Branson Airport director busy readying for May opening

The site of Branson Airport is humming in the month before its grand opening, and Executive Director Jeff Bourk is at the center of it.

Bourk is busy with the final details - training some 30 new employees, finishing Federal Aviation Administration certification and wrapping up the Transportation Security Administration federalization process. Not to mention, completing construction of the 922-acre project - one that required moving 12 million yards of dirt in just eight months.

"It's been a scramble the whole time," said Bourk, who was the featured guest at SBJ's 12 People You Need to Know breakfast Tuesday at the Clarion Hotel. "It's nothing that hasn't been done before. We've just never done it all at once."

The fast-paced project schedule is due largely to the fact that it's privately financed - an anomaly among U.S. airports, which are typically funded by federal dollars. About $115 million in bonds were purchased in June 2007, and airport officials are eager to open the airport and generate revenue to offset interest payments. Another $40 million in private equity was put up by 50 owners, the largest of which is airport CEO Steve Peet.

Officials also are hurrying to get the airport online by May 11, in time for Branson's tourism season, Bourk said.

By the end of the year, Bourk is hoping to have 250,000 enplanements on the books, and 1 million enplanements annually isn't unreasonable for a 10-year goal, he said. The airport is targeting leisure travelers who wouldn't otherwise take a vacation but are attracted to low-fare flights and Branson's affordability as a destination.

That distinction is what will set the airport apart from Springfield-Branson National Airport, which typically draws business travelers, Bourk said.

"The media loves to make something out of a competition between us and Springfield. I never saw it that way," he said, adding that he expects low-fare flights in Branson to drive down fares in Springfield.

As for whether the recession will dampen the airport's success - passenger numbers were down 11 percent in Springfield last year - Bourk said there are still people flying, and Branson should have no problem claiming a small piece of the travel pie.

"It's like going to the ocean to fill a pail of water," he said. "Even if the tide is out, you only need (to fill) one pail."[[In-content Ad]]