Young Cougar Girls Have Growing Pains

Anna Cebula

By JENNIFER LEARN-ANDES jandes@leader.net
 Sunday, January 28, 2001 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





Ginger Godeck seethes when she sees one of the new television commercials
urging her to fly at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 She tries to, but every time the frequent traveler shops for airline
tickets, the rates are significantly cheaper traveling through Philadelphia,
Newark and Allentown. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Moosic woman and 15 relatives recently attempted to book a flight from
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to Las Vegas for a wedding. They will leave from
Philadelphia instead for $4,352 less - a difference of $272 per person. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``We can all go on another trip for that kind of savings,'' Godeck said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Godeck said the airport's television ads and ``Just Wing It'' billboards
are a waste of money, and she is wary of plans to increase marketing and spend
millions of tax dollars on a new terminal and other proposed improvements. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I don't care what kind of facility they have there because I won't fly
out of it until I get a better price,'' said Godeck, who lives five minutes
from the airport. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Airport officials argue that the marketing study will give them information
about passengers or potential passengers that they can use as a bargaining
tool to attract new airlines and convince existing airlines to lower rates. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Of the six-member airport board, Luzerne County minority Commissioner
Stephen A. Urban is the lone critic. Urban argues the project is a waste of
tax dollars because it is being built before airport officials increase
passenger rates or add more carriers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There's no guarantee the terminal will be built because the airport needs
$15 million in state capital funding, which would come from a pot of money
controlled by the governor. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Airport representatives recently asked area economic development groups to
join in their fight to get the capital money. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Governor's Office spokesman Steve Aaron would not indicate how Gov. Tom
Ridge is leaning, but he said the bottom line is that Ridge must determine if
the terminal would be a better use of the $15 million than hundreds and
hundreds of other educational, cultural and industrial development projects on
the capital request list. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Aaron said the governor considers all pros and cons, which in this case
includes the airport's declining passenger rates. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The number of people boarding planes at the facility decreased 7 percent
from 1999 to 2000, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is the only facility among the
top five airports in the state that lost passengers compared to a decade ago. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``That's certainly a factor. How much that would affect the governor's
ultimate decision is hard to say,'' Aaron said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 State Rep. Thomas Tigue, D-Hughestown, said he supports modernizing the
airport and believes Ridge will hand over the $15 million. However, he said
physical improvements won't be a cure-all. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``The biggest problem with the airport is the cost of flying out of there -
not the condition of the facility. Cost is what determines where people fly,
and I don't know the solution.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tigue said the airport is stuck in a Catch-22. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``We're told there are not enough passengers to warrant additional
carriers, but passenger rates are down because there isn't enough airline
competition to lower rates.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Linda Greene, spokeswoman of the Washington, D.C.-based Airports Council
International, said it can take years to attract an airline. A marketing study
is a good start, she said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``The bottom line is: Can we fill the planes and can it be a profitable
route to serve?'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Airport Marketing Study Stirs Emotions 
To A State Official, It's A Real Catch-22: Customers Want Lower Fares, But It
Will Take More Traffic To Get Those Lower Fares.

Airport Marketing Study Stirs Emotions To A State Official, It's A Real Catch-22: Customers Want Lower Fares, But It Will Take More Traffic To Get Those Lower Fares.