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Examples of The Boyd Group
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Air Service With SCASD Funds

GAO SCASD Report

The Boyd Group, Inc.
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Since 1984

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The Boyd Group Advantage

Flash! - SCASD Grants Awarded. Finally.
Boyd Group Clients Win Big

The DOT finally announced 2007 Small Community Air Service Grant Awards.

We're proud to note that more than 20% of total program funds - almost $2 million dollars - went to clients of The Boyd Group. Again as in prior years, that's more than any other consultant.

Along those same lines, since the inception of the Small Community Air Service Development Program, clients of The Boyd Group have won over $21 million in grant funding - and that's way more than any other consultant, too.

Particularly, we're happy to announce that two of the awards this year - to Golden Triangle and to Rhinelander - represent repeat SCASD successes for our clients.

Ominous Cloud: Awards That Are Intended Not To Be Spent. While the awards are exciting, it must be noted that the current SCASD program has morphed fundamentally from its original intent and implementation back in 2002. It is increasingly clear that the focus at the DOT has shifted to looking for ways not to spend the dollars, instead of using it innovatively to actually fund programs that have a chance of real air service success.

The point is clear that Congress wants DOT to shift the money to EAS, a program that Congress refuses to bring into the 21st century. The original $35 million intended for the SCASD program was never funded, and half of the $20 million that was appropriated in the first years was taken away two years ago to fund EAS.

This year, not only did the the DOT award less than authorized, a number of the awards could be considered as nothing less than sure-thing "never-grants" - money for applications that under any earthly set of circumstances the DOT knows will never get used.

For example, a grant to attract a second carrier - indeed, a jet carrier, no less - to a market now experiencing barely a 30% load factor simply isn't going to happen within current or future airline economics, particularly when carriers are today dropping RJ routes with demonstrated load factors of nearly 80%.

DOT staff are well aware of current airline industry economics, and they certainly know that no carrier in its right mind, and without a political gun to its head, would even consider such a market. Today, with oil prices in the $90 range, ATC congestion delays, and huge gate constraints at big connecting hubs like Atlanta, it would take a pretty big gun to convince any airline to take such a risk. Furthermore, unlike the early days of the SCASD program, the DOT isn't likely to allow changes to the service target noted in the application.

So it's easy money back into the DOT kitty, but the political points of making an award have been achieved.

Then We Have The Interstate Airline Fantasy. As for other awards that are in little danger of getting spent, or are doomed to near-instant failure, there are those to support independent intrastate air service. This is regardless of whether they're for scheduled flights or for (non-existent) on-demand air taxi service.

The DOT knows full well that such schemes are DOA. The $1.5 million wasted in the first year of the program for a doomed-to-fail fruitcake air taxi deal in the Dakotas is not something the DOT could have forgotten. That money was completely and embarrassingly squandered.

Even as the DOT was preparing the 2007 grant announcement, a program providing intrastate commuter air service between Chicago/Midway and small airports in Illinois collapsed under its own weight and lack of traffic. Ray Charles could see that these things just don't work. So can the DOT.

So the awards given this year for intrastate scheduled and on-demand air taxi service raise real questions regarding how serious DOT is in regard to spending the money. In terms of market viability, these schemes are just slightly behind a snowball in the Sahara.

It's unfortunate that DOT staff are put in this position by misguided congressional policies aimed at under-funding programs such as SCASD, as well as pressuring the DOT to shift dollars to an outdated EAS program that's in desperate need of total revision.

Ominous Cloud II - Rule-Playing At The DOT. In the first years of the SCASD program, the DOT would bend over backwards to adjust terms of an award, and the intent was to have the grant result in more air service.

Today, it's playing by a different rulebook, or in some cases, a rulebook they make up on the fly. It's clear that, instead of trying to use the program to produce maximum new service, the objective is to simply try to not spend the money. Unlike in the first years of the program, grants have been reneged upon based on subjective technicalities. Grant extensions - once no real problem - are being rejected on the shakiest of logic. Applications aimed at communities gaining low-fare service are now tossed in the round file if another carrier has a monopoly on service to the hubsite city. Again, there's no doubt that the focus is now on how not to spend the money, instead of being a vehicle to build new air service.

But The Program Has Been A Success. Nevertheless, we are proud that again this year clients of The Boyd Group received more of the program award money than those of any other consultant.  

And over the past five years, we can point to huge successes at our client airports as a result of assisting them in turning the grants into real air service improvements.

The most most successful of any grant in the history of the program is that of SRQ. Enplanements annually have grown by over 55% - that's 600,000 additional 0&D - due to the results of a SCASD grant attracting and incubating AirTran. That carrier's initial success in adding ATL has led it to add several other markets from SRQ, most recently St. Louis. The success of AirTran was crucial to convincing other carriers, including jetBlue, and most recently, American Eagle, to enter the SRQ market.

As for next year, it's possible that there may not be a program, but time will tell. In the meantime, we're proud to once again be able to have assisted our client communities in gaining their share of SCASD money.

We'll be working with several of them in the coming months, as we did with SRQ, to turn the dollars into enplanements.

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The Small Community Air Service Development
Grant Program -  2006
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August 14, 2006. Grant Award Review

Awards were a bit later than expected, but earlier than we feared, as our e-mail to clients discussed last week.

The Boyd Group Advantage: We are pleased to announce that our clients have been awarded 32% of the total 2006 grant funding. As in past years, this is an achievement no other consulting firm can match.

This possibly being the program's last year, there were some disappointments in grants that were not awarded, but in most cases the rationale was reasonably sound.

• EAS communities generally were awarded grants only when it was for additional marketing.

• DOT was focused this year on applications that were aimed at bringing back service where it had been completely discontinued in the past. As a result, four communities were granted awards intended to initiate or restore lost service. Three of those communities had their grant applications prepared by The Boyd Group.

• Unlike in prior years, existing service seemed to trump specific service deficiencies. Communities which currently have strong air service, particularly if they already have LCC service - were generally not considered for grants this year. An exception was Jackson, Mississippi, which received a grant to recruit New York service. (We pointed out to the DOT that Mississippi is one of just a couple of states east of that river by the same name that has no nonstops to the Big Apple.)

  The DOT rejected, as they promised, (and as we warned our clients) any application that was aimed at adding service on a routing that already had jet service. Two airlines had strongly objected to such awards in the past, and it was clear that DOT wasn't going to risk getting into a post-award dispute.

Virtually all of the "spaghetti" applications (the ones that tossed a number of disparate grant objectives up in the air, hoping one or two would stick with the DOT) were rejected. Also rejected were the "gimme money & we'll figure it out later" applications. These, incredibly, asked for money, with the promise that by the time the grant was made, they'd have a study done to find out how it's be used. Round file.

The Grant Is Only The First Step. Going forward, we look forward to working with our clients to make translate these SCASD grants into actual air service improvements.

The Boyd Group has an unrivaled record in helping communities make successful use of their grant funds. Communities including Chattanooga, Charleston WV, Latrobe, Shreveport, Lewiston, Fresno, Sarasota, and Durango all have engaged the firm to successfully translate their SCASD awards into new air service. Even some communities that used other consultants to apply for the grant have turned to The Boyd Group to assist in air service development efforts.

For some examples of communities we've assisted, Click Here. If The Boyd Group can assist your community in air service development, we'd be honored. Give Tim Sieber a call at (303) 674-2000.

To get a view of how The Boyd Group assisted its clients better than any other consutling group in winning 2006 grants, click here. Airport Business magazine complied a summary of awards, including the consultants who assisted each community.

We're proud that The Boyd Group stands out.

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July 3, 2006. UPDATE

Possible Scenario: It's A Dead Program, So Who Cares?  There may be some word this week on SCASD awards. However, there are some intriguing things going on inside the Beltway. The concept that decisions will be made before Mineta leaves could be out the door - mainly because effectively so's Mineta. There's a good chance we've seen the last ghost-written press release from this guy.

Decisions are almost certainly made, but now we may have a different set of political circumstances...

First, Mineta's departure leaves just an empty chair where there was formerly an empty suit. Not a word from the Administration about a replacement. Second, since there isn't a grand DOT Poo-Bah in place to bestow the bucks, maybe the DOT feels more comfortable waiting a couple weeks, after congress returns from recess, to make the awards. Third, the reason could be that subsequent to the awards, any congressional anger will be aimed at that empty chair. Anger resulting from the program being sacked.

As we noted a couple of weeks ago, the rising costs of funding EAS could result in DOT tossing even more of the $9.9 million in SCASD funds into assuring that some places nobody goes to will continue to have EAS service with airplanes nobody wants to ride on.

General perception: If there's no announcement by this Friday, it may be a long hot summer.

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June 26, 2006. UPDATE

Mineta's Out. Indications Are Decisions Are Made. Since it's supposedly the DOT Secretary that makes the final decision on SCASD grants, it would follow that we can expect to hear of the awards  before July 7, which is the last day of Mineta's five and one half years in office.

So expect decisions at almost any time now. This is almost certain, in that if they wait until they can run it by whoever is the next appointee Bush dredges up, we're talking possibly months. The President has to a) find a replacement, b) run through the Kabuki Theater of Senate hearings, and c) then get the vote of the full Senate. Then the new DOT Secretary will need to get the lay of the land in office, in that, short of a miracle, he or she will almost certainly have near-zero transportation experience.

In the grand scheme, the SCASD deal is small potatoes. Better then even bet we'll have announcements later this week or by the end of next.

June 20, 2006. UPDATE

Grant Determinations - Within Two Weeks? It is now possible that grant awards will be made by the end of June.

The DOT could have completed the process and submitted the preliminary decisions to the Secretary to get final political-correctness decisions before the July 4 recess.

Don't Open The Bubbly, Yet. The fix is in: EAS may get yet another chunk of the SCASD money. Congress wants to keep funding for an EAS system that in many cases is nothing less than a waste of money. Like, at Pueblo (12% load factors on a 19-seat airplane, within 45 minutes of Colorado Springs) or keeping the ridiculous 1.75 hour service between Huron and Omaha, a rip snortin' 20% load factor - to a "hub" only in the minds of people who know nothing about the airline industry.

It is entirely within the realm of possibility that not all of the paltry $9.9 million allocated will be awarded. Congress is getting frisky about keeping EAS funding up, even if it means killing the SCASD program.

If only $7 million is awarded, or even $5 million, don't be surprised.

MAY 22, 2006. UPDATE

Grant Determinations - Local Match A Bigger Consideration? Based on information we've received, it may be that the DOT is focusing more scrutiny on the local match portions of grant applications.

They will likely be concerned with where the local funds are coming from, and how "hard" they really are. This dovetails with the DOT's not-too-subtle recommendations between the lines to avoid "travel banks" and "pledge" schemes as a source of funding. They also want to make sure that FAA airport grant assurances are not going to be violated, too.

In addition, they are probably looking hard at the percent of the local match, too. That's a touchy one. If the match is some peanut amount - say, under 15%, that's probably a red flag. But if, as in some applications, the local match is 200% or 300% of the requested grant, that indicates the community really isn't in dire need of any of Washington's gelt. (Like, if a community has a million bucks of its own, why would the DOT toss a couple hundred K at the deal, when they only have $9.9 million to work with for the whole program?)

But politics, like hope, spring eternal, and we can expect some of the grant $$ to be awarded to communities in states with the usual suspect powerful senators and congressmen. (Remember last year's grant to "study" intrastate air service potential in California? Nothing like spending money to analyze the obvious. Or, more accurately, a study to try to avoid the obvious.)

Awards are still probably likely in July, as it stands now.
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MAY 1, 2006. UPDATE

Decisions: End of July. Maybe. The DOT has advised that they are shooting to have the grant decision process completed by the end of July. No guarantees.

One thing pointing to a decision sooner than later is that there are only about 40 applications that logically have a chance of getting a grant. Some of the submissions are outright embarrassing. One is less than four pages and is an early candidate for the DOT round file. Several others are vague streams of consciousness, not applications.

But the remaining 40 or so appear to be very compelling, and most are clear, cogent, and focused. From that perspective, the DOT will have a tough time working through the selection process.

In the meantime, successes from prior years' SCASD programs keep coming. Durango just recruited Delta service to Salt Lake City. Lewiston, Idaho is seeing very strong load factors from its SCASD-induced Delta flights, also to SLC. Kalamazoo/Battle Creek, which attracted ATL service with a grant, is now in the positive revenue, no-subsidy column. And Latrobe, PA is seeing 70% load factors on its NW Airlink flights to Detroit.

The Boyd Group is honored to have been a part of these achievements.

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APRIL 10, 2006. UPDATE

New This Year: The SF424 Assistance Center. The SF424 nonsense was an added attraction this year. Our clients had Joan Keith on our staff to help them through the process, and to monitor, verify, and call them when DOT had the 424 notification in-hand. A couple of non-client airports even called The Boyd Group for assistance when their own consultants couldn't figure it out. Happy to have helped.

Figure Less Than 40 Grants, Again. Looking at the documents already filed, and culling out the usual and expected fruitcake applications, it appears that even with the reduced funding this year, there's a good chance for some effective grants. Rough estimate of applications that have a logical snowball's chance of a grant: about 35 - 40.

Gimme Money & We'll Figure It Out Later. One of the disturbing themes among a number of the applications this year seems to be the "spaghetti approach" - toss out a bunch of vague grant objectives and see if any of them stick to the wall at the DOT.

A lot of applications requested what looks more like innuendo and wish-lists than a hard, focused, problem-solution analysis. A number of filings simply ask for money to attract more service, or just flights to "another hub." What hub? Any hub. What's the actual deficiency? Well, don't know exactly, but we need it, so give us the money and we'll find another airline. Maybe at the local airline store.

One application actually asked for money, stating that they're not really sure what they want, but, by golly, by the time the award is made, the community will have a study done to determine where it'll be needed.

Matching Funds - None, Or Maybe Too-Much. There are several applications that are asking for big dollars, with virtually no local match. Then, there're a couple others where the hard-cash local match is two or three times the requested grant. In the first case, the DOT's made it clear that they want to see some long-green from the community. In the second case, it makes one speculate that when a community has a cash match of nearly a million bucks, the DOT could ask whether they actually need a grant in the first place.

Didn't Work Before. Let's Toss More $$ At It. At least two communities are requesting grants intended for the same general purpose for which they were awarded prior SCASD funding, and where in both cases the intended service failed. Don't rule these out - politics are involved.

Buy A Tug. Hire Handlers. Get More Air Service. Then there were several variations on the suddenly-trendy concept of "we'll buy ground equipment, and that'll mean lower costs, and that'll get us more air service..."  Not that doing ground handling won't reduce costs at some airports, under some conditions. But it seems that some bill of goods has been sold to a lot of small airports outlining this as a universal sure-fire way to lower airline costs and get more air service and/or lower fares (?) by return mail. Those of us who have actually managed airport ramp and ground operations at an airline have a more sanguine view of the matter.

Here, too was more literary spaghetti in a couple of applications. Some asked for dough to buy the equipment, as well as for revenue-offset funding for a specific carrier which, as yet unbeknownst to the airline, supposedly will rush to start service as soon as the airport takes title to a couple of belt-loaders and a GPU.

To be sure, the concept on paper is a good one to consider. But it isn't some instantaneous airline-catcher as some of these applications seem to imply. The question is whether there's a chicken and egg issue here with underwing handling at some airports.

Decisions: Maybe By July. Maybe Earlier. With far fewer applications, it's possible that we could see awards within the next 10-12 weeks.

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JANUARY 20, 2006. The DOT has issued a docket calling for applications under the Small Community Air Service Development Grant Program. Deadline for filing is April 7, 2006.

First, Order The Guide. The 2006 SCASD program has a number of significant changes from prior years. The required application format has been clarified. This year, applicants now need to "register" and file yet another clumsy non-DOT form that has almost no relationship whatsoever to the issue of small community air service. Furthermore, the grant criteria, reading between the lines, have changed.

The Boyd Group has prepared an in-depth Guide To Filing A Successful SCASD Application that covers all the details of the 2006 docket. The Guide will give you the competitive advantage. It's blunt, to the point, and gives incisive information on the 2006 program.

It reviews the the changes in this year's SCASD program, including format requirements and de facto revised grant award criteria. It also reviews the new filing paperwork that's required this year. We even include a copy of the dreaded Standard Form SF424 - Application For Federal Domestic Assistance - that now must be completed on-line. (Despite the name, it has nothing to do with applying for Welfare.) It's part of the new requirement for applicants to pre-register at "grants.gov" - an attractive federal website that's about as intuitive as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Boyd Group Guide To Filing A Successful SCASD Application includes reviews of what works and what doesn't, including a list of traps to avoid in crafting an application, and some of the awards that went nowhere simply because the intended use wasn't viable from the start. Since the inception of the SCASD program, The Boyd Group has been more successful than any other consultant in helping develop winning grant applications, and this Guide is a product of this expertise. We know of what we speak, and our clients will agree.

Bona fide candidates for the SCASD program can request a complimentary copy of the Guide by clicking here and we'll have a copy right off to you.  Quantify is one per organization, and we reserve the right to limit distribution.

Basic Outline of 2006 Program

In the meantime, here are the bare basics of the 2006 SCASD program:

Overall Program Structure: On the surface, not much has changed from prior years. However, the de facto award guidelines have shifted materially since the program's introduction, which are reviewed below.

Again, a maximum of 40 grants can be made, although there's no requirement that this many be awarded. No more than four per state, just as before. Consortium applications are accepted, but, again apparently referring to the rejected "consortium" application made by a group of cities in 2004, the DOT emphasizes that it must be a truly integrated proposal, instead of several individual applications bundled together. (As a practical matter, the very few consortium applications that have won grants have had dismal results in improving air service.)

Bring Some Cash: Between the lines: a local match is pretty much essential. The DOT wants a commitment from the community. The Guide reviews this in more detail.

Don't "Bank" On Anything: Again this year, the DOT is openly wary about travel bank schemes and "community pledges" aimed at pre-purchasing tickets. There's been some experience with these trendy concepts failing to interest carriers. Unless there is a hard and fast, clear and concise written commitment from an airline specifically supporting the travel bank or pledge scheme, the net effect will probably be the application being relegated to the round file.

Funding: The Program's Been Raided. The news is not good. After four years of overall success, the SCASD program is being financially sacked. This year, congress has hijacked over half the  SCASD funding, and slipped it into the Essential Air Service Program, which has degenerated into one of the most outdated and wasteful government programs in existence. Net amount: $10 million, less a 1% "rescission" for a bottom line of $9.9 million.

The reason is pure, naked politics. The EAS system can be almost effortlessly mis-used by Senator Snort and Representative Ripoff as soapbox pork. They get the EAS funding, and then trumpet it as if they just captured Baghdad, when the fact is that in many cases the EAS dollars won't do diddly for the community's air service connectivity. The SCASD program is essentially merit-based (in most cases) and that makes it less vulnerable to sticky-fingered mis-appropriation to win votes.

EAS is in some instances used to support lost-cause programs that sound good in a press release, but which often have no earthly relationship to airline and consumer realities. Examples abound, such as one-stop service from Huron SD to Omaha, which is passed off as a "connecting hub." Or, hour-and-a-half one-stop service nobody wants to use between Manistee and Milwaukee.

Instead of overhauling the EAS program to make it work for places like Huron within the context of the new airline industry realities, congress just wants to toss more money at it. SCASD funding is a victim of this inept leadership from the marble playpen on The Hill.

For 2006 - New Realities & A New Airline Industry Context. But there's still $9.9 million in the SCASD program that the congressional porkers have left in place.

Some key points for this year:

• Plan on <60 Applications. Last year, only 84 communities applied. We would suspect that it may be fewer this year, making the odds really good for an award for a well-crafted application.

• Smaller Is Better. Because of the reduced funding, the days of $1 million+ awards are probably over, with the possible exception of some really nuclear-level political pressure in a few cases. Therefore, this year, grants will likely focus on applications that are in the <$450K range.

• New Political & Other Pressure. Some types of awards that in past years have produced successful new air service are now out of the picture. If you're seeking a grant to recruit Frontier service to Denver, and United's already on the route - don't bother to file an application. Same with AirTran to ATL in any market where Delta is.

This is part of the revised de facto award criteria: This year, the implication is very clear that any grant that's aimed at supporting service into a connecting hubsite where there's already nonstop service will likely be dead on arrival at the DOT. That's regardless of how insufficient the existing service might be, or how the requested service would increase traffic, lower fares, and open connectivity and competition to dozens of new markets.  Between the lines, the 2006 docket essentially says DOT won't approve any such grants in the future.

Even in light of the success of such SCASD-enabled service at airports such as SRQ (where a grant made SRQ-ATL service possible, and ultimately spiked enplanements by 20% and lowered fares) or Fresno (FAT-DEN low-fare service), complaints by a couple of major carriers have essentially cowed the DOT from issuing any further grants for this type of service improvement.

We can thank United for this consumer-averse shift in policy. Last year, United's government affairs department filed a series of inept missives regarding Fresno's grant. Riddled with inaccuracies and supported by embarrassingly uninformed arguments (the writer clearly didn't do even cursory research on the program before firing off letters), United basically claimed that the grant represented unfair competition, leaving out the fact that its monopoly flights on the route approached 90% load factors.

Although the grant did exactly what the program was aimed at - increasing competition, lowering fares, and reducing monopoly markets - it's clear in the 2006 docket that the DOT doesn't want any more arguments with big-airline government relations hacks, or to pick a fight with the politicians who may be residing inside certain big carriers' back pockets. (Remember where the Speaker of the House is from.)

Note: Don't get misled by some consultants who might try to convince you that this is "just a formality," or indignantly tell you, "I spoke to DOT and they said they would consider such applications..." That's true...the DOT "considers" all applications. Awarding them is another issue. Take it to the bank,  this is a material, de facto change on the part of the DOT's approach to the matter. In the past, DOT had had no problem making such awards. Now, read the docket: this is a change from the past.

In fact, DOT has awarded approximately $3.5 million in SCASD grants to clients of The Boyd Group, alone, for service intended to compete in this manner, without any reservation. But this year, for the first time, they've qualified the docket to demand that there be a "compelling" need for such service, they actually imply that such awards could eventually hurt air service, and state that they would "look skeptically" at proposals that don't "address these concerns." Take a read - 3rd paragraph, page 5 of the docket. Ray Charles could see this one coming.

• Airline Service: The Bar Is Higher. Mega-carriers are in the process of making significant reductions in the number of RJs they lease from small jet providers. That means the bar to attract new service is up - way up. In light of the reduced funding this year, any applications intended for use as revenue guarantees ultimately will need some very convincing numbers to get past the first-level airline planners.

• Shorter Decision Time. Assuming the DOT has the staff, the decisions on grants should be a lot quicker this year. Figure by the end of July, as a very rough guess.

Even though it's been scaled back, the SCASD program is still an excellent source of funding to support a whole range of possibilities - a new marketing program, airline incentives to tweak service, an updated traffic-generation analysis, or establish a time-definite advertising program. Just keep in mind that the SCASD program is now much smaller in scope that in prior years.

The Air Service Development Zone - A Waste of Time

As with prior years, there is the option of also applying to be designated an "Air Service Development Zone." This was probably slipped into the legislation by some congressional staffer who had no clue about the subject matter. All this designation does, according to the DOT, is provide assistance in contacting government agencies that can help in economic development around the airport itself. There’s no money involved, and it appears that the designation simply gives access to the DOT’s federal Rolodex.

In the past, requesting this designation was just putting a check mark in the appropriate box on Appendix B. This year, a separate justification document is required that must outline all sorts of information, such as the property available for development, demographics and a detailed plan of development. Since this exercise brings in no money, and no real support from the feds, we would strongly suggest this whole silly burlesque be ignored.

In short, the Air Service Development Zone concept is unfocused and essentially useless. The December 2005 GAO analysis of the SCASD program tended to agree with this assessment.

The Real Challenges Come After The Grand Award. Over the past three years, The Boyd Group has been more successful than any other consultant in assisting clients in winning air service grants. Not only that, but we've been more successful, too, in helping communities turn their grants into viable additional air service - including some communities who used other consultants to originally prepare their application.

So, order the Guide by clicking here, and give Mike Mooney a call at (303) 674-2000, or e-mail us at Info@AviationPlanning.com, and we can get started helping your community get its share of this grant funding.

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The Boyd Group Provides Results
After The Grant Is Awarded

The Boyd Group's track record of helping clients file winning grant applications is just the start.

Since the inception of the Small Community Air Service Development Grant Program (SCASD), no other consultant can match our record of helping communities actually translate their SCASD grant into materially improved air service.

Note that these are just some of the communities that we've helped so far in translating SCASD dollars into better air service. We're currently in progress with a number of other clients in building better air service with their grants. Read on - and then give us a call. 

Joplin, Missouri: The Boyd Group helped this community re-utilize an earlier grant to implement new service to Dallas-Ft.Worth International Airport. In the process, the firm also assisted the airport in negotiating to attract an airline maintenance facility.

Marathon, Florida. Monroe County turned to The Boyd Group for assistance in filing its SCASD application. After the successful award, the firm worked with the county to recruit Delta Air Lines Connection service from Marathon to Atlanta, bringing air service back to the middle Keys.

Durango, Colorado. The Boyd Group worked with the community in crafting a SCASD strategy that would attract additional Eastbound service. The grant was awarded, and Delta Air Lines service was recruited to its Salt Lake City hub. The carrier initiated operations based on the SCASD grant. The DOT, unfortunately, eventually later reneged on awarding the grant for Delta service on the technicality that the service to the hub went north to access eastbound flights. (Strange, but true.) Nevertheless, the service is in place and is successful.

Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida: After helping the community win the second-largest grant award in the history of the SCASD program, The Boyd Group worked with SRQ to attract low-fare AirTran service to Atlanta. This has since incubated additional LCC service, resulting in 20%+ gains in enplanements through the first half of 2005. 

Binghamton, New York: Enhanced westbound and international connectivity was accomplished using grant funds to support upgraded capacity to Northwest’s Detroit hub. Traffic analyses by The Boyd Group were a central part of the data used to attract this service.

Lewiston, Idaho: After having won their grant, the community looked for a consultant that could best showcase their need for access to the East. The Boyd Group was chosen, and the result is successful service to Delta’s Salt Lake City hub that has eliminated this deficiency.

Fresno, California: The Boyd Group helped the community win a $1 million grant, which was then used to negotiate new low-fare service to Frontier’s Denver hub. The Boyd Group developed traffic, route and revenue data to convince the airline to enter the market.

Erie, Pennsylvania: Their grant was applied toward implementation of new service to Philadelphia and seasonal service to Charlotte via US Airways. The Boyd Group worked with the community in crafting presentations and assisting in negotiations with the carrier.

Latrobe, Pennsylvania: After working with the community to win their grant, The Boyd Group developed presentations and data that convinced Northwest Airlink to enter the market, re-establishing flights at a community that had earlier lost all scheduled service.

Charleston, West Virginia: The Boyd Group identified a specific need for service to Houston on the part of the local petro-chemical industries, and after the grant was awarded, the firm provided data to convince Continental to enter the market from its hub at Houston Intercontinental.

Lynchburg, Virginia: The grant that The Boyd Group helped the community win has been used to successfully incubate an upgrade to jet service by Delta Connection to Atlanta.

Chattanooga, Tennessee: Continental has implemented service to its hub at IAH to take advantage of the growing levels of commerce between Eastern Tennessee and Central America.

Rhinelander, Wisconsin: The Boyd Group worked with Northwest in crafting a program to increase capacity at this community. Subsequent to completing negotiations and initiation of the new service, traffic levels increased over 20%.

Kalamazoo/Battle Creek, Michigan: After assisting AZO in winning their SCASD grant, The Boyd Group completed comprehensive analyses that convinced Delta Air Lines to implement nonstop RJ service to Atlanta.

Muskegon, Michigan: Working closely with the community, a program was accomplished that convinced Northwest to upgrade service by adding RJs into the schedule to Detroit/Metro.

Tupelo, Mississippi: After being awarded a grant, the community turned to The Boyd Group, which identified significant potential traffic flows – both domestic and international – that induced Delta to enter the market with new RJ flights to Atlanta.

Shreveport, Louisiana: The Boyd Group identified emerging automotive industry traffic flows in the region, which Northwest found to be highly valuable to its Detroit hub. The resulting nonstop SHV-DTW service was so successful that the grant was shifted to upgrading capacity to Memphis.

The track record is clear. The Boyd Group is unrivaled in helping communities make the best use of their SCASD grants. Give us a call to find out how we can help your community achieve its air service goals.

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Highlights of GAO Program Review

In the first week of December, 2005, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report to congress on the effectiveness of the Small Community Air Service Development Grant Program.

The report concluded that the program "Achieved Mixed Results" - which in the context of the paltry amount of money allocated by Congress, means it was a huge success.

Not In The Zone. Most of the report's focus on the downside of the "mixed results" was related to the portion of the SCASD program that involved the "Air Service Development Zone" designation. Nobody, it seems, can figure out what that really is, or what it's supposed to do. There was no additional grant money, and almost nothing in the legislation that gave any idea what the "Zone" was supposed to accomplish.

As for the rest of the program, the only real concern the GAO seemed to have was that a lot of the grant money simply hasn't been applied to any real local program as yet. There are two reasons for this, neither of which were discussed in much detail in the report. The first reason is that it takes a lot of time to negotiate with carriers. The second reason - not mentioned at all - was that some of the grants were for projects that had no earthly chance of becoming reality.

Gimme The Money Back. According to the GAO, in a couple of communities, the grant was actually terminated, with the DOT recovering some or all of the dollars awarded. One of these was the 2002 program where a couple of Wyoming communities were Svengali-ed into investing grant money, as well as some locally-generated gelt, into buying a 19-seat Metro III, an airliner that as an investment made about as much sense as a down payment on the Brooklyn Bridge. They then turned it over to an airline, with the idea of accessing the huge untapped O&D market to Billings. After costing the airline involved enough to almost put it out of business, the communities finally peddled the airplane, likely at a loss. How much of the grant money was recovered was not noted in the study.

DOT SCASD Staff: Great Work. Nevertheless, the SCASD program is an example of how government can do things right.

One of the key indicators of this was the results of a survey conducted among airports which have received grants. In general, over 90% reported that they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the program, and - tellingly - with the way the DOT staff have handled the program. When one considers the political pressures that these people had to probably tolerate, that's a real tribute.

Great GAO Examples, Too. The Boyd Group was particularly gratified that a number of the SCASD successes reviewed by the DOT were at communities we assisted in filing the grant application. These included Charleston WV, Lynchburg VA, and Rhinelander WI. In the last instance, only about half the grant was needed, and the net result was a 20% increase in enplanements.

The Boyd Group has had more success than any other consulting in both developing winning applications and in working to use them to build better air service. We'd be honored to assist with your airport's application in 2006. Give us a call, or e-mail us at info@AviationPlanning.com and we can get started ahead of your competitors in developing a tactical and strategic plan to get your share of the SCASD dollars.

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