YAKIMA, Wash.- It’s now been six months of the early morning departure, late night arrival flight debuted at the Yakima Air Terminal.
So far, it’s brought in more than 3,000 new passengers to Yakima. However, it’s not making the airport money.
“The first report card we got, which was the first quarter, we unfortunately did not quite make the revenue levels that Alaska Airlines needed in order to be profitable,” says Airport Director Robert Hodgeman.
In three of four months, the flights have cost the airport more than is being brought in. The minimum revenue guarantee contract between Alaska Airlines and the City of Yakima has already taken $111,263 from the balance.
Hodgeman says the airport can sign up for another minimum revenue guarantee next year, but doing so would hurt other improvements YKM is hoping for.
He says if the Yakima community wants to add extra flights or a new destination, it has to increase it’s load factor, or average flight occupancy.
“If you want a direct flight from Yakima to Las Vegas, what’s going to lure an airline to come to Yakima is the statistics showing that we have high load factors,” says Hodgeman.
YKM reports the current load factor is at 72%, with 80% being the goal.
Hodgeman says the easy answer out is to get more people flying out of Yakima.
Some travelers still opt to skip YKM and drive directly to Seattle or Pasco for their flights. Passengers have told Hodgeman price in tickets is a factor.
The Airport Director says when you factor in the drive time, gas prices and other fees, it’s still cheaper to fly from Yakima.
“All roads lead to passengers occupying seats,” says Hodgeman. “It’s the profitability of the airline. It also creates an environment where another air carrier will want to come in here because they know that it’s going to be a successful endeavor for them.”
YKM has committed to improving the passenger experience to entice more travelers to leave from Yakima. New workstations and vending areas past TSA allow fliers more options, and a modernization project is set to remodel the terminal.
“It’s not just about that little bit more you pay for a ticket price,” says Hodgeman. “I recognize that’s important to folks, but there are other things that relate to the vitality of the community. Imagine if you were to lose the airport. What would that do to the community?”
