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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.
Scott Elliott is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He writes about education, city and suburban issues, politics, business, workforce and consumer issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > August > 04
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Editorial: Airport garage helps Dayton keep edge
Next time you fly out of the Dayton International Airport, parking will be different. That could be good or bad, depending on your perspective.
Travelers who want close-in covered parking (and are willing to pay for it) will be pleased. Those who liked the cheapest economy lot the way it was will have to get used to a new setup.
For Dayton, the new $35 million parking garage is a key step in a thoughtful, long-term strategy designed to give the airport an edge in competing for more flights and lower fares and even the effort to attract businesses to the region. Yes, a parking garage can help do all those things.
Parking is commonly a big moneymaker for airports. In Dayton, parking income will be close to half the airport’s $26 million in annual revenue. The new garage is expected to increase parking income by $6.6 million.
The airport’s plan is to use that money to reduce even more the amount it charges airlines per passenger for each flight. Former Director Iftikhar Ahmad (who just left for the top job at New Orleans’ airport) made driving down the airlines’ enplanement costs his top priority.
Dayton now charges airlines just $3.50 per passenger per flight, down from $14 in 2006. Interim Director Walter Krygowski said the goal is to get below zero — to actually allow airlines to earn a small amount back for every passenger who passes through Dayton. If the airport can achieve that, it will be one of very few in the country to do so.
Dayton is on a mission to maintain a reputation for having cheaper flights than nearby airports in Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis. A quality airport with low fares makes the region more attractive to businesses that depend on transportation.
Many travelers are willing to pay extra for a garage. While the structure technically is a “short-term” parking area, you can park all day for $18. That’s three times what the cheapest airport parking lot cost, but actually cheaper than the highest daily rate of $25 for the short-term lot that used to be where the garage now sits.
Considerably more of the airport’s parking areas will be in the higher cost range, from $12 to $20 a day. But the economy lot remains $6 a day and is still close enough that many customers will walk or take a shuttle to the terminal.
To generate more non-airlines revenue, Dayton also wants to attract retail stores and restaurants to the airport concourses. And it’s developing outlying areas of its property for commercial tenants.
Holding down costs for airlines has been working so well that competing airports, especially Cincinnati’s, have been complaining about Dayton stealing business. On top of that, Cincinnati has seen a dramatic reduction in flights from what was once a thriving Delta Airlines hub. The result has been a closed concourse, raising alarms. Officials there have resolved to make new investments to make that airport competitive again.
The new parking garage might not seem like a big deal, but it helps protect Dayton’s reputation as a convenient, inexpensive place to fly from.
Permalink | Comments (13) | Post your comment | Categories: City of Dayton, Editorials, Scott Elliott, Transportation
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