Salem, the state capital of Oregon, is putting together public and private funds in hopes of attracting a new airline after Avelo’s exit from the West Coast left the community without a single commercial carrier.
The Statesman Journal reported this week that the city council of Salem voted to move $100,000 from the city’s general fund to its airport fund each year for three years. The money will go toward a minimum revenue guarantee for an airline that opts to serve Salem-Willamette Valley Airport, also known as McNary Field. The airport is owned by the City of Salem.
The organizations Travel Salem and Fly Salem successfully raised pledged amounts of $400,000 per year for three years, the newspaper reported, bringing the total available for a revenue guarantee to $1.5 million over three years.
City staff told the Statesman Journal that the minimum goal for a viable revenue guarantee is $500,000 per year for three years.
Avelo in July announced plans to end all of its West Coast routes and shut down its base in Burbank, California. Service to Salem, among other destinations, was slated to end in mid-August. According to the Statesman Journal, the airline’s last flight out of Salem-Willamette Valley Airport took place on Aug. 10.
Avelo was expected to continue operations out of Burbank until December, but that deadline was moved up to Oct. 20.
