If the U.S. Department of Transportation concurs with the recommendation of the Cape Girardeau City Council, the city will have commercial air service to Memphis, Tenn., in addition to St. Louis.

At a joint meeting Tuesday of the city council and the Airport Advisory Board, the council unanimously recommended a proposal by Lone Star Airlines of Fort Worth, Texas to provide air service between Cape Girardeau, Memphis and St. Louis.

The council last week tabled the recommendation and asked to discuss the issue further with the airport board.

Phillip Trenary, president of Lone Star, said after Tuesday's meeting, that he was pleased with the city's recommendation.

"We didn't know what to expect from today's meeting," he said. "We wanted to make sure people knew we wanted this market. Of course, the final decision will rest with the DOT, so the fat lady hasn't sung yet.

"I think Cape Girardeau represents a good market for us," Trenary added. "If we're selected, it will be good for us and the city."

Phil Mishk, director of marketing for Trans World Express the airport's current commercial carrier said he was disappointed by the council's recommendation.

TWE also submitted a proposal to provide air service as part of the DOT's Essential Air Service (EAS) program.

Last September, the airline notified the DOT that unless its operations were subsidized they would pull out of the Cape Girardeau airport.

By filing notification that it was seeking a federal subsidy to provide service, the DOT opened the door for the city to seek other airlines that might be interested in serving the city.

Mishk restated Tuesday that if the DOT approves Lone Star's subsidy application, TWE will cease service here.

"TWE will pull out if the DOT agrees with what the city's wishes are," he said. "We really have no other option but to vacate the market."

At Tuesday's meeting, Mishk and Trenary touted the benefits of their respective proposals before answering questions from council and airport board members.

Mishk said the primary benefits of TWE service in Cape Girardeau derive from "code-sharing" marketing agreement with Trans World Airlines.

He said code-sharing allows TWE to offer better fares out of Cape Girardeau for flights that connect with TWA flights from St. Louis. He said the agreement with the larger airline also enables TWE to better coordinate flight schedules and benefit from TWA marketing.

Mishk said that with the "through-fares" connecting with St. Louis departures, it's often cheaper to fly from Cape Girardeau to destinations like New York or Los Angeles than from St. Louis to those cities.

"Generally our mission is to keep the fares at the same level or within $40 higher," he said. "We're saying if you're not a code-sharing airline, you're not going to have that."

Mishk said that although Lone Star proposes to serve both Memphis and St. Louis, the regional airline can't offer a code-sharing agreement like TWE.

"The benefits of a code-sharing agreement operating in St. Louis far outweigh the benefits of a regional airline operating in St. Louis and Memphis," he said.

But Trenary said that Lone Star's add-on fares for connections to flights on other airlines will be no higher than $40 round trip. He said the airline often is able to negotiate add-on fares for no additional cost.

Trenary said that in other markets where Lone Star has taken over for major code-sharing carriers, boardings have increased. He said the key to increased boardings is a city's willingness to work closely with the airline.

"Without exception, markets that work well are ones where the community's active and works with us," he said. "The biggest thing I can ask you to do is call the markets we serve now. The ones doing very well are ones where it's been a priority for the community."

Boardings were one of the key issues debated during the meeting. The airport board maintained that adding a second hub likely will increase boardings.

Airport Manager Mark Seesing said TWE's boardings have declined during the past three years. He said that in 1986-87, when three airlines served the Cape Girardeau airport, Northwest Airlink with service to Memphis doubled the city's boardings.

Trenary said he derived projected boardings between Cape Girardeau and Memphis by "diluting" Northwest Airlink's enplanements.

Seesing said that with a second hub, passengers whose flights to St. Louis are delayed or canceled can opt for a connecting flight in Memphis.

Most of the airport board members also said they were dissatisfied with TWE's service and were ready for a change.

"Fares, schedules, reliability and marketing are TWE's strengths," said board member Allan Maki. "But in the last three years, these have been their big problems."

J. Fred Waltz, the newest member of the board, said he recently asked other board members if they were satisfied with the "status quo" at the airport.

All said they weren't happy.

"We need to start building a market, not just to St. Louis, and Lone Star is projecting 3,000 boardings to Memphis," he said. "I think this is the time and place to make your move."

Board member William Walker said that despite the board's expressed dissatisfaction with TWE, the airline has done little to improve.