Branson commercial airport nearing construction contract

Springfield airport officials have doubts whether Branson airport will get off the ground

by Eric Olson

SBJ Reporter

eolson@sbj.net

It is the dream of Rod Murphy that airline passengers visiting the Ozarks will soon hear a new welcome from their airplane captains upon descent. It would go like this:

"This is your captain speaking. We will soon be touching down in friendly Branson, Missouri. As you disembark at the newly completed Branson Regional Airport, you will find live entertainment and nature at its finest. Enjoy your visit."

Murphy and his company, Branson Airport Authority Inc., are partners with Glenn E. Patch of Titusville, Fla.-based G.E.P. Inc. and Aviation Facilities Company Inc., a Virginia airport development and investment firm, in planning the Branson Regional Airport, a single commercial runway set for 900 acres owned by Patch southeast of Branson. More than five years of planning and $8.6 million already invested in studies, engineering and planning is expected to culminate with a spring groundbreaking for the approximately $70 million airport; Murphy said a construction contract is nearly finalized.

Seven firms bid on the project, Murphy said, with United Contractors Midwest of Springfield, Ill., the low bidder at $67,924,859 for grading, runway, taxiway, lighting, terminal, ramps, roads and a parking lot. Murphy said airport officials are meeting with UCM this month to finalize the contract. Construction would take 20 months.

"Once we have that contract in place we'll begin issuing bonds," Murphy said, which will finance the project.

But Springfield-Branson Regional Airport officials wonder if the airport will ever get off the ground.

"There's been people in Branson talking about an airport for years," said airport Marketing Director Sherry Wallace, recalling as many as four construction dates being pushed back. "In theory they should have been up and running right now and they haven't even broken ground yet."

Until then, Wallace is not commenting on the impact it would have in Springfield, which has two commercial runways.

"I'm not going to suspect on hypothetical (situations). The airport may or may not happen; they may or may not get an airline," she added. "It's not anything we worry a whole lot about, or anything we've devoted a lot of strategy to."

The impact is clear to Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Tracy Kimberlin.

"I can't imagine the impact will be good," Kimberlin said.

Springfield-Branson Regional Airport statistics show that as many as 30 percent of passengers into Springfield pay a visit to Branson. Losing that could diminish Springfield's tourism revenues, he said.

Feasibility study

The success of Branson Regional Airport is largely dependent on leisure travel. Feasibility studies indicate there are 250,000 potential passengers for Branson's airport, largely determined by Branson Convention & Visitors Bureau data: approximately 7 million annual visitors, 2.7 percent of whom fly a portion of their trip. Branson Airport officials hope to capture travelers who fly to airports in Springfield, Tulsa, Kansas City, St. Louis and northwest Arkansas and then drive to Branson.

Kimberlin advises caution in taking feasibility studies at face value, especially after Wonders of Wildlife attendance estimates were way off, forcing the museum to either buy back its bonds or close.

"I think there is some built-in bias in most feasibility studies. They tend to be biased depending on who's paying for them," Kimberlin said.

Uncontrollable factors also can throw off feasibility results. Case in point again is the WOW museum: terrorists attacked the country two months before WOW opened, slowing travel nationwide. Furthermore, Kimberlin said an IMAX and a connection to Bass Pro were factored in from the onset, and neither happened.

Murphy is confident in the Branson Airport study's passenger projections.

"We know for a fact there are travelers going to those areas and either getting on a bus or getting a rental car and driving into Branson," Murphy said.

Such dependence on vacationers may make it difficult attracting airlines, Wallace said, because most airlines are interested in business travelers. About 70 percent of Springfield airport's 653,253 passengers last year were here on business, which may have led to the addition of new daily Delta flights to Cincinnati beginning April 15.

Airline recruitment

Branson Airport LLC, the entity formed by the three partners, is courting discount airliners including Southwest Airlines, what Murphy calls "the king gorilla" in the low-fare industry. Others include America West, Air Tran, Frontier, Midwest Express and Spirit, Murphy said, adding that there are two front-runners he would not name.

The Federal Aviation Administration has approved air space for the airport, Murphy said. Final FAA approval is a security and safety review upon completion.

Southwest Airlines spokesperson Christine Connelly confirmed SWA officials made a site visit to Branson but does not know the likelihood of the company offering service there. SWA recently announced it would be entering the Philadelphia market in May, its first new city in three years. Connelly said SWA officials look for overpriced and underserved markets that can support at least 10 to 12 flights a day "with room to grow."

Murphy said Branson Regional Airport does not currently meet the SWA model, but there is a 50-50 chance Southwest Airlines would choose Branson. "There are over 200 communities every year vying for their service," he said. "It's a tough one."

Regardless of the carrier, Murphy said discount fares in Branson should drive down commercial fares in Springfield.

"My sincere belief is that there will be some initial low-fare opportunities from Springfield because the airlines that serve that market will have to bring their fares down a little to compete. In the industry it is called the Southwest effect,'" Murphy said, adding that he's seen it happen in metropolitan markets across the county in his 30 years of aviation experience.

Branson benefits

There's been some speculation that Branson Regional Airport would duplicate services offered in Springfield and northwest Arkansas. Branson city officials do not think so. They support the airport and see the opportunity for more visitors. They also realize the airport could be a tool to get more conventioneers to the planned convention center at Branson Landing and at no extra cost to the city.

"We feel it is another means of transportation for people to arrive in Branson," said Jerry Adams, Branson public information director. "People will still use the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport. You're just getting more airlines and a greater opportunity for more people to come to Branson by air."

Judy McCutcheon, manager of the nearby Boone County Regional Airport in Harrison, Ark., disagrees. Boone County Regional is 25 minutes from the proposed Branson site. Discount carrier Mesa Airlines serves the airport.

"I'm very concerned. It's been something that's been talked about for several years and looks like it's maybe going to happen now," McCutcheon said. "We are just sitting here with our fingers crossed hoping it doesn't."

McCutcheon said 40 percent of the Harrison, Ark., airport passengers are en route to Branson. "I'm afraid we'd lose that traffic and we'd lose revenue from fuel sales and rental cars," which comprise 80 percent of airport revenues, she added.

Like Tunica, Miss.?

Gaming in Tunica, Miss., has drawn as many as 13 million annual visitors to the city in recent years, according to the Tunica Convention & Visitors Bureau. Even with tourism nearly twice that of Branson, Tunica does not have a commercial airport. Its flight traffic relies on the general aviation Tunica Airport and the commercial, but cargo-heavy, Memphis International Airport, a 40-mile drive north of Tunica. Springfield is about 45 miles from Branson, and Harrison, Ark. is 25 miles from Branson.

Tunica Airport Director Cliff Nash said Tunica is largely a drive market like Branson. He said it would be at least another year before the airport adds commercial flights; the Tunica and Memphis airports have done an adequate job in getting tourists to Tunica, he added.

Branson Airport partner Frank Chambers, Aviation Facilities Company Inc. president, said Branson is different than Tunica because, No. 1, there are more direct flights into Memphis than into Springfield. "The second thing is Springfield is very expensive travel," Chambers said. "I'm in the Washington (D.C.) area, and I can fly to the West Coast frequently for $250 round trip. Sometimes going down to Branson it's cost me $1,250."

Taney County voters' Feb. 3 approval of casinos at Rockaway Beach may be an additional draw for airplane passengers. But Chambers said that idea never crossed their minds.

"When we first moved down there we were under the impression that the people in Missouri would just not approve of gambling casinos," Chambers said the day before the vote. "If it shows up, it may assist us; I don't know."