Pivotal airline contract still up in the air

United local’s fares locked in

Which planes will be landing in Gunnison this winter and beyond? The 2010-2011 air program is taking shape, but the devil is still in the details.

The good news: American and United are locked in and loading. And the United local’s fares are available until November 30, with one-way tickets from Gunnison to Denver (outbound only) for $119.70, and round trip for $171.40. Both prices include taxes and fees, and the flights need to be booked one day in advance through either Crested Butte Travel at Crested Butte Mountain Resort or the Gunnison-Crested Butte airport.
As of June 15, the Continental Airlines contract is still being negotiated. Part of the holdup is Continental’s pending merger with United, which makes for slow going, according to air consultant Kent Myers of Airplanners LLC.
Another critical piece of the Continental deal, which would provide service from Houston, is that the airline requires at least a $50,000 startup fee to begin service in Gunnison. That money is used for installing ticket windows and infrastructure. And neither the RTA nor Crested Butte Mountain Resort has an extra 50 grand kicking around to cover the cost.
“I’ve been wracking my brain, and with our budget we don’t have that money to spend without it affecting us,” said RTA chairman Jonathan Houck. “The only way I see it is that our exposure on the MRG [minimum revenue guarantee] goes down, and $50,000 of the $325,000 goes to startup.”
Jeff Moffett, director of central reservations and revenue management for CBMR, approached the RTA about finding someone else to pay this fee during the June 11 meeting.
“We’re a big partner with you, and we are the only two partners in the room as far as MRG goes,” Moffett said. “We’re guaranteeing everything over the $325,000 the RTA can contribute, $800,000 at this point, and it’s our feeling there are many indirect beneficiaries throughout the county.
“It’s a one-time expense, a $50,000 placeholder, and an opportunity to bring another partner in the mix,” Moffett continued. “We’re going to find as much money as possible to cover the MRG and market the flights. But where can we find the startup costs in the community?”
According to Crested Butte mayor Leah Williams, the town doesn’t have it. “I think we’ve spent most of our transportation fund on the remodel of the bathrooms at the Four-way,” she said.
RTA board member Jim Starr, who is also a county commissioner, entered the discussion. “If the RTA came to decide that it would approach the county, I would not oppose that, as a member of the RTA. Obviously I don’t speak for the board.”
Houck reminded everyone the two-thirds of the county commissioners (Paula Swenson and Jim Starr) are also on the RTA board, which could be a source of conflict. However, if there isn’t a quorum—enough commissioners to vote—all three commissioners would have to vote anyway.
“I’m talking about us going [to the county] jointly,” Houck said. “Are you comfortable asking?” Houck asked Moffett.
“I’m not opposed to asking,” said Moffett. “There’s a lot of overlap between the commissioners and the RTA. There’s no hidden agenda here, CBMR’s bringing a lot of money to the table and we’re looking for some other partners.”
Board member Bill Nesbitt said, “Use the leverage—I don’t see any problem with going to the commissioners, we support the concept. I don’t think it would play as well with just CBMR going to the county.”
Nesbitt added, “We’re partners, Jeff. We’re not just going to the prom, but to dinner, too.”
At that point Richard Bond, executive director for the Crested Butte/Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce, asked, “Would it help if the Chamber went [to the county commissioners meeting]?”
All parties were amenable to the idea. It was agreed that CBMR and the chamber would get on the agenda for the county commissioners meeting on Tuesday, June 15.
They succeeded, but during the Tuesday meeting the commissioners said they wanted more time to consider the request and they scheduled a work session on the matter for July 13.