City of Bismarck Gives Wings To Next-Generation Air
Service Model
Mayor John Warford has
announced the signing of a revolutionary contract that
releases $1.25 million under a USDOT Small Community Air
Service Development grant. Bismarck's Board of City Commissioners
and USDOT previously approved use of federal funds to launch
Point2Point Airways. With the contract signing, Point2Point will
now begin providing affordable, customized air travel to businesses
in Bismarck and other communities in the region that wish to take
advantage of the innovative new service.
"Network connectivity is the key to business success in the 21st
Century. In the same way that the Internet wires us to the world,
Point2Point Airways connects Bismarck's businesses to commercial
centers and small communities alike throughout our region like
never before," Mayor Warford said. "No longer will commercial
activity in the region be constrained by the inefficiencies of long
drives behind the steering wheel of a vehicle."
According to Bismarck City Commissioner Bryce Hill, "The last
three years of researching this issue have convinced us that the
American air transportation sector is poised to undergo a
fundamental realignment. Technology and regulatory reform are
shifting us away from a scheduled, hub-and-spoke system to an
on-demand, customized air travel model. Point2Point Airways
represents Bismarck's opportunity not only to participate in this
new future, but actually to shape it."
Under the Point2Point Airways membership program, businesses
purchase pre-paid blocks of travel time. When member companies wish
to fly, Point2Point will dispatch an airplane and pilot to pick up
passengers and fly them directly to their destination airport and
home again - when and where they choose - according to itineraries
that travelers customize for themselves to meet their own
personalized schedules.
"Just like every Fortune 100 company in the United States today
with a corporate flight department, regional businesses will very
soon have their own dedicated fleet of on-demand aircraft
available," said Point2Point Senior VP of Sales Robert
Crumpton.
Point2Point will launch using new Cirrus SR22 aircraft built by
regional manufacturer Cirrus Design. "We are delighted to be part
of this exciting new opportunity and proud to have been chosen to
help ensure the success of this new endeavor," according to Cirrus
Executive VP of Sales and Marketing John M. Bingham.
Under the Point2Point plan, an affiliated network of regional
air charter operators will provide service augmenting the Cirrus
fleet's capabilities. An online reservations system is under
development to allow Point2Point affiliates to promote their
charter aircraft and book flights on Point2Point's Web site.
Travelers booking flights on the Point2Point reservations system
will be free to choose between affiliated operators' aircraft and
Point2Point's fleet.
"After learning more about Point2Point, we are confident now
that this venture represents a growth opportunity for air charter
and fixed-base operators throughout the region," said Brent
Seifert, president of GFK Flight Support in Grand Forks, ND, a
full-service FBO offering aircraft fueling and maintenance
services, flight instruction and air charters. "We look forward to
a mutually rewarding business relationship with Point2Point
Airways."
Other general aviation businesses in the region also are
expected to benefit from increased fuel sales and the provision of
maintenance services supporting Point2Point.
"We are excited by the new business opportunity that Point2Point
represents for our expanding facilities at the Bismarck Municipal
Airport," said Bob Simmers, president of Aircraft Management
Services Inc., a Bismarck company operating a 26,000 square-foot
hangar and maintenance facility at the airport. AMS is responsible
for providing services supporting more than 150 area aircraft to
include Northwest Airlines and Allegiant Airlines.
In 2002, USDOT awarded a $1.5 million grant to Bismarck. Under
previous phases of the grant, the city used about $250,000 to
research the feasibility of launching a new airline to complement
existing regional air travel options. The city contracted with EASE
LLC, a North Dakota air service development company, which was
instrumental in assisting the city develop its launch plan for
Point2Point Airways.
"Our role now is to ensure that Point2Point has every
opportunity to succeed while honoring its obligations under the
City's USDOT grant award," said EASE LLC President John Boehle.
As a condition of the contract award, Bismarck is requiring
Point2Point to match - on a dollar-for-dollar basis - USDOT's Small
Community Air Service Development grant of $1.25 million.
"The City's match requirement is a threshold fundraising goal,"
Boehle said. "We will obligate Point2Point's executive management
team - which we are in the process of recruiting - to exceed this
target by a substantial margin in a focused effort to build a
sustainable regional air transportation business."
Research developed under Bismarck's USDOT grant indicates that
affordable on-demand air service provided by Point2Point will save
businesses considerable time and money by flying quickly and
directly to hundreds of regional airports throughout the Northern
Great Plains and Canada. Such travel eliminates long waits for
airport parking, check-in lines, security processing, boarding,
connecting flights and waiting for return flights. Point2Point
provides businesses with the region's first-ever customized air
travel option connecting regional commercial centers and smaller
communities - affordably, time-effectively and safely.
"The City of Bismarck deserves a lot of credit for its
sponsorship of this program, which so clearly benefits not only
Bismarck, but communities throughout the Northern Plains," said
Dakota Aircraft Services General Manager Larry Gustafson of Devils
Lake, ND.
"In the 15 years that we've been in business, never has an
opportunity as exhilarating as this come along. We can't wait for
Point2Point to land at our airport."