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How much would a pilot strike hurt Minnesota towns?
by Bob Kelleher, Minnesota Public Radio
January 8, 2004

Small towns are bracing for a Mesaba Airlines pilot's strike. For many Minnesota communities, Mesaba provides the only commercial link to the nation's air transportation system. Without the airline, passengers face a long drive to a larger airport. Small airports and businesses stand to lose money every day the carrier is grounded.

Duluth, Minn. — Arctic Cat is a big business in a small town. The company is one of the nation's best known snowmobile and all terrain vehicle manufacturers. Its home base is Thief River Falls, a Northwest Minnesota town of 8,400 residents. It's about an hour drive to Grand Forks, North Dakota, or five hours to Twin Cities. By air it's less than two.

Mesaba Airlines serves nine Minnesota communities in addition to the Twin Cities, and four more just outside the state's borders.

Mesaba is the sole carrier for Hibbing-Chisholm, Grand Rapids, Bemidji, St. Cloud, International Falls, Brainerd, and Thief River Falls. Thief River Falls gets two flights in and out each day. If Mesaba pilots strike, those flights would be badly missed, according to Arctic Cat's Jay Lusignan.

"We have fifteen hundred employees here in Thief River Falls," he says, "And a lot of people doing a lot of traveling. The opportunity of flying out of Thief River is a big advantage versus driving one hour to Grand Forks.

In the short term, a strike isn't likely to hurt Arctic Cat's business. But Lusignan says it would be a major inconvenience.

"We also have a lot of vendors who come to see us everyday, whether it be engineering stuff; manufacturing; you have it, you name it; they're coming into Thief River Falls," he says. "So that affects us as well. Vendors instead; would have to; go to Grand Forks North Dakota and drive one hour to reach the factory, which is just another step."

Hibbing, in Northeast Minnesota, sees two Mesaba flights, in and out each day. Hibbing Mayor Rick Wolff says he doesn't want to see a Mesaba pilot's strike. It would force passengers to seek alternate flights, more than an hour away, in Duluth.

"But I think that from the perspective of inconvenience; from the perspective of some lost dollars being spent in the community, certainly we're going to feel those issues, like any other community that has Mesaba flying in or out is going to feel," he says.

Duluth stands to lose more than half its airline seats if Mesaba shuts down. Mesaba connects to the Twin Cities to and from Duluth six times a day. The city has three additional daily connections through Northwest and Pinnacle Airlines.

Grand Rapids gets two Mesaba flights a day. Grand Rapids/Itasca Airport Manager Mark Hoyne says Mesaba carries four to five hundred passengers a month. The airport collects landing fees from Mesaba.

"We're going to lose approximately a hundred dollars a day in revenue,' he says. "Well, you don't think that's very much but if the strike goes on for a month or two months, you know, I don't have any revenues to offset that loss."

Incoming passengers spend money for car rentals, hotels, and restaurants. If the passengers don't show, that's money lost.

"In our area, you know, it's not unreasonable to say that maybe for the average and plane passenger that we get here generates about a thousand dollars of local economic activity," he says. "You know that could cost local business in the neighborhood of $4-to-500,000 a month."

And Hoyne worries about the long term implications. A strike disrupts travel plans, often for a long time after the strike is ended.

"Now there will be a fear factor," he says. "After, if there is a strike, and you know, people may be a bit reluctant. It takes a little while to get people back into normal. You know, we could feel the effects for several months after they start flying again."

Northwest Airlines says it will book Mesaba passengers on Northwest flights, if there's room. Hoyne says he's telling passengers its business as usual, until a strike is actually called. He recommends Mesaba passengers follow the news, and keep in touch with the airline or their travel agent for updated flight information.

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