Today’s Winston-Salem Journal editorial echoes prevailing thought around here in the Triad, which is relief that Skybus didn’t survive long enough to qualify for PTIA’s generous incentives package. Such thought misses tthe point, says The Locker Room’s Paul Messino, poiting out it was “becauseSkybus needed ncentives to survive that their business was doomed to fail in a competitive market.”
The Journal editorialists conclude with this howler:
So attracting low-fair airlines to PTI is crucial. And, as bad as the loss of Skybus is, at least the Triad cities have a little money left over to throw at the next effort to support a low-fare airline at PTI.
That appears to be the mindset of PTIA board chairman Henry Isaacson, who said he’s put together another incentives package for a low-fare carrier “in a heartbeat.” I admit I’ve been disappointed in Isaacson throughout this whole Skybus deal and it makes me question if he represents the proper leadership the airport needs in the future.
This isn’t a knee-jerk reaction. I have great respect for Isaacson as a real estate attorney arguing rezoning cases in front of both the Greensboro City Council and the Guilford County Commissioners. Isaacson was always the voice of reason at rezoning hearings, countering citizens’ often emotional appeals with facts stating why a piece of property was suited for a particular purpose. I was looking forward to hearing Isaacson’s argument in favor of the Bluegreen-Haw River development because — this has to be said — we were getting only the emotional side of the story on that deal.
Which makes it strange that Isaacson was using emotion when defending the Skybus deal, using colorful phrases like “baby’s got a cold” in defending Skybus’ plan to cut flights back in March. In fact, I personally heard desperation in Isaacson’s voice when he spoke at the official unveiling of the Heart of the Triad back in 2006. In defending HOT, Isaacson conceded that the Triad market —and PTIA — just weren’t cutting it, adding that HOT was the “best bet for the future of this region. We cannot afford to sit back and hope that our market and our future will grow.”
Isaacson’s ‘heartbeat’ comment — not to mention the opinion of the Journal — should be of little comfort to Triad taxpayers. It reflects that the desperate mindset of throwing money at low-fare carriers — who will be more than happy to accept it — will continue at PTIA. If that happens, we could face an even worse scenario than the Skybus deal — an airline could actually linger long enough to qualify for incentives before going bankrupt.
Citizens need to ask themselves if this is truly the direction they want PTIA to take. If not, they need to look closely at the airport’s leadership.
