By Mike Gervais
Register Staff

8-12-2008

Staff at the Bishop airport hope to retain the newfound clientele gained this summer due to the closure of the Mammoth-Yosemite Airport, by making a few changes at the Inyo facility and offering better-than-average service.
While the Mammoth-Yosemite Airport prepares to begin receiving regular commercial flights this December, pilots and aviators who generally flew in and out of the facilities in Long Valley have found themselves spending more and more time at the Bishop facility.
“I think we may have a few folks who may stay here” when the Mammoth Lakes Airport re-opens, Lead Eastern Sierra Regional Airport Technician Ken Babione said. “We offer them good service and lower fuel prices.”

And the friendly atmosphere and lower costs at the airport aren’t the only efforts staff there and county officials are making to draw more aviators to the area and keep them coming back.

Babione reserved a helipad at the airport for exclusive use by Mammoth Lakes pilots while the Mammoth-Yosemite Airport is out of commission. That move gives the Bishop Airport a total of 44 tie-downs for aircraft.
“On the Fourth (of July) I had 79 aircraft on the field,” Babione said, noting that 79 planes is about maximum capacity for the airport. “We just don’t have that much space.”
There are plans to add a little more space for aircraft parking by re-organizing existing tie-downs.
“There are plans to resurface the ramp area east of the terminal building in the next year or so,” Babione said. “We’re looking to potentially change the area where the tie-downs are” which will make more room for the aircraft and protect the planes from prevailing winds.
Inyo County has yet to send that job out to bid, but hopes to have a contractor begin work on the project within the next 12 months.
County staff has begun work on finding a replacement business to take over the space once occupied by Sierra Wings Cafe, which vacated its airport location about three years ago.
A request for proposals from interested businesses closed May 23 of this year.
As of press time Monday, the status of that RFP remained unknown.
There is also talk among members of the Northern Inyo Airport Advisory Committee of changing the name of the airport to make it more visible to pilots who are searching for recreational opportunities in the Bishop area.
According to Second District Inyo County Supervisor Susan Cash, the Advisory Committee believes that pilots seek out Bishop, as opposed to the Eastern Sierra, when searching for airports via the Internet.
With that reasoning, it has been suggested that the Eastern Sierra Regional Airport may attract more flyers if its name were changed back to the Bishop Airport.
“I don’t know that they’re going to make a recommendation to the county on that,” Babione said, adding that the committee itself has not had a formal discussion on the topic of changing the name of the airport.
The subject has come up, Babione said, but the Advisory Committee has been at a stand-still for the past several months because it has not had a quorum.
“Right now we’re working on a Web page for the airport” that could be a resource for pilots looking to fly into the area, Babione said. “We’re in the middle of building it right now, then we have to run it through the Public Works Department and the Advisory Committee. I don’t have a date yet on when it will be up.”
When the Web site is up and running, Babione said it will have the “standard information” for the airport, from weather reports to information on the runways, fuel prices and the radio frequencies used by airport staff.
The airport Web page will also feature a photo gallery that will highlight some of the recreational activities available in the Bishop area, such as rock climbing, hiking, camping and, of course, fishing.
“It’ll be kind of like an extension of the Chamber of Commerce with any kind of activities that will entice people to come in,” Babione said of the Web site’s photo page section. He also said that the Web site will be subject to approval before it hits the Internet.
Babione said he will bring the plans for the Web site before the Advisory Commission at its next meeting.
At that meeting the committee should be able to form a quorum and make decisions and recommendations to the Inyo County Board of Supervisors.
Committee members have been working with the county on the possibility of reducing the number of committee members from seven to five, as it has had trouble recruiting members this year.
The Inyo County Board of Supervisors is expected to take up a discussion on the Advisory Committee at a future meeting.
When the Mammoth Airport opens later this fall, the Eastern Sierra Regional Airport will be fully equipped to retain its clientele.
“We’ve probably had a 50 percent increase in traffic with the closure of Mammoth,” Babione said, noting that recent fires have increased the number of flights in and out of the Bishop airport.
“That in itself made us order more fuel last week,” Babione said, adding that the airport has proven that it can effectively serve the increased amount of air traffic.