Maybe You Can Get Here from There This Fall
Recent reports may have made some people rethink their plans to travel through Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport. Minor security gaps aside, some travelers, including myself, would love to avoid one of the nation's busiest airports. Fortunately, we may find it easier to travel around Sky Harbor beginning this fall when Allegiant Air, a full-service travel company based in Las Vegas, NV, increases the number of flights serving Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa.
"We're extremely pleased to add Arizona to our roster of world-class leisure destinations," Ponder Harrison, Managing Director for Allegiant Travel Company said in a written statement to the media. "This is an exciting new market for our airline and our customers. We look forward to a successful relationship between the airport authority, area resorts and community leaders."
Allegiant isn't exactly a stranger to Williams Gateway Airport. They have been offering limited service between Mesa and Las Vegas as part of a joint effort with Harrah's Resorts and Casinos for some time. The next flight to Las Vegas is scheduled for August 16. Harrah's Ak-Chin Casino is located just outside of the Phoenix metropolitan area, on the Ak-Chin Indian Reservation in near Maricopa, Arizona. When it opened in December 1994, Ak-Chin was Harrah's first Indian gaming operation.
The charter operation with Harrah's must have been a success, because Allegiant has announced that Williams Gateway will serve as the fourth base for the self-proclaimed "Official Airline for Sunshine". Allegiant currently provides low-fare flights to more than 50 cities across the U.S. Service from Williams Gateway will become available to 13 of those markets beginning October 25, 2007.
No word yet on what the routes may be, although Las Vegas is a likely candidate. Allegiant will be announcing service and making tickets available for the first route on August 6. Reservations to and from Williams may be made online at www.allegiantair.com beginning August 9, 2007. Reservations can also be made by calling 702-505-8888. Subsequent announcements of additional routes will be made with all 13 initial routes expected to be announced before September 16. Watch this blog for updates!
Vision Airlines, another carrier serving passengers through Williams Gateway, is awaiting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to operate daily scheduled flights between Mesa and Long Beach, CA. Currently, Vision can only operate flights up to a maximum of four times a week on any single route because it is licensed as a charter operation. The Department of Transportation approved Vision to operate daily flights in April 2007, according to the Arizona Republic. The company plans to begin the daily flights by mid-January. Vision currently operates four weekly flights, on Sunday and Friday evenings, between Williams and the North Las Vegas Airports.
The increase in service isn't the only news coming out of Williams Gateway. The airport authority is scheduled to vote on whether or not to change the facility's name from Williams Gateway Airport to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport on September 17. The proposed name change is not popular with everyone. Some groups, including veterans who stationed or were trained at Williams Air Force Base and local pilots, even oppose it.
"It's not too cool,"Jim Timm, executive director of the Arizona Pilots Association explained to the Arizona Republic. "There's a lot of history with the Williams name. Personally I would not like to see it lost."
Until 1993, Williams Gateway Airport was Williams Air Force Base. Named in honor of Arizona-born Army Air Corp pilot Charles Linton Williams who died in a flying accident in Oahu, Hawaii in 1927, the facility played a strategic role in aviation history for more than half a century. Ground was broken for the Advanced Flying School on July 16, 1941. It would become the foremost pilot training facility for the Air Force, supply one-quarter of the Air Force's pilots annually until it closed. By 1993 more than 26,500 men and women had earned their wings at Williams which graduated more student pilots and instructors than any other facility in the country.
It may be a moot debate since many passengers, as well as pilots, are already familiar and comfortable with the Williams name. Today, Williams is the third busiest airport in Arizona. In 2006, 280,774 takeoffs and landings occurred at Williams Gateway Airport, moving it ahead of Tucson International Airport. The FAA also recognized it as the 40th busiest airport in the nation in February 2007, seeing more traffic than such major airports as Washington D.C.'s Ronald Reagan, Cleveland's Hopkins and Houston's Hobby airports.
Traffic is expected to continue to increase and construction is underway at Williams to improve facilities for users and tenants. The $12.5 million improvements include:
- Additional Parking - More than 200 new parking spaces for employees and tenants will be added between the existing Passenger Terminal south to Hangar 37.
- Taxiway Bravo - Design and construction of taxiway bravo between taxiways Hotel and Golf will allow for increased capacity and safety for the north general aviation area.
- New Storm Drains and Retention Basins - Several large pipe systems and storm drain retention basins are being built to allow for better storm water run-off for various development projects along the general aviation area and portions of the airfield.
- Fire Suppression Supply Line - Design and construction of approximately 2,000 feet of piping to provide fire suppression water for projects in the general aviation area.
The FAA, along with grants from the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) Aeronautics Division and the Williams Gateway Airport Authority, are providing funding for these construction and improvement projects.
Ground was broken for a new executive jet service center at Williams early in July as well. The facility, scheduled for completion in mid-2008, will be one of three U.S. locations dedicated to full-service care for Embraer executive jets such as the Phenom 100, Phoenom 300 and Legacy 600. Each service center will be capable of providing full-service aircraft care including routine inspection; scheduled and unscheduled maintenance; airframe, engine, avionics and other systems repairs; 24/7 assistance; Aircraft On Ground (AOG) rescue/mobile teams and an inventory of expendable and repairable parts. Painting and interior refurbishments may also be available at some service centers.
The 45,000-square-foot Mesa facility, designed by Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon, Inc., will consist of a hangar, workshops and office space. Over the next five years, it is expected to create approximately 60 jobs. The State of Arizona, Williams Gateway Airport Authority and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council are partners in the project, estimated to cost $8 million.
"As the Phoenix Metropolitan area continues to grow, international companies are showing a major interest in having a presence throughout the East Valley," Gilbert Mayor Steve Berman, past-chair of the Williams Gateway Airport Authority said in a written media release. "Embraer is a globally recognized leader in aerospace and we're very proud that the Company will now be part of the Williams Gateway community."
Embraer (Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A.) is the world's largest manufacturer of Commercial jets up to 120 seats and one of Brazils leading exporters. Headquartered in Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo, Embraer has offices, industrial operations and customer service facilities in Brazil, France, Portugal, China, Singapore and the United States.
With three expansive runways measuring 10,401, 10,201 and 9,301 feet, respectively, a newly remodeled passenger terminal, convenient parking and easy access to East Valley communities including Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, and Tempe, among others, Williams is poised to become a dynamic commercial and general aviation alternative to Sky Harbor International Airport. Beginning this fall, it looks as though travelers will be able to get here from a growing number of theres, often without stopping at Sky Harbor or other congested hub airports.
