Port continues talks with carriers

MOSES LAKE - Nearly a year after passenger air flights ended in Moses Lake, the Port of Moses Lake continues talks with commercial carriers to restart service.

Growth from business coming back and BMW/SGL Automotive Carbon Fiber's plant completion should help the port's efforts, said Craig Baldwin, the port's executive manager, this week.

Air service ended because not enough customers were taking flights from Grant County International Airport.

The economy's downturn was also believed to be a contributing factor.

"In order to make carriers viable, we have to have bodies flying," he commented. "We will get air service back, but we don't know when."

Although much port space is leased to tenants, the port can make room for another company.

"We could make it work," he said. "I think we have a viable service need and we continue to work with that. The question is getting the right aircraft, for the right price, at the right time."

Paperwork for a federal grant aiding the delivery of prior commercial air service to Moses Lake was closed recently.

The grant covered service offered from June 2009 to June 2010.

Some funds remained within the $475,000 grant, resulting in the port not closing the grant immediately.

"Just because we lost air service in June 2010, didn't mean we couldn't use money to obtain additional air service," Baldwin explained.

He added that federal grants are only appropriated for a certain amount of time.

A total of $392,406 was reimbursed to the port by the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

The port's portion of the grant was 292,302, which was required by the grant's agreement. 

With the funds, the port paid a revenue guarantee monthly to United Express, he said.

Fifty-six percent of what was spent was eligible expenditures, with marketing and consulting not included in the reimbursement. 

Separately the community put forth $500,000 as part of a travel bank.