Gainesville Sun - June 23, 2001
By CHRISTOPHER THUROW

When all efforts have failed, everything is put on the table.

In both Gainesville and Ocala, a very small group of business people and public officials now develop and address all policy with regards to commercial air service. There is nothing sinister going on here, just a group of well-intentioned folks protecting their community's assets.

Gainesville Regional Airport is a city of Gainesville asset, and should be treated as such. This is the same for Ocala. But there presently is no mechanism in place that would allow these assigned individuals to act outside the box. To do so would be viewed as political heresy.

The spin provided by the Gainesville Regional Airport Authority regarding operations of the Gainesville Regional Airport is very "Gainesville centric," not necessarily "Alachua centric" much less "region centric."

The same goes for Ocala and Marion County. The position and agendas of these individual cities constitute the last 20 years of carrier service provided in the North Central Florida region.

Small cities can no longer isolate themselves with these parochial attitudes and policies. This is an economic fact of life. Ocala and Gainesville are the cities that anchor our economic region and must be willing to accept that they are joined at the hip.

These two municipalities should no longer hold the collective economic prosperity of our region hostage. The solution to our region's dilemma is to approach this as a business decision process, free from emotional pleas and city centric parochialism.

A shift in city and county policies with regards to regional concepts must be addressed. True regional thinking and collaboration is the vehicle that will provide sound decision making in today's' world economy. No city is an island.

There is no magic formula needed for a region to be provided with a better than acceptable level of commercial air service. There are, however, several basic criteria that airlines look for. These criteria are:

1) A facility located at or near the population center of the region. Our region today has a population base of over 800,000 people.

2) A public/private/consumer coalition based on regional demographics committed to one comprehensive plan that details the financial, conceptual and operational capabilities of the airport.

3) A sustainable level of business-class travelers.

4) The airlines are very leery of local politics. A regionally represented airport authority will be a necessity.

A critical first step in gauging our region's chances for success is a well thought-out, regionally focused proposal to present to the carriers. This

proposition would clearly delineate our position and what we would expect in return.

The basic premise of this initial proposal would require the consolidation of the commercial air service presently located at Gainesville Regional Airport to the more centrally located Ocala Field.

The name for the facility would be the North Central Florida Regional or International Airport. The facility has a Foreign Trade Zone status. Gainesville Regional would then provide general aviation facilities.

A modest new terminal would be constructed to provide for passenger service. This could be completed in less than three years. A subsequent five- and 10-year plan would be developed focusing on a larger facility built on land available at the west side of the airport. This would demonstrate to the carriers a solid alliance within the region.

In consideration of the airport consolidation, we would want the following commitments:

1) Service from no less than three major carriers.

2) Direct service to a number of out-of-state cities.

3) Consistent competitively priced fares.

A transition authority consisting of two members of each present airport authority and two representatives from other participating counties could oversee the proposal development and negotiations. In the event an agreement is reached, this transition team would oversee all responsibilities required for the new regional facility.

This proposal, if accepted, would obviously show what the carriers have always looked for in this specific market. If no agreement can be reached, we will have accomplished two things.

First, we have shown the carriers a willingness to cooperate over regional issues that are vital to the airlines profitability. Second and no less important is that it will provide us with a very good picture on where air service will then be heading in this part of the state for many years to come.

See June 23, 2001, issue of Gainesville Sun for original article.