Pan Am Decision Caught Officials By Surprise
Belleville, Illinois (November 3, 2001) -- St. Clair County Board Chairman John Baricevic said he was shocked to learn through a press release Thursday of Pan Am's decision to cease operations at MidAmerica Airport.
But airline industry analysts said the lack of communication between Pan Am and MidAmerica officials was the first sign that their ill-fated partnership was doomed to fail.
County officials were aware that the airline was struggling to fill flights, especially in the wake of terrorists hijackings Sept. 11, but Baricevic said the county offered its assistance to help.
But Baricevic said he and airport director Rick Hargrove had no idea the company was on the verge of pulling out altogether.
Baricevic said he received a letter from the airline right after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, in which company leaders said they planned to reassess some of their routes and services. The letter, Baricevic said, told county officials that any changes to service at the airport would be announced in January.
"We sent a letter telling them we would be happy to sit down with them and review their business plan," Baricevic said. "But we had no idea that they were going to leave. We will continue to try to communicate with them, but it takes two to talk, and at this point, I'm not sure what we can do."
While Baricevic said county leaders were making efforts to convince Pan Am to stay, airline experts say they didn't do enough.
Pat Corfmann, public relations and marketing director for Bishop International Airport, a comparable airport in suburban Detroit, Mich., said her airport also experienced nervous days following the terrorist attacks, and the passenger airlines operating there required a lot of hand-holding, especially with the current downturn in air travel.
"The fact the airport director didn't know the airline was pulling out points to a problem in their relationship," Corfmann said. "If the airport director didn't know the airline was in trouble at the airport, maybe he wasn't asking the right questions."
Two weeks after Sept. 11, Corfmann's staff sent gift baskets containing cookies and coffee to airline officials because Corfmann "wanted to show them we appreciated their hard work."
Information provided by the Belleville News-Democrat
Scott Wuerz and Beth Gansmann Article
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