They also make some recommendations and suggestions. The comprehensive 56-page report is filled with graphs and charts as well as a comprehensive overview of the findings. Basically, the study illustrates the reasons for the decline and negative change in non-hub airports and the realities that are now facing small communities. The introduction to the study states that certain realities for small communities must now be faced. Airlines are no longer public utilities that are primarily in business for public convenience and necessity.
Airlines are now more focused on the bottom line.
Many communities have lost scheduled air service because by themselves they simply cannot support the costs of the type of airline service they desire. In many cases, the types of air service that can be economically offered is not what the local consumer wants and simply refuses to use it. This in many respects is the case with the present air service at Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport. The report also points out that RWI s air service market area is the smallest in the state and within the most competitive air service environment. With 5 commercial airports serving Eastern NC, there is significant overlap with Raleigh and Greenville.