate the performance o f its marketing and advertising.

Once the “Catchment Area Analysis and Leakage Study” is completed, then the Airport will hire

a marketing consultant to develop a detailed marketing, advertising

, and media plan. This Plan

will determine the overall promotional strategy for the Airport. Based on previous advertising

by the Airport, the following section sets forth a sample media plan for the two programs.

The market research will be divided into two programs, (1) Catchment Area Analysis and

Leakage Study and (2) Marketing, Advertising and Media Plan. It is estimated that these two

programs will cost approximately $35,000.

Media Selection

It has been found that t he market in the Casper/Natrona County International Airport catchment

area ca n best be reached by using television, newspap er, radio, billboards , direct mail, online

advertising via the internet , and social media

. Listed below are the recommended media.11 SELECTED MEDIA FOR AIR SERVICE

Media Type Media Selected Location

Television KTWO

– ABC Casper

KCWY

– NBC Casp er

KGWC

– CBS Casper

Newspaper Casper Star Tribune Casper

Casper Journal Casper

Wyoming Business Report Statewide

Radio KWYY

- FM Country Casper

KRNK

- FM Rock Casper

KQLT

- FM Country Casper

KZQL

- FM Hits Casper

KTWO

- AM Talk Casper

KVOC

- AM Talk Casper

KKTL

- AM Sports Casper

As can be seen, Casper is the media capital for central Wyoming. The media based in Casper

will give the advertiser reach throughout the entire state. The media plan goes heav y on

electronic media with a g ood budget for public relations and social media.

This project is based on two programs, one to support existing air service and one to support new

air service. The market research will be utilized for both programs and th e advertising will be

split into two campaigns. The first campaign will support the existing air service to Denver, Las

Vegas, and Salt Lake City.

Based on previous a d campaigns developed by Casper/ Natrona County International Airport, the

following es timate is developed for the advertising program. The advertising program is

estimated to be appr oximately $105,000 in cash expense and $23,760 in

- kind expense.

ESTIMATED ADVERTISING EXPENDITURES

Cash In Kind Total

Advertising

T elevisio n $ 3 0,000 $ 7,500 $ 3 7,5 00

Newspaper $ 3 0,000 $ 2

, 52 0 $ 32,52 0

Radio $ 10,000 $ 2,5 00 $ 12, 5 00

Outdoor (Billboards) $ 5,0 00 $ 2,5 00 $ 7,5 00

Production $ 10 ,000 $ 10 ,000

Internet $ 10 ,000 $ 1 0 ,00 0

Pu blic Relations $ 1 0 ,000 $ 8

, 740 $ 1 8,74 0

Total $ 10 5,000 $ 2 3,76 0 $ 128,76 012

Total Incentive Package

Combining the Small Community Air Service Development Program grant and local

participation, the Casper/Natrona County International Airport will be able to offer a very

complete package to support existing and new service. The combined incentive package will

create an extrem ely strong marketing component and a strong public/private partnership.

T he total pa ckage will be $ 17 0 ,000. Total Federa l participation requested is $ 1 00 ,0 00 with the

community providing $ 4 0,000 in cash and $3 0 ,000 of in

- kind . The in

- kind will include $6,240

of waived fees and $23,76 0 of barter advertising. The sponsors will contribute 28.6 % of the total

cash and 41.2 % of the total project.

SUMMA RY OF INCENTIVE PACKAGE FOR AIR SERVICE

Federal Local Total

Market Research $ 3 5,000 $ 0 $ 35,000

Advertising and Publ ic Relations $ 6 5,000 $ 63,760 $128,76 0

Airport Fees $ 0 $ 6,24 0 $ 6,24 0

Total $100,000 $70,000 $17 0,000



### Performance Measurement and Schedule

Performance Measurement

The incentive package as outlined in this application focuses on the Casper market area. T he

marketing, advertising

, and promotional program presented herein should develop good

awareness for new airline service. Passenger response can be measured by the res ervations

volume at the airline and by the passengers en planed and deplaned at the Casp er/Natrona County

International Airport

.

The performance of the proposed air service will be tracked on a monthly and quarterly basis.

This tracking will measure the number of passengers using the new air service and monitor the

airline revenue and relat ed incentive requirements.

Monthly

- The airline wil l provide flight segments flown and enplaned passengers

. This

data will be compared to the forecast projections to measure the performance

of the program.

Quarterly

- The Sponsor will a ggregate the year

- to

- date flight data and passenger

statistics and will submit timely reports to the Department of Transportation

.

Schedule

The Casper/ Natrona County International Airport will start the marketing research part of the

program immediately after the grant agreement is signed with the DOT. It is estimated that the

market research part of the program will be completed within ninety days. At this point in time13

the first advertising campaign for the existing air service can be started. The advertising program

for the new air service to Phoenix/M esa Airport will commence sixty days prior to the start of air

service. The Casper/Natrona County International Airport commits to the completion of the

grant, if awarded, within twenty

- four months o f acceptance and will diligently p ursue an earlier

closeout.



### Community Support

The combination of small community living and the western can

- do attitude has translated into a

community ready, willing, and able t o support the objectives of this applicatio n. One just needs

to look at recent history to see how the community, the state, businesses, residents, and

organizations have come together to support air service. Initiation, expansion, or developmen t of

air service cannot begin with an air carrier, an d no initiation, expansion, or development would

be successful without active community development. These collaborations (formal

partnerships) in the past few years have included:

 Initiation of Northwest RJ Service to MSP

– Airport (cash and discounted fees),

WYDOT (cash), Northwest Airlines (look and feel of campaign) , TV, Radio, and

Newspapers (discounted media), Casper Area Economic Development Alliance (travel

bank).

 Upgrade of Uni ted EMB

- 120 Equipment to Dash

- 8 s

– Airport (cash) , WYDOT

Aeronaut ics (cash)

, United Airlines (look and feel of campaign), TV, Radio, and

Newspapers (discounted media).

 Creation of an Oxygen Concentrator Program

- Airport (cash) and WYDOT

Aeronautics (cash).

 Upgrade of United Dash

- 8 Equipment to CRJs

– Airport (cash)

, WYDOT

Aeronautics (cash), and United (look and feel and production).

 Upgrade of Delta EMB

- 120 Equipment to CRJs

– Airport (cash)

, WYDOT

Aeronautics (cash) , and Newspapers (discounted media)

.

 Initiation of Allegiant Air flights to Las Vegas

– Airport (cash) , WYDOT Aeronautics

(cash)

, TV, Radio, and Newspapers (discounted media), press releases, media stories,

live remote, coverage onboard 1 st flight, talk radio, and Good Morning Wyoming as

well as Wyoming Cavalry Allegiant Air dasherboard, I Fly Cas per Night, and Casper

Ghosts Outfield wall advertisement.

 Purchase of Ground Support Equipment for Allegiant Air Service (and others)

– Casper Area Economic Development Alliance (cash).

 Initiation of United CRJ summer service to Chicago O’Hare Airport

– Airport

(marketing/advertising cash), WYDOT Aeronautics (cash) , Natrona County (cash)

, City of Casper (cash), Convention and Visitors Bureau (cash) , Casper Area Economic14 Development Alliance (cash) , TV, Radio, and Newspapers (discounted media),

Wyomi ng Cavalry United dasherboard and I Fly Casper Night.

 Upgrade of SkyWest EMB

- 120 Equipment to CRJs

– Airport (cash) and WYDOT

Aeronautics (cash), SkyWest marketing personnel (production, campaign look and

feel), local media person to coordinate media bu ys

, I Fly Casper night with the

Wyoming Cavalry and promotional Casper/Natrona County International

Airport/Delta/SkyWest T

- shirt giveaway.

While this reflects more “formal” relatio nships, it does not include a great deal of other activities

and events: Chamber Business After Hours at the Airport, e

- mail blasts, tons of media coverage

, chamber surveys, newsletter articles, etc.

The community has formed an ai r service advisory committee that meets quarterly. Members

include representatives of the: Airpo rt, Convention and Visitors Bureau, City of Casper, Town of

Edgerton, Town of Mills, Town of Bar Nunn, Town of Midwest, Natrona County, Casper Area

Chamber of Commerce, World Wide Travel, and Casper Area Economic Development Alliance.

This group would wor k toward the implementation of the program and would work with United,

SkyWest/Delta, and Allegiant closely. And this would only be the start. By working together

we all would be able to identify many other ways to support this service.15



### Assurances

The Casper/ Natrona County International Airport (hereinafter referred to as “Sponsor”) hereby

provides the U.S. Department of Transportation with the following assurances:

 The Sponsor will comply with all of the applicable Federal laws, regulations, executive

orders, policies, guidelines, and requirements as they relate to the application, acceptance,

and use of the Federal funds for this project.

 The Sponsor has the legal authority to apply for the Small Community Air Service

Development Program grant, and t o finance and carry out the proposed project; that a

resolution, motion, or similar action has been duly adopted or passed as an official act of the

applicant’s governing body authorizing the filing of the application, including all

understanding and assur ances contained herein, and directing and authorizing the person

identified as the official representative of the applicant to act in connection with the

application and to provide such additional information as may be required.

 The Sponsor has access to the funds available f or that portion of the project which are not to

be paid by the United States government. The Sponsor has sufficient funds to assure

operating and maintenance of items funded under the grant agreement, which it will own or

control.

 Th e Sponsor shall keep all project accounts and records which fully disclose the amount and

disposition by the recipient of the proceeds of the grant, the total cost of the project in

connection with which the grant is given or used, and the amount or nature of that portion of

the cost of the project supplied by other sources, and such other financial records pertinent to

the project. The accounts and records shall be kept in accordance with an accounting system

that will facilitate an effective audit in acc ordance with the Single Audit Act of 1984.

 The Sponsor shall make available for the purpose of audit and examination, any books,

documents, papers, and records of the recipient that are pertinent to the grant.

 The Sponsor will execute the project in acco rdance with the approved program narrative

contained in the project application or with the modifications similarly approved.

 The Sponsor will furnish such periodic reports as required pertaining to the project and

activities.16



### Support for Air Service Dev elopment Zone Designation

The Casper/Natrona County International Airport was initially developed as an Army Air Base

dur ing World War II. It consisted of 2,902 acres and saw its first aircraft operation on August 15,

1942, nearly 70 years ago. Today th e Airport consists of 5,150 acres of land and has a number of

the original buildings and structures remaining. All current buildings, both WWII and buildings

built since that time are fully occupied. The Airport has numerous strengths when it comes to

at tracting business to the airport including:

 A 10,150’ primary runway and 8,679’ crosswind runway;

 5,150 acres of land;

 WWII buildings and infrastructure;

 FTZ 157;

 U.S. Customs and Border Protection Operation (designated port of entry);

 FedEx Air Freight O peration;

 Con

- way Freight (ground) operation;

 Adjacent Casper Logistics Hub (rail offload facility);

 Current availability of a 9,000 square foot communications/data building;

 New Fuel Farm ( a 360% increase in capacity from the previous ); and

 Immediate acce ss to Highway 20/26 and access to I

- 25 6.7 miles away.

The Airport has undertaken initiatives to develop the business/industrial portion of the Airport’s

business and in dustrial portion including:

 Update of an Industrial Park Development Plan;

 Reconstruc tion and extension of Commerce Drive (Industrial Road Entrance);

 Expansion of FTZ 157; and

 Installation of a Fiber Optic Loop and DSL Service (currently underway).

Despite these strengths, recent initiatives, and development opportunity

, the Airport has s ome

challenges when developing this land :

 Land lease vs. land sale; and

 Land Restrictions (historic designation of buildings and land area; grant assurances; transfer

clause, etc.).

The A irport is currently undertaking, with the FAA and WYDOT Aeronautic s assistance, an

update to the Airport’s land use plan. What the Airp ort would hope to gain with the air service

development zone designation would be:

 Assistance/Guidance on increasing the activity in the FTZ which has largely been dormant;

 Assistance/G uidance on identifying aeronautical and non

- aeronautical businesses who would

be a good fit with the Airport (targeted industry analysis);

 Assistance in identifying any governmental agencies (federal and state) who could serve as

resource s on an ongoing ba sis to assist the Airport in the land development; and

 Assistance/Guidance on balancing the historic designation against business/industrial park

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