Landing a direct flight to D.C. seems unlikely for Q-C

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By Jennifer DeWitt | Saturday, April 19, 2008 |

The Rock Island Arsenal Task Force will face an uphill battle in its quest to bring direct air service between the Quad-Cities and Washington, D.C., task force members learned Tuesday.

Mike Bown, an air service consultant for the Quad-City International Airport, told task force members and airport officials that with the current number of passengers flying to Washington — via other routes — a new daily flight to Washington would lose between $1 million and

$1.5 million a year.

He said about 58 passengers fly daily from the Quad-Cities through other hubs with Washington, D.C., as their final destination. Although the impending relocation of the 1st U.S. Army from Georgia to the Rock Island Arsenal will boost those numbers, he said any airline is going to want to see the numbers first.

“The airline industry as you can tell is in turmoil,” he told about 15 task force members. “We’re in a state where the seats are going to be reduced and airfares are going to go up.”

Midwest markets that do have direct Washington service — such as Springfield and Des Moines — are underperforming, he said.

Bruce Carter, the airport’s aviation director, said there are grants that help markets that “have bad service and high fares” to subsidize new service. “But we have great service and low fares. Without a subsidy, (the airlines) are going to laugh us out of the room.”

East Moline Mayor John Thodos suggested that local governments need to explore various financing options — including subsidies or a referendum — to lure a Washington flight to the Quad-Cities. With the task force’s emphasis on establishing the Quad-Cities and the Rock Island Arsenal as a federal campus — in hopes of attracting many types of federal entities to the area, landing a direct flight to Washington is critical, he said.

“If we are going to have more traffic between here and Washington, we need to look at this as an economic development issue,” Thodos added. “The more we can lure federal activity here, the better paying jobs there are here.”

Rock Island County Board Chairman Jim Bohnsack, who also chairs the Rock Island Arsenal Task Force, said the data presented by Bown was “a little disappointing.”

“But I think we’ve got enough potential here and we do have to prove it,” he said of the 1st Army’s arrival.

Carter said rising jet fuel prices are controlling all decisions right now. “No airline is going to come in here and lose money. You’re not going to see any growth to any cities with fuel prices the way they are.”

Jennifer DeWitt can be contacted at (563) 383-2318 or jdewitt@qctimes.com.