Blair Co. Airport Reports 'Very Good Year'

The Altoona-Blair County Airport rebounded from a low point in 2020 with a record number of passengers in 2021, according to Airport Manager Tracy Plessinger.

Manager Plessinger told the Herald that overall passenger totals for 2021 were 8,915 "enplanements," the aviation term for passengers getting on planes. That was the highest annual total since 2009, he reported.

In particular, December 2021 was good for the airport, with more than 900 enplanements in the month, the highest since July 2009, Plessinger said.

"The volume of passengers made it a very good year," Plessinger said.

The most recent total enplanements are:

2019: 6,844

2020: 2,836

2021: 8,915

Plessinger attributed the high number of aviation passengers to several factors:

• A recovery from the pandemic year

• College students discovering the airport as a way to travel home during breaks

• The quality of the flight experience provided by Boutique Air

Pandemic recovery

Plessinger said that the year 2020, with pandemic-related travel restrictions, predictably cut heavily into the number of people traveling by air. But once restrictions eased, "people were ready to travel," Plessinger said. "Coming out of the pandemic year, we definitely saw pent-up demand," he said.

Travel for both business and pleasure reasons increased in 2021, he said.

College students

"College students discovered the airport was a way to travel home on break," Plessinger said. "For example, we had significant travel home by college students during Christmas break."

Plessinger said that not only students from Penn State Altoona and St. Francis University used the airport, but also those from Penn State's University Park campus in State College.

He said that the airport and previous airline operators have marketed the airport to college students and those efforts might be paying off. Keeping fares low obviously helps, also, he said.

"We are hoping that now that they have discovered us, word spreads," he said. "Students talk to each other. So whether its traveling to spring break or home, we hope that students continue to use the airport."

He said that the airport and Boutique Air are talking to Penn State Altoona about providing transportation to and from the airport.

"That's a main point for students," he said. "They probably don't have a car, so they need a way to get here and back. We want it to be convenient for them."

Current carrier

Plessinger said that the services provided by the current carrier, Boutique Air, has also contributed to the improved passenger numbers.

"The airplane, the hardware, offered by Boutique Air, has been well received by passengers," Plessinger said.

Boutique Air operates a fleet of Pilatus PC-12 aircraft, Plessinger said.

According to Boutique Air, the Pilatus PC-12 is a product of Swiss aircraft manufacturer Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. The company, founded in 1939, has built more than 1,200 PC-12 aircraft since the first model's introduction in 1994.

The PC-12 is faster, flies at a higher altitude, and has a pressurized cabin," Plessinger said. "That means there's a more comfortable ride, a quieter ride."

The plane feels "more like a small corporate jet," Plessinger said, and travelers "have responded well to that upgraded aircraft."

Boutique Air reports that it adds soundproofing to its aircraft cabin to reduce the noise heard by passengers. The result is that passengers arrive feeling more rested, Plessinger said.

Another carrier-related factor is that Boutique Air, as of January 2021, added an agreement with a new airline for connections, Plessinger said.

Boutique Air now has carrier agreements with American Airlines and with United Airlines. That means that travelers can now connect directly to the larger airlines and check their baggage straight through to their final destination, Plessinger said. This offers convenience to passengers who are traveling longer distances.

"People often like one airline," he said. "They might be in a frequent-flyer program with one airline but not another, so the more connections we have to other airlines, the more options it gives people."

A good year

"All that made for a good year," Plessinger said. "We hope that people discovering our fares will help build on that and spread the word,

The airport hopes to build on its 2021 success, he said.

The airport receives financial assistance from the federal government in the form of the Essential Air Service (EAS) to help with the expenses of running a smaller airport with less activity. In 1979, when the federal government deregulated the airline industry, Congress established the EAS program to subsidize flights to the smallest airports. Congress acknowledged that keeping the airports open was important to rural areas.

Plessinger said that qualifying for the EAS program is based partly on how many enplanments there are at an airport.

"There are two thresholds," he said.

One threshold is a requirement of an average of 10 passengers per day, outbound.

"In 2021, we easily met that, he said. "Over 10 per day outbound, was not a problem

The other is that the total subsidy amount paid to the airline serving the airports needs to be $200 per passenger, he said.

"So we want the amount paid to Boutique Air to be $200 or less. We are still a little over, taken as a year's average," Plessinger said.

He explained that if December 2021 was 937 passengers and if the airline flew passengers at that rate for whole year, the subsidy to Boutique Air would be about $211 subsidy per passenger.

"That's very close to where we want to be," he said.

No major projects are planned, but the airport is in negotiation for construction of some additional hangars, early stages of that.

In all, Plessinger said, "we really just want to use what Boutique Air did in 2021. We laid a good foundation coming out of the COVID restrictions year. We still have challenges, but we are working on resolving them, and hoping that going into 2022 with these results is helping us.

Plessenger said that the airport's overall goal is to go over 10,000 passengers for the year.