Back in the high
life Colorado Springs airport soars with new growth With an improved
terminal, a new military terminal under construction and progress toward a major
aeronautical industrial park, the Colorado Springs Airport has a lot going on. The
city-owned airport serves an estimated 1 million people in Southern Colorado,
according to Aviation Director Mark Earle, approximately half of them from Colorado
Springs. Home to seven passenger carriers, the airport saw approximately
2 million people get on or off a plane in 2005 and is due to have more this year. "Our
traffic is growing at 2 percent to 3 percent a year, which is healthy," Earle
said. The movement of thousands of more soldiers to the Fort Carson Army
camp only will help because of the support personnel and families accompanying
the soldiers, he said. That equals more people who travel, and therefore,
more people who fly. Right now, the airport offers nonstop flights to 13
cities in the United States, as well as connections through those to a lot more
places. Several carriers also have shuttle flights to Denver International Airport
as part of their flight offerings to other destinations, Earle said. Most
flights are by commuter planes, except for a few United flights that use jumbo
jets. Many of the carriers use smaller companies such as Mesa Air, Comair and
Sky West, with planes painted the same as the larger company, to provide the actual
flights. United will change its service by the end of October to replace
its remaining jumbo jet flights with commuter-size planes. The change is
part of United's decision to subcontract more services and employees, but it will
provide more actual flights and the same number of seats as the larger planes,
Earle said. The jumbo jets, planes such as Airbuses and 737s, could be used
during the summer months when the airport enjoys its busy season, the airport
director said. The airport has been trying to attract more carriers, especially
a low-fare carrier such as the old Western Pacific. That carrier caused a jump
in airport use several years ago with super-cheap fares, but only lasted a few
years. "We talk to carriers constantly, both existing ones and others,"
Earle said. "We have good service for a city this size. What we have to work
on is pricing." One place the airport doesn't serve by connecting flights
is Pueblo, which has a smaller airport and still is struggling to keep a carrier
and trying to establish itself with the flying public. Earle said Colorado
Springs doesn't specifically try to compete with Pueblo's airport. "There's
always going to be the potential for competition," Earle said. "But
we haven't seen that. We fully support Pueblo's efforts to develop its airport."
Away from the peanuts and seat belts, the airport has been undergoing a major
expansion and face-lift. Phase One of the terminal improvement project,
which began in 2004, was finished this spring. It includes a larger terminal,
more and bigger eating and shopping spaces, new waiting areas, free wireless Internet
access, a revamped decor inside the terminal, rebuilt roads to improve traffic
flow and baggage screening activity moved from the public terminal areas. The
second phase will include new signs inside and out, more aesthetic improvements,
resurfacing all the roads, building a canopy over the shuttle bus waiting area
and walkways to the rental and short-term parking lots and building a "cell
parking" lot for people who are waiting outside for an arriving passenger. The
total project cost is approximately $26 million and the airport has done it without
borrowing. Earle said the money has come from some federal grants, the airport's
$3 per ticket facility fee, profits from parking and concessions revenue and funding
from rental cars. The companies that run the food and gift shops also have
helped by paying for the improvements in their areas, Earle said. The airport
also is growing in other avenues. The airport and airport businesses are expanding
facilities on the west side. SkyWest, a subcontractor for United and Delta, is
building a large maintenance facility there. Earle said that will lead to more
SkyWest flights coming to Colorado Springs. A large aeronautical industrial
park program is under way with the potential to develop 600-plus acres of grasslands
on which buildings and other facilities will be built for aeronautical-related
companies. Construction already has begun on buildings for two companies,
Northrop Grumman (150,000 square feet) and The Aerospace Corporation (95,000 square
feet). The companies will lease the land from the airport, using 50-year contracts,
and may build more later. Those two leases were approved because the companies
wanted to get started quickly, Earle said. Other leases will wait until next year
or so, when the airport hires a master development company to develop the land
and lease out parcels. Earle said it was decided to allow a private company
to handle the development of the airport land because the private company would
have more capital on hand and more expertise, and to give the private sector the
chance at the profits involved. One bonus for the master development company,
when chosen, will be that tax-free bonds issued by the developer may be used to
finance some of the roads and other infrastructure development needed to develop
the business park. A huge benefit for the airport is the ongoing construction
of the Arrivals/Departures Airfield Group facility, which is being built for the
military southeast of the current terminal. The $52 million facility, which
is being paid for by the federal government, will provide a place for troops and
other military personnel to access military planes and be processed. It will handle
as many as five giant C-5 cargo planes at a time. Currently, military personnel
must use a tent alongside a taxiway as their special military airport terminal,
Earle said. The new terminal is expected to see a lot of use when it is finished
in late 2008 as more troops arrive to train at Fort Carson. In lieu of rent,
the federal government is building large roads and a sewer line to the facility
capable of servicing the rest of the business park. The infrastructure will
save the airport and its developer a lot of money, Earle said. "That's
their rent," Earle said. "It would have been cash out of our pocket." The
airport has had one longtime major military tenant, Peterson Air Force base, on
the northern portion of the airport. There, too, the airport has benefited
from partnering with the military, according to the airport director. The Air
Force base provides services such as firefighting, which the city-owned airport
otherwise would have to provide. Financially, the airport has been healthy.
The airport made a little more than $3 million in net revenues last year, half
of which is given to the air carrier companies to reduce their landing fees and
terminal rents. The other half is put aside in the airport's capital development
fund for future needs. Overall, Earle said he's pleased with progress at
the airport. Rising passenger counts, profitable relationships with the military
and private companies and a growing economy all seem to be helping the city's
airport thrive. "As the economy goes, so goes the airport," he
said. Colorado Springs Airport Carriers and passenger share year-to-date
in 2006.
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