POLL: Transwest plays hardball, questions expansion in P.A.

Those recent events are the incidents at the airport that, as Lawless previously stated, cost the airline six figures in losses. According to him, inadequate snow clearing on the runways and ramps resulted in three damaged airplane wheels, cancelled flights and half a day, to a day of operations lost this winter.

This past week, Lawless raised these issues with city council as it was in the midst of approving new multi-year lease agreements at the airport. The per square foot lease rates will increase each year until it eventually reaches $3 per square foot of space occupied. Lawless feels the added revenue should go towards improving service levels at the airport, which he said resulted in financial losses to Transwest. He said the losses until now have been understandable, since increasing service levels would cost the City money.

He said he’s been largely supportive of the increased rates because he believed the revenues would be put towards increasing service levels. At Monday’s council meeting, he found out this was not the case.

“And if that remains not the case, then we cannot expand at the Prince Albert Airport,” Lawless said. “If, in light of the more recent communications that have occurred between ourselves and City Hall, City Hall changes [its] plans such that these funds will now be put directly towards increasing the service levels here, then I remain optimistic that we can expand our operations in a significant way here in Prince Albert.”

Lawless penned a letter to Mayor Greg Dionne highlighting the losses related to the level of service and expressed his concern about council’s lack of awareness about the concerns he raised.

On Friday, Dionne admitted council wasn’t aware of the service level issues and added “we don’t know everything that goes on in our operations.”

He said council was caught off guard because Transwest bought a building at the airport back in December and the City met with the ownership and fast-tracked the lease agreement. He said that at no time were any of the issues Lawless raised this week brought up.

Dionne is now looking to meet with Transwest’s ownership group the next time it is in the City. He will comment on the pressure Lawless is now putting on the City after he meets with the airlines’ ownership group.

At this point, however, he isn’t saying administration failed to communicate with council about the airport’s service levels. Dionne said he won’t know until he gets the full report and meets with those involved.

According to Lawless, Transwest had “ongoing” discussions with City staff about service levels at the airport. The discussions left him with the understanding that the funds would be used for improvements.

And because of this understanding, Transwest purchased the hangar and started to undertake the expansion at the airport. The hangar cost $250,000, and then the airline spent tens of thousands of dollars to make the property suitable for the expansion.

Lawless said if service levels do not increase at the airport, Transwest may need to look into relocating the operation elsewhere.

“And who would purchase the hangar for anywhere near what we paid for it if the Prince Albert Airport’s not going to improve?”

The increases are aimed at bringing rates up to fair market value and so the City stops losing out on revenue, which on Monday, city manager Jim Toye estimated to be in the tens of thousands each year.

In 2014, the City collected $57,376 in lease revenue at the airport from eight leases. In 2015, the City will be collecting $86,065.19, $28,688 more than the year before. By the time the increases have been implemented, the City will be collecting $172,130 for the leases.

On Friday, Dionne said the City “left money on the table,” by moving ahead with the four-year leases instead of three-year ones. By spreading the increase out over another year, the City won’t make an additional $30,000 it could have under three-year agreements. He said it’s important the public knows the City is being prudent by raising rates to market value.

Where investments in improving service levels at the airport are concerned, the mayor said the City purchased a new snow plow for the airport. He said it was conveyed to council that this new plow would be “more effective”.

He added that airport manager Corey Nygaard is looking into how the City would remove frost from the runways in the winter months.

Nevertheless, Dionne said the City will continue to monitor the situation at the airport, now that it is aware of the concerns. He said airport improvements are “on the list” of priorities.

The City’s response has not gone unnoticed by Lawless – everything he has heard from the mayor and council has been “greatly encouraging.”

“And [it]has led me to believe that the City is now taking this seriously and that the City will be dramatically increasing the service levels at this airport.”

Lawless said he will find out for certain when he meets with Toye. “But all indications that I’m receiving so far is that the City is on board to make this airport what it can be and so long as they are, then I want to be a part of that too.”

City manager Jim Toye was out of the office and will be unavailable for comment until Monday.

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames

by Thia James

POLL: Transwest plays hardball, questions expansion in P.A.

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