Commercial Aviation: Initial Small Community Air Service Development Projects Have Achieved Mixed Results Page: 2 of 89
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GAO
aAccountabiity Integrity-Reliability
Highlights
Highlights of GAO-06-21, a report to
congressional addresseesCOMMERCIAL AVIATION
Initial Small Community Air Service
Development Projects Have Achieved
Mixed ResultsWhy GAO Did This Study
Over the last decade significant
changes have occurred in the
airline industry. Many legacy
carriers are facing challenging
financial conditions and low cost
carriers are attracting passengers
away from some small community
airports. These changes, and
others, have challenged small
communities to attract adequate
commercial air service.
To help small communities
improve air service, Congress
established the Small Community
Air Service Development Program
in 2000. This study reports on (1)
how the Department of
Transportation (DOT) has
implemented the program; and (2)
what goals and strategies have
been used and what results have
been obtained by the grants
provided under the program.
GAO recommends that DOT
evaluate the Small Community Air
Service Development Program in
advance of the program's
reauthorization in 2008. Also, to
improve the effectiveness of the Air
Service Development Zones, GAO
is recommending that DOT clarify
what support and services it will
provide to the designated
communities.
DOT, in commenting on a draft of
this report, said it generally agreed
with the report and would consider
the recommendations as they go
forward with the program.
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-21.
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-
101SP.
To view the full product, including the
scope and methodology, click on the link
above. For more information, contact
Gerald Dillingham, (202) 512-2834,
dillinghamg@gao.gov.What GAO Found
The Small Community Air Service Development Program grants are awarded
at the discretion of the Secretary of Transportation. GAO found that DOT
considered the statutory eligibility criteria and priority factors as well as
other factors in evaluating proposals and in making awards. The number of
grant applications has declined since 2002. DOT officials see this as a
consequence of the large number of ongoing grants and the impact of 2003
legislative changes. In surveying airport directors we found that grantee
airports generally responded positively to DOT's process for awarding
grants, about two-thirds were satisfied with the clarity of the selection
criteria, while about one-third of directors at airports not receiving grants
were satisfied with the clarity. DOT oversight is based on reviews of grantee
reports and reimbursement requests, and DOT has terminated some projects
and reallocated the unexpended funds to others.
Individual grant projects had goals including adding flights, airlines and
destinations, lowering fares, obtaining better planning data, increasing
enplanements, and curbing the loss of passengers to other airports.
Grantees used a number of strategies to achieve their goals, including
subsidies and revenue guarantees to the airlines, marketing to the public and
to the airlines, hiring personnel and consultants, and establishing travel
banks. Results for the 23 projects completed by September 30, 2005 were
mixed: about half of the airports reported air service improvements that
were self-sustaining after the grant was over. Some projects were not
successful due to factors beyond the project, such as an airline decision to
reduce flights at a hub. However, it is too soon to assess the overall
effectiveness of the program, because most funded projects are not
complete-127 of the 157 awarded grants are ongoing. DOT designates one
airport each year as an Air Service Development Zone. The communities
selected in 2002, 2003, and 2004 expressed similar concerns about the
usefulness of this designation. None of the communities could cite any
effect the Air Service Development Zone had for them. Instead,
communities expressed confusion as to what DOT's designation was
supposed to provide.
Small Community Air Service Development Program AwardsNumber of grants
20020
4B13 2
108
40
6i 184
352004
Year
Source: GAO analysis of DOT data.W Number
of proposals
W Grant awards
- Reallocated
awards
- Terminated
grants
- Completed
grants2005
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United States. Government Accountability Office. Commercial Aviation: Initial Small Community Air Service Development Projects Have Achieved Mixed Results, report, November 30, 2005; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc302642/m1/2/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.