Anatomy Of The Airport Story
It started with the premise that Southeast Texas Regional Airport's main terminal remained in disrepairs two years after Hurricane Rita, with an expected industrial boom looming on the horizon.
Next, we got the statistics on boardings, which unfolded a staggering loss of customers in recent years. Then, we compared those figures to airports such as Tyler and Waco, where boardings in recent years have increased overall, despite them being as close to a major city's airport as we are to Houston.
With every piece of information we researched, a increasingly bleak picture emerged.
Customer losses. Not much in the way of marketing. A resignation to the downward spiral. A vision that focuses on land instead of air in the form of commercial development of available airport property.
The airport now joins Ford Park in the category of Jefferson County's alarming failures, ones that come with a kick to taxpayers' pants.
While the massive Ford Park outdoor arena, bigger than anything Houston has, sits there growing grass most days of the year, Southeast Texas Regional continues to hemorrhage customers.
Read all about it in our special report, which took about four months to put together:
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19055899&BRD=2287&PAG=461&dept_id=512588&rfi=6
Personally, if flying alone, I use the local airport. A round-trip ticket might cost $100 more, but I make up for it on the gas, parking and time I would spend going to Houston. However, if I'm flying with my family, I'm going to go to Houston and save a few hundred bucks.
As boardings decline, I wonder how close we are to losing Continental, our sole commercial provider. A region this size needs an airport with commercial service.
And the region, particularly Jefferson County, needs leaders with a vision to turn around the airport's fortunes, not surrender.
Next, we got the statistics on boardings, which unfolded a staggering loss of customers in recent years. Then, we compared those figures to airports such as Tyler and Waco, where boardings in recent years have increased overall, despite them being as close to a major city's airport as we are to Houston.
With every piece of information we researched, a increasingly bleak picture emerged.
Customer losses. Not much in the way of marketing. A resignation to the downward spiral. A vision that focuses on land instead of air in the form of commercial development of available airport property.
The airport now joins Ford Park in the category of Jefferson County's alarming failures, ones that come with a kick to taxpayers' pants.
While the massive Ford Park outdoor arena, bigger than anything Houston has, sits there growing grass most days of the year, Southeast Texas Regional continues to hemorrhage customers.
Read all about it in our special report, which took about four months to put together:
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19055899&BRD=2287&PAG=461&dept_id=512588&rfi=6
Personally, if flying alone, I use the local airport. A round-trip ticket might cost $100 more, but I make up for it on the gas, parking and time I would spend going to Houston. However, if I'm flying with my family, I'm going to go to Houston and save a few hundred bucks.
As boardings decline, I wonder how close we are to losing Continental, our sole commercial provider. A region this size needs an airport with commercial service.
And the region, particularly Jefferson County, needs leaders with a vision to turn around the airport's fortunes, not surrender.
posted by Brian Pearson at 5:03 PM
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