Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009

MidAmerica 'flower flights' to resume this month

MASCOUTAH -- After a month-long hiatus, the weekly flights of flowers flown straight in from South America to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport are set to resume by the end of November.

What's more, by the end of next month, a second weekly flight of flowers from Colombia and Peru will be touching down at the airport to meet growing demand, according to Mark Kern, the St. Clair County Board chairman.

"It appears that the recession is coming to a close, and we hope to see an uptick in all sectors of cargo," Kern said Friday.

Flower sales will "pick up again and then stay fine at least through Mother's Day," he said.

The weekly flights of South American flowers -- which the county has marketed with the tag line "MidAmerica Fresh" -- were suspended in late September because of a cyclical downturn in the floral business, Kern said.

"It's a seasonal issue with the quantity of flowers," he said. "From what I understand, flower sales are down this time of year."

Tim Cantwell, the airport director, said the suspension of weekly flights made sense.

"Can you name a flower holiday in September?" Cantwell said.

Cantwell struck an optimistic note for the airport's air cargo future, noting that the flights from South America to MidAmerica and back "are full both ways."

MidAmerica has struggled financially since it opened nearly 11 years ago. The loss last year of its only regularly scheduled passenger carrier cut deep into its bottom line. As a result, the airport suffered a nearly 41-percent loss of revenue in 2008 compared with the year before.

Built in 1998 at a total cost of $313 million in federal and county dollars, the airport has posted total losses of $63.56 million over the past five years, a figure that includes depreciation and interest costs.

MidAmerica posted an operating loss of $5.3 million in 2008 -- a slight increase over the 5.2 million loss in 2007 and the $5.1 million loss in 2006.

For 2008, the airport posted a net loss of $13.1 million, according to the audit of county financial statements issued by J.W. Boyle & Co. Ltd, of Belleville.

The airport's financial losses led county leaders to transfer $9 million in cash and in-kind costs to keep the airport running, the Boyle audit report shows.

In 2005, the airport reported an operating loss of nearly $6 million in 2005 and slightly smaller losses in 2004 and 2003, according to a recent county audit.

Last year's financial shortfall has led to the layoffs of three employees, including the assistant director, leaving 12 employees, he said.