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Changing economics means legacy airlines are leaving regional airports The pilot
shortage and changing economics are to blame for legacy airlines departing
regional airports


BUSINESS


MORE SMALL AIRPORTS ARE BEING CUT OFF FROM THE AIR TRAVEL NETWORK. THIS IS WHY

September 4, 20235:25 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition

By 

Adam Bearne

MORE SMALL AIRPORTS ARE BEING CUT OFF FROM THE AIR TRAVEL NETWORK. THIS IS WHY

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Enlarge this image

The Williamsport Regional Airport in Montoursville, Pa. Heather Ainsworth for
The Washington Post/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Heather Ainsworth for The Washington Post/Getty Images


The Williamsport Regional Airport in Montoursville, Pa.

Heather Ainsworth for The Washington Post/Getty Images

Walking into Pennsylvania's Williamsport Regional Airport is a strange
experience.

It has everything you're used to seeing in a terminal building: check-in desks,
a baggage carousel, car rental counters.

But there's one thing missing — passengers.

There haven't been any commercial airline flights out of Williamsport since
American Airlines left in 2021.

To lose service entirely is rare. But the withdrawal of legacy airlines from
regional airports is a growing phenomenon.

American, Delta and United combined have left 74 regional airports since the
beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study by aviation consulting
firm Ailevon Pacific.




CHANGING ECONOMICS

A shortage of pilots is partially to blame for major airlines' departure from
smaller airports. But changing airline economics means the challenge facing
regional airports could become insurmountable.

"The 50-seat jet today is just not economic as it was 10 years ago. Labor costs
going up. Fuel costs going up. Maintenance costs going up. And it's hard for
that airplane at that seat size to be profitable," longtime industry analyst
William Swelbar told Morning Edition.

Those are the planes that typically service regional airports like Williamsport,
which is why we're likely to see more small cities lose their airline service,
according to Swelbar.

"In the West, the distances are greater, the terrain is more difficult, people
need to fly. Whereas you look in the East, there's lots of airports that are
located in a certain geography. And the highway system is terrific. That's why
there will be more Williamsport," he said.

As regional airports increasingly run out of options for passengers, it will
change how many Americans begin their journeys, Swelbar believes.

"The highway has become and will become the first access point to the air
transportation grid going forward," he added. "Not every community can support
the trend toward larger airframes."




HARD FEELINGS

Despite the economics, the way legacy airlines are leaving smaller cities is
frustrating to Richard Howell, the executive director at Williamsport Regional
Airport.

"During COVID the airlines took $55 billion worth of money from the government
for a variety of loans and PPP and all the rest of it. And as soon as COVID's
gone, they start pulling out of markets like mine. I mean, they're literally
abandoning rural America," he said.

Enlarge this image

Richard Howell, the executive director at Williamsport Regional Airport, stands
in the terminal building. Adam Bearne/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Adam Bearne/NPR


Richard Howell, the executive director at Williamsport Regional Airport, stands
in the terminal building.

Adam Bearne/NPR

In a statement to NPR, American Airlines said: "It's always difficult to decide
to end service to a market and there are always several factors to consider,
including customer demand, alternative airport access for local residents and
industry constraints like the regional captain shortage."

The economic effect of their decision to leave is already being felt.

World Travel International is a travel agency based inside the airport terminal.
But in a cruel irony, the company's clients can't begin their journeys there.

"It's very sad. To know that we can't help people that need immediate service to
leave right from here. Or like our older clients, having to pay a driver to get
them to other airports because they're no longer able to make those drives,"
said owner Julie Johnston McManus.

"We've lost all our walk-by traffic," she added.


BEYOND THE TERMINAL

It's not just inside the airport where businesses are struggling because of the
lack of air service.

That's been identified as a big issue by site consultants looking to potentially
bring businesses to Williamsport.

The Williamsport Lycoming Chamber of Commerce invites businesses to visit the
city during the Little League World Series, which is held every year.

"We all work to try to get them to land their projects here. Last year was the
first year that we did it post-COVID. And it was also the first time that we did
it without an air service," said the Chamber's president and CEO Jason Fink.
"And the number one deficiency that was cited was the inability to easily get
here."

Williamsport Lycoming Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jason Fink stands on
a street in downtown Williamsport, Pa. Adam Bearne/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Adam Bearne/NPR

In another ironic twist for a city without airline service, one of the biggest
employers is Lycoming Engines, which makes piston engines for aircraft.



"When you're trying to conduct different business meetings and have the
opportunity to bring in prospective customers, you want to have that flight
service available in your city," said Shannon Massey, senior vice president at
Lycoming Engines.

It's also affecting Lycoming's recruitment process.

"If you're trying to have candidates come in and they want to be interviewed,
they have family members. And they want to know if they can or can't get to
their families in a certain distance," Massey added.

Shannon Massey, senior vice president at Lycoming Engines, next to an antique
aircraft engine at the company's Williamsport factory. Adam Bearne/NPR hide
caption

toggle caption
Adam Bearne/NPR


HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

Howell believes his airport can still make a comeback, if he can get some help
from Congress.

He wants Williamsport to get back into a program called Essential Air Service
(EAS).

It gives grants to airlines to fly to locations where it's tough to make money.

Williamsport dropped out when Congress changed the rules in 2012, saying that
airports who didn't use EAS funds the previous year were no longer eligible.

Back then, the airport didn't need the money. But it does now.

"There's carriers out there that all they do is EAS because it's fully
subsidized. They've got no risk. Even if I could just get back in the program
for five or six years or something like that, so we get past this pilot thing,"
said Howell.

"Just get me in the door. Ultimately we get back to where we were, where there's
no subsidy at all. The market sustains itself," he added.

But Howell understands the reality that cities like Williamsport are facing in
an era where smaller planes are grounded.

"The planes keep getting bigger and bigger. So you out there with your 75 seat
airplanes and things like that, you're next," he said.

"If we don't have some pieces in place that we get our elected officials to put
there for us, then you're just going to be next on the list," Howell warned.

Enlarge this image

An old Challenger jet used to train students of the Pennsylvania College of
Technology is seen behind a fence at Williamsport Regional Airport Adam
Bearne/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Adam Bearne/NPR


An old Challenger jet used to train students of the Pennsylvania College of
Technology is seen behind a fence at Williamsport Regional Airport

Adam Bearne/NPR


A QUIET RUNWAY

On the airfield at Williamsport Regional, a lone green tractor mows the grass.



But finally, a plane is spotted heading for the runway, a small blue and white
private aircraft.

It's the type of plane that might be used to learn how to fly. And this pilot
practiced a touch-and-go landing before immediately taking off again.

Circling the airport and repeating the process, there was no rush.

There's plenty of time for training when you have the runway all to yourself.

The audio version of this story was edited by Halimah Abdullah. The digital
version was edited by Treye Green.

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