FALLS CREEK – On Friday a Gulfstream International representative spoke to the Clearfield-Jeferson Counties Regional Airport Authority about future plans of Gulfstream and the DuBois Regional Airport.
With the passing of September it has been a year since Gulfstream International moved into the DuBois Regional Airport and brought back flights after three months of inactivity. Mickey Bowman, vice president of Corporate Development at Gulfstream gave a presentation at the airport authority meeting going over some of the history of Gulstream and plants for the future.
Last fall Gulfstream had teamed up with Continental Airlines thus the Florida based company gained a foothold in the Cleveland Airport. The DuBois Regional Airport was one of the airports partnered with in this headway into the northern United States.
“Probably the greatest benefit we reaped in moving into Cleveland is the DuBois maintenance bay,” said Bowman.
The DuBois airport has a maintenance bay and experience mechanic familiar with aircraft used by Gulfstream. For line tests and other specific maintenance problems planes are flown from Florida to DuBois for repair.
There were attempts to hold the flight rates about where they were before the transition to Gulfstream. Bowman conceded that compared to the State College airport DuBois just can’t beat it’s rates when compared directly.
“What is your time worth?” asked Bowman.
Bowman showed some math and numbers working out the additional cost for someone in the DuBois area to travel to State College beyond the rates. At 66 miles it is an hour and seventeen minute journey to State College, according to Bowman. Using IRS allowances of a depreciation of 55 cents per mile, a round trip knocks $72 off the value of a vehicle making the journey. Plus the $8 per day parking fee Bowman’s math showed an average trip for a person in the DuBois area to head to State College can add up to $120 to the fare.
Atlanta was used as an example. DuBois has a flight to Atlanta, Georgia for $385.20. State College’s version is $309.20 before the wear on a vehicle making it $429.20.
It works in reverse as well. A person in State College would see a similar unofficial cost of using DuBois over State College. Someone who has to travel the same distance to either would see no unofficial benefit to either airport.
There are two flights that even this can’t nudge the cost of using State College over DuBois. One, the Houston flights, have risen dramatically due to marcellus shale business related demand.
Bowman also gave a time frame for the return of Pittsburgh. Talks were conducted yesterday and will continue, but come early 2010 there will be an early flight to Pittsburgh and a return flight in the evening. This will not interfere with similarly timed flights to Cleveland.
