Recently, there has been a war of words – not to mention lawsuits, letters and grassroots campaigning – regarding the proposed commercialization of Silver Comet Field in Paulding County. To borrow a headline from The Wall Street Journal: “Why is Delta afraid of this tiny airport?”
The answer? Competition at any level.
Claims of increased costs, decreased revenue and reduced operational efficiency – for both Delta and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport – are not based on fact. They are a self-serving effort to discourage healthy competition in the airline industry.
I am a great admirer of Hartsfield-Jackson and have had a personal involvement with its growth. At the Federal Aviation Administration, I was responsible for approving the functioning design of the airport that we know today, including allocating as many federal dollars as possible for its initial construction. I can assure you that after having invested a vast amount of money and resources in Hartsfield-Jackson, the FAA would never act to reduce the value of that public investment.
The FAA approved and funded Silver Comet Field after it concluded that the FAA’s mission — operating the national air traffic control system of which Hartsfield is a part — would not be compromised in safety or efficiency. The agency also determined metro Atlanta would benefit from having a reliever to the world’s busiest airport.
Delta’s claims that a second commercial airport would divert important resources from Hartsfield-Jackson cannot be supported. That facility has, and will continue to have, all of the resources that can be usefully invested for its continued growth and improvement. A limited number of commercial flights at Silver Comet will not diminish the value of Hartsfield-Jackson, but would offer some convenient travel options to metro residents.
Planes fly in and out of Silver Comet every day. Any commercial service will constitute a very small percentage of aircraft operations. Four more take-offs and landings per day will not compromise efficiency or business at Hartsfield-Jackson. Even Hartsfield-Jackson’s former aviation director Louis Miller confirmed this multiple times in this newspaper.
Limited, low-fare commercial service will stimulate competition, as has been demonstrated in numerous domestic and foreign cities with multiple airports. That is where Delta’s issue lies. While it’s natural for a company to try to protect its business from competition, how it does it and for what purpose should be scrutinized by all.
Competition is the American way. And in the air transportation industry, it is national policy.
Competition provides consumers with options, and options typically have pricing differences. At the time of this writing, a round-trip weekend ticket on Delta from Atlanta to Ft. Lauderdale is approximately $558. With the low-cost vacation carrier proposed for Silver Comet, that route would be approximately $118.
Developing Silver Comet Field — to include aviation maintenance, repair and operations companies and limited commercial service — is good for all. It provides Paulding residents access to high-paying local jobs. And it provides metro Atlantans with options for their next vacations. We know this. The FAA knows this. Delta just won’t accept it.
Robert J. Aaronson is chairman of Propeller Airports.
