CITY GETS AGGRESSIVE WITH AIRPORT MARKETING

When Greg Chenoweth's plane landed at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport a year ago, the candidate for airport manager saw potential.

Sure, the airport had its problems. The Federal Aviation Administration was abandoning the control tower. Airport subsidies were being slashed. Trans World Express, the only commuter airline flying out of Cape, was cutting flights.

But Chenoweth thought Cape Girardeau Regional Airport was a first-rate facility for a small city of 38,000.

He took the job and joined city staff in sloshing through a bog of difficulties. Airport marketing went by the wayside as dealing with the FAA and TWE took precedence.

Now priorities have shifted. The city is spending part of the airport's $538,000 annual budget on advertising, surveys and promotional open houses in hopes that landings and takeoffs will increase.

That famous billboard on Interstate 55 at Perryville -- "If you had flown, you would be there by now" -- went by the wayside. Instead, airport management funneled $375 a month into radio advertising on KGMO and sister stations KAPE and KYRX.

The ads, which run Thursday through Sunday to target business travelers, feature phrases like "take off with great bargains" and "Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, your gateway to the world." Newspaper advertising, paid for in part by TWE, will begin soon.

"I realized there were marketing needs, but it seemed like we were constantly taking care of other issues," Chenoweth said.

"Having a healthy airport is a quality-of-life issue," he said. "When the airport is able to serve the needs of the community, business people have better connections to the world and it's easier for families to take vacations."

Now Chenoweth and the Airport Advisory Board are focusing on three goals: increasing the number of passengers, increasing the air traffic counts and luring businesses to locations near the airport.

Dan Overbey, advisory board member and Southeast Missouri Port Authority director, said the question isn't what needs to be done, it's how to do it.

"Being with the port authority and as a citizen of Cape Girardeau, I'd like to see the airport succeed," he said. "There are so many opportunities with marketing, the question is which way to go first."

Business leaders within 80 miles of the airport recently were asked to fill out a survey on their flying needs. Of the 111 surveys sent out, 35 were returned. They showed people liked flying out of Cape Regional for the time benefits and because it is easier than driving. People don't like the low frequency of flights and departure and arrival times.

Chenoweth said airport staff will work with TWE on adjusting the times.

But the biggest concern right now is increasing general aviation traffic -- the number of landings and take-offs. Even if a student pilot circles the airport, landing and taking off several times, the FAA counts it as traffic. Traffic counts determine how much money the airports get in subsidies.

J. Fred Waltz, Airport Advisory Board chairman, said general aviation traffic numbers are more important than the number of people flying.

"That's what the FAA looks at, so why shouldn't we?" he said.

Waltz predicted a resurgence in interest in small planes. The more pilots taking off and landing at Cape Girardeau, no matter what the reason, the higher the traffic count.

Airport officials know one thing -- there is a large market of people driving to the airport in St. Louis who could be flying. And a Cape Girardeau-based business to get people to Lambert International can be successful, the way Bootheel Area Rapid Transportation has been.

Owner Ray Duffey started BART nine years ago, offering van trips to the airport in St. Louis. The times of the trips are dictated by flight schedules in St. Louis, and people have to reserve a BART seat two days in advance of their flights.

If BART confirms a reservation, the van leaves whether it's carrying one person or eight people. The cost is $40 one way per person, leaving from the BART office.

Randy Holdman, Airport Advisory Board member and former airport manager, said BART's customers could be TWE customers.

"BART could complement the airport service here -- taking people to St. Louis when the weather is too bad to fly," he said. "The way it is now, BART is an alternative. It's definitely a competitor."

Duffey, the owner, said there's no competition.

"We are competitors only from the standpoint that we may draw from the same pool of travelers," he said. "But the mode of transportation is so different."

Duffey said word-of-mouth advertising and his company's record of reasonable prices and dependability have kept it going.

It's an example airport operators would like to follow. TWE is looking for ways to make prices more reasonable -- some one-way flights connecting with Trans World Airlines flights in St. Louis are only $40. Other flights are in the $250 range.

And Chenoweth, the airport manager, is talking with other airlines to see about getting flights to other destinations. He declined to name them, but one is based in St. Louis and the other in Memphis. One may establish a route to Dallas.

"It's really early in the negotiations, but they are looking into the market," Chenoweth said. "It's a positive step. They could have just said, `No way.'"

AIRPORT SURVEY

The Cape Girardeau Regional Airport recently mailed out 111 surveys to businesses within 80 miles of the airport employing over 100 people. Here is a sampling of the questions and responses.

Does your organization travel outside Southeast Missouri on business?

Yes...14 No...1

During 1995, did your business use the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport?

Yes...14 No...21

What was the deciding factor in using the airport?

Ability to make connecting flights -- 2

Time benefits -- 7

Cost benefits -- 2

Easier to fly than drive -- 8

Caught charter plane -- 3

Caught private plane -- 1

Which surrounding airport did your business use?

St. Louis-Lambert -- 31

Memphis International -- 13

Paducah, Ky. - 2

How useful would service between Cape Girardeau and a second major airport be?

Very useful -- 13

Somewhat useful -- 13

Of no use -- 3