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AIR SERVICE ALLIANCE


HOW YOU CAN HELP THE EFFORT TO GAIN MORE AIRLINE SERVICE

 1. FLY OUT OF HELENA IF POSSIBLE – By supporting our existing three airlines
    (Alaska, Delta, and United) who have served Helena for many years, strong
    load factors certainly help to show demand for additional flights from
    current and new carriers. While the Airport Authority has no direct control
    over setting ticket prices, we have one of the lowest cost airports based on
    what the airlines pay to use the airport, so we are doing everything within
    our control to attract new service and ensure the airlines serving Helena
    remain in place.

2. DONATE CASH TO THE INCENTIVE POOL – Air service recruitment is very
competitive, so we need financial incentives. However, it is illegal for
airports to use airport revenues for incentives (however we can and do provide
fee waivers for new service). If you wish to make a cash or in-kind donation to
this ongoing effort, please contact Callie Aschim at the Helena Area Chamber of
Commerce at (406)-442-4120 or at caschim@helenachamber.com.  Everyone from
individuals, businesses, organizations and government entities can donate at any
time and any amount. This is an ongoing effort so budgeting for future donations
is another avenue if you need time to plan for a donation.

3. GET INVOLVED / GET QUESTIONS ANSWERED – if you are interested in getting more
information or to get involved to help, please contact Jeff Wadekamper, Airport
Director at (406)-442-2821 or jwadekamper@helenaairport.com .


WATCH THE NEW AIR SERVICE PODCAST #1 TO LEARN WHAT IS BEING DONE TO GAIN MORE
SERVICE AND HOW YOU CAN HELP: HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=UGGMUECEXNW




 


FACTS ABOUT AIR SERVICE IN HELENA

 * The Helena Airport’s use fees the airlines pay to use the airport are some of
   the lowest in Montana and the nation. In 2022 Helena’s cost per passenger to
   the airlines was $4.78, compared to the national average for non-hub airports
   of $10.11/passenger. (Source – FAA Form 127 – available online). This is
   possible as the Airport has worked hard for decades to secure non-aviation
   revenue sources t keep up with rising costs instead of placing the added
   costs on the airlines.
 *  The Helena Airport (similar to all airports) has NO CONTROL directly on the
   airline ticket prices. They are set by the airlines based on a wide range of
   variables. Adding more flights/seats generally helps lower ticket prices –
   THIS IS WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT FOR THE COMMUNITY (YOU) TO HELP DONATE CASH TO
   THE INCENTIVE POOL TO ATTRACT MORE FLIGHTS!
 * Securing new flights today is so competitive due to limited pilots and
   aircraft that it is essential to have an incentive program (revenue
   guarantees, fee waivers, marketing, help with startup costs, etc…).
   INCENTIVES ARE CRUCIAL FOR NEW SERVICE!
 * Airports legally cannot use airport funds for airline revenue guarantees or
   incentives. As a result, those funds must be raised from the community or
   other sources and an entity other than the airport must facilitate those
   funds. The Helena Area Chamber of Commerce is graciously doing this for the
   Helena incentive pool effort. TO DONATE CALL THE CHAMBER AT (406)-442-4120.
 * Airport however can legally provide airport use fee waivers for new service
   as long as it is offered to all airlines that may be interested. The Helena
   Regional Airport Authority adopted a fee waiver program that is offered to
   any airline that adds service to Helena. This program was approved by the
   Federal Aviation Administration and is available to airlines for up to the
   first 2 years of the new service.
 * Why are ticket prices at other airports like Bozeman sometimes cheaper?
   ANSWER: Ticket prices are not controlled by the local airport. Ticket prices
   vary on a wide range of variables such as supply/demand, competition, size of
   aircraft used in a market (a 150-seat plane has the ability to spread costs
   over more passengers compared to a 50 or 76 seat plane). By the way –
   HELENA’S AIRPORT RUNWAY AND TERMINAL CAN HANDLE LARGE AIRCRAFT, so that is
   not a limitation. The airlines typically don’t operate those larger aircraft
   in smaller markets.
 * “International” Airports are named that if they have US Customs. Many
   airports including some in Montana having “International” in their name has
   no bearing on ticket prices or availability of more domestic flights. Did you
   know that Helena actually has US Customs Landing Rights for private and
   charter aircraft, while many other Montana “International” airports do not
   have Customs?


STATUS UPDATE ON RECRUITING MORE SERVICE (UPDATED DECEMBER 18, 2023)


**ANNOUNCEMENT – ALASKA AIRLINES HAS ADDED FLIGHTS BETWEEN HELENA AND SEATTLE
FOR THEIR SUMMER 2024 SCHEDULE – BEGINS MAY 16:

The Helena Regional Airport Authority and the Helena Air Service Alliance are
extremely excited to announce that Alaska Airlines will be adding more flights
in between Helena Regional Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
beginning in the summer of 2024! The additional frequencies will provide an
early morning outbound flight to the Seattle hub and a late-night arrival back
to Helena to complement the existing mid-afternoon turn flights.

ADDITIONAL FLIGHTS BEGIN ON MAY 16, 2024:

May 16 – June 12: (2x daily service on Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Friday).

June 13th – August 19th: (2x daily every day)

FLIGHT TIMES:

Seattle to Helena:

 * Departs Seattle at 11:40 a.m. – Arrives in Helena at 2:17 p.m.
 * Departs Seattle at 9:19 p.m. – Arrives in Helena at 11:59 p.m. (NEW)

Helena to Seattle:

 * Departs Helena at 7:00 a.m. – Arrives in Seattle at 7:47 a.m. (NEW)
 * Departs Helena at 3:01 p.m. – Arrives in Seattle at 3:45 p.m.

We are very appreciative of Alaska Airline’s continued investment and commitment
to serve Montana’s capital city. Securing additional flight frequencies to the
Seattle hub has been one of our top priorities, so we are excited to see these
additions. We have enjoyed a long-standing working relationship with Alaska
Airlines for decades and look forward to continuing to grow their service from
Helena. We strongly encourage the community to use these flights so the
additional service can continue year-round if it performs well. In today’s
environment, the airlines try new routes often times a season at a time to
evaluate if the route is viable before solidifying it permanently. So it is
imperative the flights do well, or the airlines move them to another route.
Securing these additional flights was a team effort and illustrates the
importance of community support, collaboration, and financial incentives, as
gaining new service today is very competitive due to high nationwide demand and
limited airline resources.

The air travel industry continues to experience recovery and system wide
changes. Here is a recap of milestones Helena has experienced over the past two
years:

 * October 6, 2022 – Alaska Airlines transitions from the Q400 turbo prop
   aircraft to the Embraer 175 dual class, 76-seat jet between Helena and the
   Seattle Hub.
 * June 2, 2023 – United Airlines adds a second daily flight in between Helena
   and United’s Denver hub, essentially doubling their capacity in Helena.
 * December 23, 26-30, January 2-7 – Delta Airlines adds a third daily flight
   between Helena and the Salt Lake City Hub to provide more capacity for
   holiday travel.
 * May 16, 2024 – Alaska Airlines adds flights in between Helena and the Seattle
   Hub to their summer 2024 schedule (May 16-August 19).

 

Future Goals

The Helena Regional Airport Authority and Helena Air Service Alliance, along
with numerous businesses, organizations, and individuals will continue focused
efforts to secure more service. Some of the priorities include restoring Delta’s
Minneapolis Hub service, secure new American Airlines service to the Dallas Hub,
and to transition United service from 50 seat CRJ’s to 76 seat Embraer 175 jets,
and seeking service to Phoenix and other leisure destinations, through a network
or low-cost carrier. Members of the Airport and Helena Air Service Alliance
recently met in person with numerous airline representatives to continue
exploring every possible opportunity. Airlines we are met with included: Alaska,
Allegiant, American, Breeze, Cape Air, Delta, Southwest, Southern, Sun Country,
and United. Below is a summary of 2 specific efforts we are working on (in
addition to others):

 * Delta Airlines Minneapolis Service – Efforts continue to restore the Delta
   service to Minneapolis. The Airport has reminded Delta about the Airport’s
   Fee Waiver Program for new service (which applies to this route since it has
   been gone for over two years and thus considered “new” per FAA approval).
   This fee waiver gives Delta (or any airline adding new service) use of the
   airport at no cost for 2 years. Additionally, our collogues at the
   Minneapolis Airport are also communicating with Delta on their side to help
   get this flight restored. If you are interested in helping bring this back –
   contact the Helena Chamber of Commerce to donate cash for the incentive
   package at (406)-442-4120.
 * American Airlines Service to Dallas – We continue to work on convincing
   American to start service and they are one of the airlines we met with
   recently. To recap, the Airport received a $1,000,000 Small Community Air
   Service Grant dedicated to this effort. We have also raised funds locally and
   the Airport Authority has adopted a fee waiver package for any airlines
   offering new service (one of the few things airports can do legally) to
   generate an incentive package currently totaling $1.6 Million. We also need
   additional funds towards this effort to ensure Helena is chosen for this
   service as there is competition from other airports/communities to get this
   same service. Contact the Helena Air Service Alliance if you are able to help
   donate to the effort at (406)-442-4120, or info@helenachamber.com .

 





SALT LAKE CITY AIRPORT COMPLETES NEXT PHASE OF TERMINAL EXPANSION – PROVIDES
EASIER CONNECTIONS THROUGH DELTA’S WEST HUB:

Progress continues on the Salt Lake City Airport Terminal Project, which is
becoming a larger hub for Delta Airlines. While we all really badly want the
Minneapolis service back and will keep doing everything possible to make that
happen with the community’s help, Delta’s hub connections at Salt Lake will now
be more efficient as additional gates were recently opened which also marked the
end of the remote loading / bus transfer between concourses. Here is a story
about the recent opening of the next phase in Salt Lake City:

https://simpleflying.com/delta-air-lines-opens-13-new-gates-salt-lake-city-international-airport/
  





PRESENTATION SLIDES & INFORMATION FROM A PREVIOUS COMMUNITY UPDATE MEETING IS
AVAILABLE TO VIEW BY CLICKING ON THIS DOCUMENT: AIR SERVICE PRESENTATION JUNE 13
2023

What is the Helena Air Service Alliance? On January 10, 2023, the Helena Air
Service Alliance was officially created. This partnership between the Helena
Regional Airport Authority, Helena Area Chamber of Commerce, Montana Business
Assistance Connection, and the Helena Tourism Alliance was created to
collectively work to make sure Helena has the best air service possible. The Air
Service Alliance’s mission is:

¨Our mission is to maintain and grow air service which benefits the community
through access to airline networks, job growth, economic development, and local
quality of life improvement.”

Air service retention and development is extremely competitive and must be a
community effort to be successful. One major necessity to gaining new airline
service today involves incentives to mitigate the economic risk of an airline
starting a new route. There are numerous Federal regulatory restrictions related
to what the airport itself can do with respect to air service. Airports cannot
use airport funds for airline revenue guarantees and other incentives, however
airports can provide limited fee waivers as long as they are offered to all
airlines equally. Airline recruitment is more competitive among communities
today than ever. In order to be successful, communities must provide incentives
and that requires money. That is where the Alliance comes in, to raise community
generated funds which can legally be used to attract more airlines. The fund has
been established and it is now available to receive donations from the
community. Oftentimes when an opportunity does come up, there is limited time to
act, so the goal is to be prepared.


THE DETAILS – WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO BELOW TO SEE A PRESENTATION ABOUT THE
AIRPORT’S VERY UNIQUE BUSINESS PLAN AND THE CREATION OF THE AIR SERVICE
ALLIANCE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35x9l4nPjf8


THE FACTS ABOUT AIR SERVICE – QUESTIONS, ANSWERS, AND OTHER INFORMATION
REGARDING THE CURRENT CHALLENGES AND EXTERNAL FORCES INFLUECING AIR SERVICE

 We receive a number of questions and feedback related to all aspects of airline
service. The airline/airport industry is an extraordinarily complex environment
and is affected by so many continually changing variables. The following
information is available to answer the most frequent questions such as what the
airport can and cannot control. The information gives insight on what the
Airport Authority Commissioners, staff and other community stakeholders are
doing to navigate the challenges present in today’s ever changing air service
environment to ensure the Helena community has the best possible commercial air
service possible with what the airport has to work with.

Air Fares – Who Has Control Over the Cost of Airline Tickets?

A common misconception is the local airport has control over the price of
airline tickets. The reality is the local airport has no control over the amount
charged for airline tickets. The air fares are set by the airlines themselves
and in many cases are even established by computer-based algorithms considering
a number of variables. Tickets on flights are priced in groups, and each group
of seats is priced higher as the plane fills up. The following article helps
explain how ticket prices are created by the airlines:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/how-airline-ticket-pricing-works/ar-AA11KUdk?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=ccdec24912a340fc9750d4e64eb3a111

The following video also helps explain how airlines price tickets, which doesn’t
involve any control by the local “airport”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72hlr-E7KA0

 

Is There Anything the Airport Can do to Encourage the Airlines to Lower the Cost
of Tickets?

The Airport has no direct control over the cost of airline tickets as the
airlines set the fare levels themselves. However, indirectly, an airport can
help keep ticket prices less inflated as a result of airport use fees charged to
the airlines. We can assure you in the Helena Airport’s case, the fees charged
to the airlines are some of the lowest in Montana and the lowest in the nation
when compared to other airports. How does the Airport Authority accomplish that?
We maintain very low costs for the airlines to use the airport by continually
finding other nontraditional ways to generate revenue such as non-aviation-based
land leases and business opportunities.

 


SEE THE CHALLENGES AT OTHER SMALL AND EVEN LARGE COMMUNITY AIRPORTS

There are many examples of the unfortunate realities of communities losing air
service, or heavily subsidizing air service to keep even limited flights. The
stories below outline just a few of the many recent examples:

CASPER WYOMING ARTICLE –

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/01/11/some-in-natrona-county-question-1-3-million-paid-for-single-daily-skywest-flight/

TWIN FALLS IDAHO ARTICLE –

https://www.idahocountyfreepress.com/news/state/city-approves-airport-subsidy-for-2nd-quarter/article_1df029c3-1562-564b-ab00-e997372de04b.html

 

Recent Article Showing Examples of Other Communities Struggling for Air Service
and Many Heavily Subsidizing Airlines to Keep Service (Including Some State
Capitals)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/airlines-are-terrible-small-cities-are-still-paying-them-millions-of-dollars-to-stick-around/ar-AA16r1GU?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=3c30ca6dc6ad4255b596128064e0574c

 

Article About Rural Communities Losing Service and the Reasons
Why: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/25/rural-america-airport-service-00093795

 

EVEN LARGER COMMUNITIES ARE NOT IMMUNE FROM CHALLENGES

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/united-airlines-to-suspend-five-domestic-routes-this-summer/ar-AA1mHpjk?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=73b1f49f08fa407ba1a80a49b0a75c06&ei=74

 

TOLEDO, ISLIP, ITHACA SERVICE LOSSES

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dubuque-toledo-islip-ithaca-smaller-cities-set-to-lose-service-as-airlines-pull-back/





MORE AIR SERVICE FACTS ABOUT HELENA

There is a Myth that Ticket Prices in Helena are Affected by the Recent Terminal
Expansion. Is This True?

The terminal expansion that was done from 2018-2020 had no direct impact on the
fees charged to the airlines and the project costs do not affect ticket prices.
The Airport funded the terminal expansion with a variety of funding sources. The
FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funded a portion of the project. The AIP
funds are generated nationwide through a federally collected fee levied to
airline tickets, aviation fuel sales, and air cargo transactions. These funds
are not Helena – specific but are collected nationwide and distributed back to
each airport for eligible projects. The Passenger Facility Charge program,
another FAA program, funded a portion of the project. While this project is
funded through a $4.50 per passenger fee, this had no impact on the rates the
airlines charge. The remainder of the cost was covered by the Airport Authority
from funds generated by the various revenue sources the airport has developed –
48% of which are non –aviation related. The cost per square foot of the terminal
project was $214/square foot (if done today the cost would be much higher!). The
project was completed $450,000 under budget and 6 months ahead of schedule as
well.

 

Does the Cost of Operating the Airport or Providing Air Service Affect Local
Taxes?

The entire 1,400 acre airport facility is operated as an enterprise fund and no
local, city, County, or State taxes fund the daily operations of the airport
facility. This was set in place in 1993 when the City of Helena and Lewis and
Clark County created the Helena Regional Airport Authority under Montana Code to
be a financially self-sufficient entity to operate and improve the airport
facility. Prior to 1993 and the creation of the Authority, the airport received
2 mils and was included on the tax bills of local residents. Operating a
commercial service airport facility is a very expensive operation and the
Airport does so by operating much like a business where user fees and other
non-typical airport revenue sources fund the ongoing operation. Federal funds
are available from the Airway Trust Fund (FAA Airport Improvement Program) for
some, specific, eligible infrastructure projects. The Airway Trust Fund is
derived from Federal fees on aviation fuel sales, airline tickets, and air cargo
waybills. Those funds are distributed back to airports through a competitive
application process and once received include numerous Federal Grant Assurances
the airport must adhere to.

 

Diversified Airport Income Sources


NATIONWIDE AIR SERVICE TRENDS

PILOT AND LABOR SHORTAGES

Here is an article that speaks about the challenges to not only get pilots, but
to entice promotions to be captains:
https://www.newsbreak.com/news/3093238622203-united-airlines-grapples-with-pilots-avoiding-the-captains-chair?noAds=1&_f=app_share&s=i3

 

The airline industry is facing some extreme challenges, which are also leading
to major changes in service levels, particularly for smaller communities. Those
challenges include a pilot and labor shortage and has affected each airline’s
ability to operate the same number of aircraft compared to a few years ago.
Click on the link below to see more information:

https://www.rallyforairservice.org/

 

WHAT AIRLINES ARE DOING TO RECRUIT MORE PILOTS

Article About American Airlines Sign on Bonus Program to Recruit Additional
Pilots:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/3-american-airlines-regional-providers-are-offering-100-000-bonuses-to-new-pilots/ar-AA14aZ4Q?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=68a776a394fa41fa80228086c734942b

 

 


AIRLINE FLEET CHANGES – CHALLENGES TO SMALL COMMUNITIES

Airlines are retiring smaller aircraft and manufacturers are no longer building
as many smaller aircraft. This is largely due to the fact that as airline costs
go up (higher wages and fuel costs to operate), the smaller 50 and even 76 seat
aircraft are not as cost effective to spread operating costs over that number of
passengers. The POSITIVE NEWS for Helena, is that our airport (runway and recent
terminal expansion) can accommodate larger “mainline” size aircraft, so that
provides us an opportunity to see these larger aircraft in the future.

By clicking the links below you can read an article regarding cities that have
lost air service and a few presentations by Mike Boyd of Boyd Group
International, which discusses the shifting trends and economics of the 50-seat
regional jet fleet to larger aircraft.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/american-delta-and-united-have-collectively-dropped-74-us-airports-since-the-pandemic-see-the-full-list/ar-AA11FMMx?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=32a6f6591091456aa204c90914e1c86c&ei=27

https://rumble.com/v2a8zyu-the-coming-airliner-shortage-the-rising-air-service-bar.html

https://rumble.com/v1haovd-rural-air-service-to-continue-to-shrink-with-small-airliner-retirements.html

Article About reduced 50 -Seat Jet Use Affecting Smaller Communities:
https://simpleflying.com/usa-1300-50-seat-regional-jet-flights-today/

 


AVIATION INDUSTRY WIDE CHALLENGES AND ISSUES

The aviation industry faces many challenges currently, all of which have an
effect on local air service in Helena. This video that aired on C-Span recently
of the confirmation hearing of the nominee for Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) Administrator sheds light on the various challenges present in the
aviation industry today:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?530894-1/faa-administrator-confirmation-hearing





HELENA REGIONAL AIRPORT FACILITY INFORMATION

Why Did the Airport Expand the Terminal if Airlines are Facing Challenges
Growing Service in the United States?

To begin with, the terminal expansion was started in 2018 following 6
consecutive years of record growth, well before anyone knew the COVID pandemic
was going to happen. It was necessary to expand the terminal building to
accommodate the future airline fleet transition and to ensure that we continue
to support the changing aircraft fleet mix and also have capacity for Helena as
the community is growing and the state is gaining more residents and visitors
each year which we believe will lead to more flights eventually. Prior to the
expansion, we had 170 seats in the gate areas. In 2018 we had 228passengers
going out in the early morning bank alone, so we had already exceeded the
seating capacity of the gate area. The expansion now allows for seating to be
expanded up to 500 passengers if needed. Additionally, the terminal was limited
to handling only 3 aircraft simultaneously off jet bridges and the rest had to
be ground boarded. The expansion led to 3 jet bridges, each of which can be
configured to handle up to two aircraft at a time, thus doubling our capacity.
The new jet bridges also have the flexibility to accommodate everything from a
50 seat CRJ to a 767 or A320. The trend from the major airlines is to transition
from 50 seat jets to 76 seat and larger aircraft as time goes on. Even in Helena
there are trends to ultimately consider mainline (737 and larger) aircraft due
to the transition from smaller more frequent flights to larger aircraft. Alaska
Airlines is another example as they transition from the ground boarded Q400
turbo prop to the EMB 175 jet boarded through a jet bridge in late 2022. The
airport expansion also included a ground boarding station to accommodate any
smaller commuter aircraft that may still exist in the fleet into the future.
Additionally, the previous terminal lacked other amenities such as a restaurant
in the gate areas or additional elevators and restroom facilities. Additional
wi-fi and electronic charging stations were also added.




WHAT SPECIFICALLY CAN THE HELENA REGIONAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY AND THE HELENA
COMMUNITY DO TO INCREASE AIR SERVICE AND INDIRECTLY ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE HIGH
FARES?

As previously mentioned, the Airport Authority has no direct control over the
price of tickets, however, additional seats in a market typically reduces fares
overall due to supply and demand. Airports are under certain limitations and
restrictions based on Federal laws regarding what the airport can and cannot do
with respect to seeking more flights. Airports cannot legally use airport funds
towards airline revenue guarantees or incentives. This leaves the airport with
only a few options, all of which the Helena Airport is currently doing. These
include:

 * Hiring an industry expert to assist with air service recruitment – The
   Airport Authority issued a Request for Proposals to hire the services of a
   professional air service consultant. Boyd Group International was selected to
   assist the Helena Regional Airport Authority in its efforts to maintain and
   attract new service.  Boyd Group International has been a respected air
   service consultant for over 35 years and has a proven track record of success
   with numerous airports and communities. The Airport Authority has also
   previously worked with Sixel Consulting which was in business for decades and
   led by the late Mark Sixel who tragically passed away in 2020.  Mark and his
   team assisted Helena in attracting United Airlines to begin service in Helena
   back in 2008.
 * FAA-Approved Air Service Incentive Program – This program provides airlines a
   two-year period in which no airport use fees are charged for new airline
   service that is provided by existing or new airlines.
 * Airline – Wide Fee Waiver – January 2022 – The Airport Commission unanimously
   approved waiving use fees to all airlines currently serving Helena for the
   month of January 2022. January is typically the lowest air travel month in
   the nation, and this was aimed to keep air service levels intact as the
   airlines rebuild their networks moving into 2022.
 * Small Community Air Service Development Grant Award – The U.S. Department of
   Transportation has an annual grant program that airports and communities can
   apply for to secure funds to be used for new air service risk mitigation /
   startup cost / revenue guarantees. Airports cannot apply every year and must
   wait 3 years following the use of a previous grant. In 2021 Helena applied
   for and received a grant in the amount of $1,004,743. The Airport is working
   with American Airlines on an effort to connect Helena with Dallas Fort Worth
   International Airport (DFW) as American Airlines provided a letter of support
   towards that goal for Helena’s Air Service Grant application. DFW has over
   230 daily connections which provides better access to the American network.
   American Airlines has not yet made a commitment to begin this service, but we
   are hopeful it will occur within the next year. In order to secure this air
   service grant, the airport conducted an effort to raise funds from the local
   community to supplement the grant. A large number of community organizations,
   businesses, individuals and others have donated both cash and in-kind
   sponsorships towards this effort. It is important to note that under Federal
   law, the Airport cannot legally use airport generated revenues towards
   airline revenue guarantees, so community support and donations are vitally
   important in our effort to secure grants and entice airlines into the Helena
   market. The Helena Area Chamber of Commerce has graciously agreed to
   facilitate the local funds to ensure compliance with the legal parameters for
   the air service funds generated locally.  The total incentive package
   available for this effort is approximately $1.6 Million including the US DOT
   grant, local contributions, and the airports fee waiver amount. As you can
   see, new air service generally requires a large risk mitigation/incentive
   package which is a large challenge to overcome. The airport cannot accomplish
   this alone, so it really does depend on the whole community.
 * 2022 Montana Airline Rendezvous – On September 7-8, 2022, Helena hosted the
   Montana Airline rendezvous. Every airline in the industry from big to small
   was invited to come to Helena to see our community, tour the airport facility
   and learn about its unique and cost-effective business model, and meet with
   airports in Montana to discuss service retention and expansion opportunities.
   https://infotourism.news/montana-airline-rendezvous-aims-to-secure-new-helena-flights/
 * Affordable Parking – While the airport can’t directly control ticket prices,
   we can control the other ancillary factors such as parking rates. The airport
   provides free short-term parking and a very low cost $5/day long term
   parking. This is unique, even within Montana as most airports are
   significantly higher priced with respect to parking fees.
 * Helena Air Service Alliance – The airport is being supported by a number of
   community stakeholders in our continued quest to improve air service. Air
   service development today is an ongoing effort and will require that the
   airport and community work hand-in-hand into the future. There are also
   restrictions under Federal laws that prevent airport funds being used for air
   service incentives and other costs, so this makes it important to have
   community organizations involved to help facilitate those community generated
   funds. Examples of these entities include the Helena Chamber of Commerce,
   Montana Business Assistance Connection and the Tourism Business Improvement
   District and many local businesses, organizations and other government
   entities. To donate funds to the Air Service Alliance please contact Callie
   Aschim at the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce at (406)-442-4120 or at
   caschim@helenachamber.com.

 

Hometown Helena Airport Update Presentation

To view a recent Hometown Helena presentation please go to this link:
https://hometownhelena.blogspot.com/2022/07/thursday-july-28-grandstreet-live.html
(the airport presentation begins about 30 minutes into the video).

 

How The Airport Authority Operates

Here is an additional video about the Helena Regional Airport Authority that
provides an overview of how the airport operates, how it is funded, how air
service recruitment works, and the airport’s business model to keep the
1,400-acre campus updated and efficient, in addition to commercial airline
service:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiBryyMmAww

 


RMESTC

The Rocky Mountain Emergency Services Training Center provides the most
realistic first responder training available in the world today. More about
RMESTC


U.S. MILITARY

The Helena Regional Airport has had a long, successful relationship with the
U.S. Military dating back to the 1930’s. Read more about the U.S. Military at
the airport.


U.S. CUSTOMS

U.S. Customs Landing Rights are available on the south side of the Helena
Regional Airport airfield off Taxiway C. U.S. Customs Landing Rights

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