Editorial, 07/26/2007 - As city spreads wings, consider trans-potential

So with a sufficient number of prairie dogs sent gently packing, Santa Fe Municipal Airport is safe once again for planes to land and take off. And with the improvements comes news at least some people have been waiting for: Commercial air travel in and out of town is about to get a boost:

In December, American Eagle, an American Airlines affiliate, will connect us with Dallas and Los Angeles. Express Jet, a Delta Airlines partner, will offer flights to and from Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. Great Lakes Airlines already flies between here and Denver.

For those weary of the less-than-an-hour difference between the airport in our city and Duke City, and willing and able to pay higher fares for the privilege of avoiding I-25, this is good news.

For those living beneath the glide and takeoff paths, it means more irritation, but not much more: Today’s commuter jets are easier on the ears than the monster engines that ushered in the jet-set era.

The tourism business, which might or might not be in a slump, depending on who’s talking, is likely to gain — especially if the Chamber of Commerce and the Convention and Visitors Bureau promote Santa Fe as the great and now easy-to-reach ski destination we are.

And if we get snow this winter ...

Even if the planes hold only 40-50 passengers, fewer than half of regular airliners’ loads, there’s something about being on airlines’ departure signs that sends a signal that we’re all the more worth a visit. Thus this week’s news of two new airline agreements help create a snowball effect.

Canny travelers, we’ll bet, will go on treating Albuquerque’s classy Sunport as Santa Fe’s.

After all, the 75-mph run to the state’s biggest city is easier than the trip people in many American cities endure from home to airport.

But by offering these new choices to the well-heeled, our community stands to benefit. And lest anyone worry about a boom in air travel, the city — for now, at least — has hit its limit; the terminal will be full when the new birds land.

To his credit, airport director Jim Montman isn’t envisioning heavy traffic; he seems sold on the 30-yard-long, 20-yard-wide Embraer craft coming in with the new airlines. He sees potential for around 80,000 passengers a year — enough, he figures, to make the airport a useful tool of economic development.

But already, American Eagle is asking the city for a $200,000 subsidy to buy ground-service equipment, and a year’s free rent on top of that — add $20,000 to the municipal tab. Will our cash-strapped City Council cough up that contribution? It’ll probably pay dividends. Will Great Lakes and Express Jet make similar, uh, requests? Chances are ...

On the horizon, however, is the RailRunner. When train service from here to Albuquerque becomes available in the next year or two, the Sunport should look even better — whether to everyone, or just to the more economy-minded of us, it’s hard to say. But it’s a transportation dynamic our city leaders must keep in mind.

For now, Santa Feans can count coup — and ponder the economic potential of the impending air and rail connections.