IN DEPTH: USU partners with Frontier for commercial service out of Logan-Cache Airport
After years of unsuccessful campaigning for a 139 certificate and a commercial airline to fly into the Logan-Cache Airport, it was the USU football team that played a major role in landing a plane, said Logan-Cache Airport Manager Rich Stehmeier.
A partnership between the Logan-Cache Airport and the USU football team has secured the airport’s first commercial air service through Frontier Airlines, based in Denver, Colo., allowing the football team to fly in and out of Logan for away games.
But, it was really the influence of USU Athletics Director Scott Barnes that made this possible, Stehmeier said.
“I’ve been trying to do it by myself for three and a half years and really I think Scott Barnes was a huge, huge part because he basically said, ‘Why aren’t we doing this?'” Stehmeier said.
On Aug. 29, the first USU athletes flew out of Logan-Cache Airport on the first-ever commercial flight aboard an Allegiant Airlines airplane, landing in Las Vegas for the UNLV game, Aug. 30, said USU assistant coach Jeff Copp.
Early Sunday morning, the football team landed in Logan and were home in bed within minutes, Copp said.
“Allegiant is a Vegas-based company and they flew their people up here and they did an excellent job of getting us through security and getting us on the plane and getting us down there,” Copp said.
As smooth as the flight was, it was a bumpy road to get the team in and out of Logan – a road that started in March, when Barnes was named the new athletics director.
During Barnes’ first week as athletics director, Stehmeier said Barnes asked why the football team was not flying out of Logan. USU football head coach Brent Guy told Barnes the airport could accommodate the team, Stehmeier said, and Barnes’ next questions was, “Why aren’t we?”
“I really think he kind of was a very big part of this,” Stehmeier said. “Basically he was supporting that idea.”
Stehmeier said the next step was to obtain a commercial 139 certificate from the FAA, which would allow commercial air service to the Logan-Cache Airport. The airport had spent many years improving the security, fencing and airstrips to allow for the certificate, but the missing element was a letter of intent from an interested airline, he said. Stehmeier said he asked the USU Athletics Department to secure a letter of intent from the football team’s chartering air service saying they would begin flying in and out of Logan-Cache Airport on Aug. 29.
Working with USU football assistant coach Jeff Copp and Jeff Crosbie, the athletics department business operations manager, Barnes said they got the letter of intent from Frontier, their chartering service, and did everything on their end necessary to begin service from the airport.
“I can’t say enough about how vigilant (Copp and Crosbie) were in keeping us on track through the whole process,” Barnes said. “It’s really important to us. They knew that and treated it that way.”
The process of obtaining a commercial 139 certificate began on Aug. 4, Stehmeier said, when FAA inspectors examined the airport according to set criteria. Stehmeier said the airport was written up for 20 items to be fixed before the license could be issued.
With less than a month before the first football game, time was short and one of the critical improvements that Stehmeier said he had to do was to repaint the landing strip – a process that he estimated would cost $40,000, and he didn’t have the money.
Stehmeier said he talked to Kirk Nielson from the state department of aeronautics and worked out a deal for the state to provide up to $40,000 for the improvement. With financial backing, Stehmeier said he bid out the project and completed it for $36,000 in only two weeks, a “really fast turnaround for a project like that.”
The FAA came a second time, on Aug. 26, to examine the improvements and the Logan-Cache Airport passed, earning the commercial 139 certificate.
“This has been the culmination of four years of work,” Copp said. “Ever since I got (this position) three years ago, this has been a project we’ve been working on. Rich, down at the airport, has done a good job getting things up to code to where they can get their 139 certificate.”
Stehmeier said the certification has far-reaching implications that will affect the football team, USU and the community at large. In the future, Stehmeier said he hopes Frontier will begin regular commercial service, allowing flights to Denver, a large hub that opens up travel possibilities to the rest of the country. He also said he would like to see Allegiant provide service to Las Vegas.
“I think obviously it serves two purposes: it benefits us directly and it benefits the community,” said Barnes of the beginning of commercial service in Logan. “It’s a great marriage. As you look at economic development, our athletic program creates already a significant amount of economic development and this is just an added part to that.”
But until regular commercial service begins, the football team is the primary beneficiary, and Copp said the benefits are apparent.
By flying out of Logan-Cache Airport, the football team will save four hours a trip on bus rides to Salt Lake City, combining for an entire day worth of travel saved, Copp said.
“It’s how a Division I team should travel,” he said. “The main thing is the time issue and the amount of time it saves on each end. If we can take out two hours of it on this end it helps.”
Senior offensive tackle Derek Hoke said he feels the time saved is extremely beneficial and was already noticed on the UNLV trip.
“It’s incredibly nice, especially when we get in, being able to get two more hours of sleep before we have meetings and stuff on Sunday morning,” he said. “It’s just a big relief and help mentally and physically.”
Though it costs more to fly out of Logan, Copp said the time saved and the benefits to the players and coaching staff are well worth the price. Barnes said it is one more step in helping the athletics department meet its mission of providing a quality educational experience for student athletes.
“To save the hours we’re saving for student athletes to be in the classroom and to have them in their own bed two or three hours earlier every trip is a huge step for us,” Barnes said.
Besides providing an earlier bedtime on return trips, Barnes said the service will help with scheduling non-conference teams, who want to fly into Logan and have access to a full-service hotel. Barnes said the air service is there and hotel service large enough to easily accommodate a football team will be available in December.
“As we move forward, I envision all of our competition flying into Logan,” Barnes said. “That just brings more economic benefit to our community and it’s exciting. It’s another step forward not only for our athletic department, but for our community.”
–seth.h@aggiemail.usu.edu