TransPecos Air

ALPINE An initiative aimed at launching a regional air service in the Texas Trans-Pecos could take another step forward when the bidding process starts in July for improvements to the Alpine Airport.

Gil Bartee, vice president of JMK Holdings Management, said the Alpine Airport has received a $1.5 million grant to upgrade its runways and Tarmac. In a related matter, Bartee said Richard King of the Austin-based King Airways anticipates receiving a charter certificate for the regional service by late summer or early fall.

"We're currently assessing the demand through our online survey. We've just printed and distributed 30,000 rack cards throughout the Trans-Pecos Region to increase awareness of the initiative," Bartee said.

Bartee said he'll travel in August to Chihuahua City, Chihuahua, Mexico, to seek support for the initiative. He also said they're shooting to start on-demand air service this fall with scheduled service to begin in the first or second quarter of 2009.

If the effort to establish the regional air service is successful, it would fill a transportation void existing in one of the most remote regions in Texas and the United States.

Currently, residents of the Trans-Pecos must drive to Midland or El Paso to catch a connecting flight. Depending on where in the Trans-Pecos they live and which airport they're going to, that drive could be 200 miles or more.

Likewise, business travelers needing to get to Alpine, Fort Davis and other points in the Trans-Pecos also face the daunting task with few cost-effective options, particularly with gasoline prices at $4 a gallon.

The effort to establish the air service was started eight months ago by Bartee.

"I had initial discussions with New Mexico Airlines back in January about flying their Cessna Caravans into Alpine," he said.

"In January, I met Richard King of King Airways out of Austin who expressed an interest in bringing air service to the area. King Airways has two King Air B200s, one based in Austin and one based at the Midland International Airport. Richard and I formed the Trans-Pecos Air Service Initiative in February," Bartee said.

While saying that the government agencies operating in the Trans-Pecos would certainly use the air service if it was advantageous, Bill Brooks, public information officer for the U.S. Border Patrol's Marfa sector, was a bit leery of committing too quickly.

"I've been in this region for over 30 years, and I've seen several of these services that say they're going to come in and offer air service here," Brooks said. "And they never seem to last long, and I'm not sure why. I guess the traffic is just not there."

Alpine Chamber of Commerce Manager J.R. Smith said Bartee and others working to start the air service have been diligent at researching past failures to learn from those attempts.

"Some of the carriers in the past used aircraft that needed 19 passengers," Smith said. He noted that King Air will be using aircraft that only have seating for eight to nine passengers.

Bartee and some others are buoyed by the prospects of such an air service and results of a survey included on the Trans-Pecos Air Service Initiative website. Fifty-five percent of those who took the survey said they believed businesses would benefit from the air service. Most respondents said they now travel to the Trans-Pecos for leisure activities, business or family visits. Most respondents also favored landing at the Alpine Airport rather than at Marfa or some other Trans-Pecos airport.

Bartee said that, in addition to filling a void in the area's transportation infrastructure, the air service could also improve access to medical facilities outside the Trans-Pecos for those needing it.

In addition to serving as vice president of JMK Holdings Management, Bartee is associated with Sierra la Rana, an 11,600-acre resort located two miles south of Alpine on State Highway 118.

"We've put together a good business model," Bartee said of the air service plan. "We're using smaller planes, and the business climate is better now than when the last air service failure occurred."

But in the end, it all comes down to a matter of money. How much will Trans-Pecos Air Service Initiative charge to ferry people to and from one of the remotest areas of the United States? Will people pay the price needed to allow the service to remain viable?

Dave Durant, owner of Alpine's Ramada Inn and a former Border Patrol officer, said there's another niche the air service could fill beyond business transportation and flights related to health care.

"It could provide sightseeing trips to the Big Bend, along the Rio Grande and to other parts of the region," Durant said. "For X number of dollars you could see the Big Bend from the air.

"People in Dallas and other places need to come out here, but the drive scares them. You look at spending eight or more hours in the car. People's time is valuable," he said.

SHOW OF SUPPORT

Organizer Gil Bartee said the Trans-Pecos Air Service Initiative has garnered support from:

>> State Rep. Pete P. Gallego of Alpine.

>> Texas Comptroller Susan Combs.

>> Alpine Chamber of Commerce.

>> Alpine City Council.

>> Sul Ross State University.

>> Fort Davis Chamber of Commerce.

>> Marfa Chamber of Commerce.

>> Marathon Chamber of Commerce.

>> Midland Chamber of Commerce.

>> Midland Convention & Visitors Bureau.

>> El Paso Chamber of Commerce.

>> Presidio council members.

>> Lajitas Resort.

>> 125 businesses statewide.