Bill Jaques: We don’t need commercial airlines for a great airport
Re “Modesto admits that chance of bringing back commercial flights is dim” (Front page, Jan. 9): Well, that is very true. Along with the many reasons mentioned for the disappearance of air service, the main reason was overlooked or omitted. The community did not support the airline(s). We failed to buy enough tickets to make these flights profitable for carriers, and no one can operate at a loss – at least not for long.
Unfortunately, we live less than a 100 miles from several major hubs – San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland and Sacramento.
So, what should we do?
Being a regional/general aviation airport is not a bad thing. I encourage city planners, the city council and any businessperson interested in aviation to visit the Auburn or Livermore airports. Both are successful regional/general aviation airports with opportunities for aircraft maintenance, radio shops, flight schools and, above all, a nice restaurant.
Auburn airport has a great restaurant with a patio from which you can enjoy breakfast or lunch, do a little hangar flying and watch the airplanes take off and land. Other than the Commemorative Air Force activities, we’re not offering a great deal of excitement or enthusiasm at our airport.
Bill Jaques, Modesto
This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Bill Jaques: We don’t need commercial airlines for a great airport."