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CHARTER SERVICES / SHARE A RIDE
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By
ROB SWENSON
Argus Leader
published: 1/16/01
'Car pool' service from Sioux Falls can stop in Pierre
A Sioux Falls flight-service company is taking the concept of car pooling to the
sky.
Business Aviation Services is launching what it plans to promote as the
Share-A-Ride program to improve air-transportation links between South Dakota's
two largest cities and the state capital.
Under the program, which is starting this week, companies and individuals will
pool together to share the cost of round-trip charter flights from Sioux Falls
to Rapid City, Pierre and possibly other destinations.
The program is designed to help fill a void in service created in October when
Mesaba Airlines, flying as Northwest Airlink, discontinued commercial flights
that connected Sioux Falls directly to Pierre and Rapid City.
"We do have a lot of people that need to get back and forth," Dale
Froehlich, chief executive officer of Business Aviation, said Monday.
The company has a fleet of 14 aircraft, including twin-engine turboprops, that
seat from four to nine passengers and will be available for the charters.
Business Aviation will circulate the dates of requested flights in advance,
initially by e-mail and fax and eventually by postings on its Web site.
Companies or individuals will sign up for seats at least 24 hours in advance and
split the cost of the flight. If only three passengers go on a four-passenger
plane, they would split the cost of the extra seat.
A seat on a round-trip, same-day flight to Rapid City on a filled,
nine-passenger plane would cost $295, and scale up from there. Flights will be
scheduled for a morning departure and an evening return, so that passengers can
spend the full day on business or pleasure.
Currently, people can charter a plane themselves. Or they can fly in a
roundabout way -- through Minneapolis or Denver -- on a commercial flight from
Sioux Falls to Rapid City. As of Monday, a short-notice, round-trip commercial
flight from Sioux Falls to Rapid City, going through Minneapolis on Northwest
Airlines, cost about $1,000.
Rapid City, the second-largest city in South Dakota, is about 350 road miles
west of Sioux Falls, the largest city in the state. Pierre, the state capital,
is about halfway between the two.
Over the past 20 years, six airlines have provided flight service between Sioux
Falls and Rapid City. No airline currently serves the route.
Bob Abbott, owner of Abbott travel agencies in Sioux Falls and other cities in
South Dakota, said he would like to see the Share-A-Ride service succeed.
"The problem they will run into is people have gotten in the habit of
jumping into their car and driving to Rapid City," Abbott said. "I
hope it works. It's a service I think at least a limited amount of people need
and want."
Gary Messerli, deputy director at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport, said it
makes sense for Business Aviation to test the market with the Share-A-Ride
program rather than immediately commit to regularly chartered flights.
"It definitely sounds like a good idea," Messerli said. "It
sounds like a good option for somebody flying to Rapid City on short notice,
especially for a group."
Scott Chleborad, director of marketing and information technology for the Hegg
Cos. in Sioux Falls, agreed. It's the type of program companies might use to
help keep down travel costs, Chleborad said.
"It's the car pool theory of air travel," he said.
Reach reporter Rob Swenson at
rswenson@argusleader.com or 331-2322
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