The St. Cloud Airport is one of the best kept secrets in the state.

 

But that’s not good for the local economy or travellers looking for a more convenient way to fly.

 

Last week, St. Cloud Airport Director Bill Towle and Brian Myres, VP of Marketing for the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation, met with the Sherburne County Commissioners to talk about ways to promote the airport. 

 

The airport is located four miles east of the City of St. Cloud on 45th Ave. Southeast, just off Co. Rd. 7 in Haven Township. It was built in 1970. Commercial services began in 1993 with the Northwest Airlink to Minneapolis.

 

After Delta merged with Northwest in 2008, commercial service ended until 2012 when Allegiant began flights to Mesa, AZ.

 

After the airport received a $750,000 federal grant this year, commuter flights began on May 6 to Chicago on SkyWest, a regional affiliate of United Airlines.

 

There are currently two flights to Chicago/O’Hare each day.

 

Myres said when the service first started, the planes were about 38% full. Now they’re at about 63%. He said the goal is to reach 75%, which would give the airlines incentive to add more daily fights.

 

“We’ve got to get to 75% in order to increase service.

 

That would enable us to do more flights and go to more destinations,” he said. “People would love to be able to fly to Denver and transfer there because if you’re headed west to San Francisco or Seattle, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to go to Chicago first.”

 

Towle said adding more flights would also increase reliability. Currently, if there is a delay in Chicago, it could affect incoming flights from St. Cloud. People using the Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) Airport  have a lot more alternative flights to choose from.

 

Myres said the key is getting people to realize they have an alternative to MSP. Since O’Hare is the busiest airport hub in the world, people flying just about anywhere can transfer in Chicago.

He said lots of people use St. Cloud Airport. There have been 71,000 passengers in less than two years. But that’s not even close to the number of people it could serve.

 

“Our catchment area can support 20 flights a day with the number of people who could potentially use the St. Cloud Airport,” he said. “Brainerd, Alexandria and the northwest suburbs area key areas where it would be easier to fly out of St. Cloud. There’s a huge potential.”

 

Myres said the economic impact in the area of commercial air service is estimated at $10 million a year. That would help existing businesses and promote economic development in the entire region.

 

But one of the biggest benefits is the time-savings and cost-savings for passengers. Myres showed the commissioners a comparison between a hypothetical flight from St. Cloud and MSP based on fares from Nov. 21. Adding in travel time, wait time at the airport and parking, MSP was more than double the cost of a flight from St. Cloud.

 

Myres said there is virtually no time stuck in traffic, short lines at the airport and free parking in St. Cloud.

 

“It’s a great value proposition. People have to realize they’re not wasting all that time driving back and forth to Minneapolis and being stuck in traffic,” he said. “But getting the word out to those people, getting them to think about changing their habits and coming to Sherburne County to St. Cloud Airport has been a challenge.”

 

That’s why the St. Cloud Development Corp. is working with local partners to promote the airport. Myres said getting the word out will help the airport grow and provide more service. 

 

“When people are booking a flight, we’re asking them to check STC first,” he said. “The ultimate goal is to have the best regional airport in the nation, and I don’t think there’s any reason why we can’t do that. But we have to make this successful before we get there.”