Bay Area air-service funds redirected to Pangborn-Portland route

EAST WENATCHEE — Nearly $290,000 originally raised to help bring Bay Area air service to Pangborn Memorial Airport can now be redirected to the airport's new Portland route after the Regional Port completed a months-long process offering contributors refunds and giving nonresponders a final 30-day deadline to object.

The Chelan-Douglas Regional Port Authority board authorized the transfer Sept. 8, moving $287,175 in remaining community air-service contributions into the funding package supporting new daily service between Pangborn and Portland International Airport.

CEO Jim Kuntz emphasized that the Port had contacted contributors twice before asking commissioners to authorize the transfer.

The first round of letters asked contributors whether they would allow money originally pledged toward Bay Area service to be redirected to Portland. Those who did not want their contributions repurposed were offered refunds.

The Regional Port refunded $52,600 to contributors who requested their money back, while $217,675 was affirmatively approved by contributors for reallocation. Another $69,500 had remained associated with contributors who did not respond.

Rather than treating those initial nonresponses as approval, the Regional Port sent a second letter notifying those contributors that they had 30 days to respond. If the Port did not hear from them during that period, their contributions would be redesignated for Portland service.

That deadline had expired by the Sept. 8 meeting.

“We’re being very transparent, very upfront,” Kuntz said. “And I appreciate the support of the community when we originally went out for this.”

The Regional Port originally sought community support as part of an effort to establish Bay Area service from Pangborn, including a proposed San Francisco route. In April, the Port told contributors that effort had been unsuccessful and that it had “no clear path” to securing San Francisco service at the time.

But Kuntz and commissioners also emphasized that the money had been raised around the broader goal of Bay Area connectivity, rather than solely for one particular nonstop flight.

The new Portland service does not provide a nonstop Pangborn-San Francisco route, but it effectively brings San Francisco back into Pangborn's network through connections at Portland. Travelers leaving Wenatchee will be able to reach San Francisco through PDX, while Bay Area passengers will likewise be able to use Portland as a connection into Pangborn.

That distinction became part of the board's reasoning for redirecting the money: the original nonstop route did not materialize, but the Portland service still provides access between North Central Washington and the Bay Area while adding connections to numerous other destinations.

The $287,175 in community contributions will form one piece of a $1.15 million revenue guarantee supporting the Portland route.

The package includes a $750,000 federal Small Community Air Service Development grant, the $287,175 in redesignated community funds and $114,220 from the Regional Port. The Port is also providing $50,000 for marketing the new service.

The Regional Port's original direct contribution toward the Bay Area effort was $60,000. With its current $114,220 revenue-guarantee contribution and $50,000 marketing commitment, its total investment in the air-service effort will reach $224,220.

Alaska Airlines will begin daily service between Pangborn and Portland Oct. 3 using a 76-seat jet. The new flight will supplement, rather than replace, Alaska's two existing daily Seattle flights.

Commissioners unanimously authorized Kuntz to redesignate the previous commercial air-service contributions into the Portland air-service account.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media