HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-08-19; City Council; 17295; Chamber of Comm Airport Task Force PresentationCITY OF CARLSBAD -AGENDA BILL
AB# 17,295
MTG. 8-19-03
TITLE:
REQUEST TO MAKE A PRESENTATION FROM THE
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AIRPORT TASK FORCE
DEPT. CM 1
DEPT. HD.
CITY ATTY. e
CITY MGR GL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Receive presentation from the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Airport Task Force.
ITEM EXPLANATION:
The City Council provides an opportunity for citizens and organizations to have an item
placed on a City Council Agenda by submitting a letter to the City Manager. Attached is a
letter (Exhibit I) from Jan Sobel, PresidentCEO of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce,
requesting that the City Council hear a presentation on the findings of the Chambers
recently conducted survey regarding McClellan-Palomar Airport.
There is no action that the City Council needs to take regarding this matter.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None
EXHIBITS:
1. Letter to Ray Patchett, City Manager, from Jan Sobel, PresidenVCEO of the
Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, dated June 19,2003.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
June 19,2003
Ray Patchett
City Manager
City of Carlsbad
1200 Carlsbad Village Dr.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
RE: McClellan-Palomar Airport Sruvey
Dear Mr. Patchett:
The Airport Task Force of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce was conceived two years ago
and chartered under the Carlsbad Business Environment Committee. This Task Force is a
collective group of Chamber members interested in the future viability of McClellan-Palomar
Airport as not only a contributor to the regional air transportation system in San Diego
County, but to the local economy as well.
In the fall of 2002, our Task Force conducted a survey of Chamber members in order to gauge
their awareness of airport services and to solicit their input as regards to possible
enhancements to airport services.. The survey was submitted to more than 1400 chamber
members via e-mail. While this was the first time the chamber had attempted an email survey,
the response was overwhelming with more than 350 members responding.
We would like to put this subject on the Council’s agenda in order to speak to the City
Council and share our findings. While we understand that the City Council does not have a
hand in the direct operation of Palomar Airport, the City does have a vested interest in its
future and we thought the results of the survey would be of interest to you.
We look forward to hearing fi-om you regarding a Council meeting date.
Sincerely,
b! Sobel
PresidenuCEO
Tim Hutter
Airport Task Force Chairman
Item& 2002 MC CLELLAN-PALOMAR AIRJ"&
Fa*-&* SURVEY
INTRODUCTION
The Airport Task Force is pleased to present its Executive Summary of the recently
conducted McClellan-Palomar Airport Survey. As you are aware, this was the first time
the Chamber has attempted a survey by e-mail broadcast and while there were a few bugs
to overcome, the response rate of almost 30% was tremendous. This was the largest
response to date to a Chamber survey with 350 members responding. The objective of the
survey, which was put together by the Airport Task Force, was twofold.
First, the Task Force wanted to test the community's awareness of the services available
at Palomar Airport and to what extent those services were being utilized, such as airline
and charter services. This data will be important to airport service providers in planning
their marketing efforts. Chamber members at the airport currently offer airline service,
charter flights, sightseeing, aircraft sales, pilot supplies, package delivery, aircraft
maintenance and avionics, fueling, hangar and tie down space as well a venue for events
and hangar parties.
Second, the Chamber wanted to solicit feedback from the community as to what could be
done to make Palomar Airport more user friendly and to ask why individuals and
businesses were or were not using the airport. This information will be particularly
helpful to the County of San Diego, which operates the airport and is a Chamber member,
in planning future improvements and services.
Highlights of our findings:
Background Information on Respondents
As reported earlier, we had 350 responses to our survey, which represented a
significant sample of Chamber members and in turn, a significant representation
of the North County business community. The size of companies represented in
the survey, in terms of number of employees, was spread fairly well. Thirty-one
percent (31 %) of the respondents represented companies with 1-4 employees
while twenty percent (20%) represented companies with over 100 employees.
Respondents were also asked how long their company has been in business. The
response to this question reflected a mature business environment. Sixty-eight
percent (68%) of the respondent's companies have been in business more than 5
years, fifty-two percent (52%) have been in business 10 or more years. Only eight
percent (8%) identified themselves as start up businesses.
Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce
’.
Travel Destinations
Our survey found thatfifty-three percent (53%) of the respondents have used the
airport for business travel and forty-one percent (41 %)for pleasure or personal
trips. Eight-nine percent (89%) of these trips were on the airlines while eleven
percent (I I %) was on private or corporate aircraft.
The top destinations of respondents in order of popularity were:
Los Angeles
Las Vegas
Sacramento
San Jose
Phoenix
Washington DC
Chicago
Denver
New York
Hawaii
The airlines currently operating out of Palomar Airport provide direct service only
to Los Angeles (LAX) and Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Inasmuch, most travelers
are making connecting flights in these cities to their final destinations. There
clearly appears to be an opportunity for the airlines to expand their service to
these other destinations.
Air Transportation Issues
For those who fly out of Palomar regularly, the most important factors in their
decision to travel by air from Palomar Airport versus another airport were: 1) Its
proximity to home or office, 2) the decreased travel time door to door, 3) cheaper
cab/limo fares and 4) free parking.
The major reasons people choose not to fly out of Palomar is higher cost of fares
(45% of respondents) and the lack of direct flights to other destinations (42%).
When asked what the most important things that could be done to make Palomar
Airport more useful, the most common response was the addition of more flights
to more cities. Also high on the list was improvements to parking lots, terminals
and lower fares. Many also cited a need for better publicity and information on
the services provided at the airport.
The survey has made it clear that it will be incumbent upon the County, the City of
Carlsbad, the Regional Airport Authority and the airlines to jointly plan for the future
with these issues in mind. The overall importance of Palomar Airport to the regional air
transportation system will only increase as Lindbergh Field approaches its operational
capacity, which will happen in the near future. The Chamber of Commerce should take
advantage of the opportunity to help facilitate this dialogue between the interested
Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce
stakeholders to institute the changes suggested by the business community. The hope is,
that armed with the information derived from the survey, the County and those providing
airport services, will be in a position to better meet the needs and expectations of the
community.
Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce