I find it very interesting to see all of the places we can fly to out of Bismarck today.  It wasn't six years ago when the only two options we had were Minneapolis and Denver .  Now, you can fly direct to Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Chicago, Las Vegas and the other two previously mentioned cities.  We have three carriers to choose from (Delta, United Airlines and Allegiant) for our travel needs. 

   Now,  Bismarck Airport officials have hired a consultant, Sixel Consulting Group, out of Eugene, Oregon to come look at the future of Air Service.  Yesterday local business leaders got a chance to hear what options might be available and which are not.  They also got a chance to voice their opinions about the options we have and what they want to see.  Mark Sixel is the consultant working with Bismarck .   He says there is a short term option to add another carrier to the Bismarck lineup.  He says Frontier Airlines will be coming out of bankruptcy later this year and will be looking to expand its operation.  Frontier Airlines has its hub in Denver .  You might remember a couple of years ago Bismarck  responded to an RFP from the airline to see if they could add service at that time.  Instead, the airline added flights in Fargo .  But now it seems like our chance is here again.  It is something that we will have to watch closely

   I did find it interesting while I was at the meeting the top places people want to travel from Bismarck .  Number one is Las Vegas .  I presume it is because of the cheaper airfares from Allegiant.  This is followed by Minneapolis, Denver and Phoenix .  Sixel says he expects the Phoenix market to surpass both Minneapolis and Denver  in the not so distant future.  Another interesting tidbit I took away from the meeting was the one-way airfare out of Bismarck has gone up 31% in the last three years. 

   Sixel also made a very brief comment that I thought was interesting.  He says there might be a long term option to add more flights to the Minneapolis market.  That is something that might be interesting to watch down the road.  I say this because when you look at the Hector International Airport (Fargo, ND) website you find American Airlines will be serving that community with non-stop flights to Chicago in April of 2010.  So is this going to be another option down the road?  That would mean another carrier.  So, if we get Frontier Airlines and American Airlines that means five carriers serving the Bismarck Airport .  What impact would that have on airfares out of Bismarck ? 

   But in the meantime, you can do something to take part in the process.  The "Future of Air Service" is up and ready to be taken.   Take five minutes to let your voice be heard.  Take the survey by going to the Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce websiite (www.bismarckmandan.com) or the Bismarck-Mandan Development Association website (www.BMDA.org)

Healthcare Survey Update

   I am still working on the problems with the healthcare survey.  I hope to have that up later today.   Sorry for the problems. 

Brad Feldman
KX News
bfeldman@kxnet.com
www.twitter.com/aroundtown12
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