U.P. PASSENGERS NUMBERS DOWNFigures from the U.S. Department of Transportation

(DOT) for 2012 showed that overall ridership for theUpper Peninsula’s six airports was down 13% vs. 2011.Passenger totals were 213,808 vs. 245,965 the previousyear.

Sawyer retained the top spot by a wide margin de-spite a 36% drop, while Houghton-Hancock increasedby 24% and held on to second. The Soo facility was upslightly while Escanaba, Iron Mountain, and Ironwoodall dropped. Great Lakes Holds Its Own

A breakdown of the eight states in the Great Lakesregion showed a tiny decrease from the previous year,and that average fares in the region were up 6%. Thisregion includes the big hubs of Chicago, Minneapolis,and Detroit as well as many other large cities.

Sawyer ranked 43rd and Houghton-Hancock 45th ofthe 73 airports listed.

Other articles in this issue contain good news forSawyer patrons: more flights, more non-stops, andmany more seats. Delta’s additionof more Marquette-Detroit flightsand American Airline’s puttingmore planes on the Chicago-Marquette connection add theequivalent of 30 full regional jetseach week.

Going Places?Coming Home?Book it thruSAWYER!

MARY ZERBEL FORD ON ‘WALL OF HONOR’Mary Zerbel Ford, a Marquette native who began flying

at age 19, was one of 25 U.S. women pilots sent to Eng-land during World War II to ferry airplanes from factoriesto airfields, shuttle planes to factories for repairs, and flypeople and supplies to their destinations. She qualified on32 different planes, flying more than 1,000 hours on vari-ous bombers and fighters, while surviving several Germanbombing raids over England. "It was the most wonderful,fulfilling experience of my whole life," she said.

In 1942, Mary married RoyHooper who was soon lost on amission. She then married JackFord and ran a Pacific Ocean fly-ing service with him until he dis-appeared on a flight while ferry-ing a plane. Mary Zerbel Ford ismemorialized on the Sawyer Air-port Wall of Honor.

American women also flew forthe Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), a U.S. fer-rying service co-founded by Nancy Harkness Love ofHoughton. Of the 1,074 women who flew for WASP, 38lost their lives while on duty.

Spring 2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marquette County, Michigan

Larry Chabot, Editor

COME HOME TO

MARY ZERBEL FORD (on right)

SAWYER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT1-906-346-3308

www.sawyerairport.comwww.comehometosawyerairport.com

125 Avenue G, Gwinn, MI 49841

SAWYER AIRLINESAMERICAN AIRLINES1-800-433-7300www.aa.com DELTA AIR LINES 1-800-221-1212www.delta.com

SAWYER RENTAL CARSAVIS/BUDGET 1-906-346-6398NATIONAL/ALAMO 1-906-346-6378THRIFTY/DOLLAR 1-906-346-4355

BUS SERVICE TO SAWYERMARQ-TRAN 1-906-225-1112

CLIP AND SAVE

OUT OF THE WEATHERAll Sawyer flights use jet bridges which allow passengers

to board and disembark without going outside or negotiatingstairs in all kinds of weather. These enclosed, movable con-nectors extend from an airport gate toan airplane.

Before their availability, passengersboarded planes by climbing movablesteps or stairs attached to the plane.Mobile staircases are still used at manyairports around the world, particularlysmaller airports and terminals.

The first U.S. jet bridge was installed at San Francisco In-ternational in 1959. Sawyer is thought to be the only U.P.airport with all-jet bridge flights.

PICK YOUR OWN SEATSPassengers who make their own reservations

from a computer can pick their own seats froma seating chart on the airline’s web site. As youexamine seat choices, you can see at a glancewhich seats are still available.

Depending on how far in advance you bookyour flights, a glance at the available choiceswill allow you to select adjoining or nearbyseats to accommodate your group. You can alsochoose to select – or avoid – exit row seats.

Riders without computers could get helpfrom a computer-savvy friend or public libraryor other facility with public-access machines.

ONE HOP, NO STOPAll Sawyer International flights are currently non-stop to

the major hubs of Detroit and Chicago, with flights as quickas 40 minutes.

MORE SEATS FOR SAWYER Delta Air Lines addition of the two round-trip flights

to Detroit in March, and the American Airlines plan toadd more Chicago flights on June 12, will increase total

Sawyer seats by 79%. Thismeans 1,500 more seats aweek – the equivalent of morethan 30 regional jet planes.

With the new alignment,Sawyer offers 43% of allavailable U.P. seats on the De-troit route and 57% on Chica-go flights.

Here are the totals for available passenger seats out ofSawyer, before and after the recent increases:

AIRLINE 2012 June 12Delta In 650 1,000Delta Out 650 1,000American In 300 700American Out 300 700 TOTALS 1,900 3,400

For comparison, the following listing shows the num-ber of seats available at the six U.P. airports. Of the totalof 8,944 seats, Sawyer offers 38% of them – more thandouble any other airport:Escanaba: 1,200 seats on 24 weekly flights to/from De-

troit via Delta.Houghton: 1,050 on 21 weekly flights to/from Chicago

via Sky West.Iron Mountain: 1,400 on 28 weekly flights to/from Min-

neapolis on Sky West.Ironwood: 494 on 13 weekly flights to/from Minneapo-

lis on Great Lakes. Soo: 1,400 on 28 Delta weekly flights to/from Detroit.

2 7

ARE WE THERE YET?

SEATBACK FUNDelta Sky Magazine calls itself "the

best in-flight magazine there is, the fin-est in-flight journalism ever." Full ofpeople and place profiles, puzzles, andairport maps, Delta Sky is in seatbackson Delta’s 1,300 daily flights.

When arrival and connecting flightgates at major hubs are announced onboard, check the maps for their loca-tions. And you can take the magazine with you.

AND TIME FOR A SHORT NAPA passenger on Delta’s Sawyer-Detroit loop recorded

his flight times on several trips, wheels-up to wheels-down. They ranged from 45 to 55 minutes, allowing fora short nap, a refreshed arrival, and no ‘driver fatigue.’

HELP FOR JOB-MAKERSAmong sources of capital for present or future busi-

nesses at Sawyer is the Marquette County Economic De-velopment Corp.’s Revolving Loan Fund (RLF), whosegoal is to create or retain jobs.

Applicants who can’t raise money elsewhere can ap-ply for funds to strengthen the local economy throughjob creation, purchase of land, buildings, machinery, andother purposes. Projects must create one full-time job foreach $10,000 in RLF money.

Loans range from $50,000 to $200,000with a maximum term of 30 years. Loansare not available for charitable, educa-tional, religious, fraternal, agricultural,sport, or gambling ventures.

Interested parties can contact the EDC at 906-226-9658.

TOWER TUG-OF-WARThe Washington budget impasse put

air traffic control towers in jeopardywhen the Federal Aviation Administra-tion (FAA) announced the closure of149 of the 250 towers they administer,including Sawyer. After protests andlawsuits from targeted areas, the FAAdelayed the cuts, and then announcedthat all 149 towers would remain openat least through September 30.

Cong. Dan Benishek of Crystal Fallshad rapped the closures. "Washington never cuts thebloated bureaucracy," he told the Mining Journal, "butinstead removes people on the ground providing neces-sary services to our citizens."

SHORTEN RUNWAY AT SAWYERIn other FAA news, the agency told Sawyer it will no

longer pay to maintain, paint, repair or replace the north3,366 feet of runway. In a letter to the public, airport of-ficials said the north end will need rehabilitation to stayopen, with costs as high as $2.2 million to extend runwaylife up to twenty years.

The $870,000 estimate to shorten the runway is eligi-ble for FAA reimbursement. Marquette County, whichwould be unable to operate and maintain the full 12,600feet, will retain ownership.

Airport Manager Duane DuRaysaid Sawyer will still easily handle"just about any commercial aircraftthat would ever consider flyinginto Sawyer," including return vis-its from Air Force One. Sawyer will still be the U.P.’slongest, and third longest in Michigan after Grand Rap-ids and Detroit. 6 3

CALLING ALL PILOTSPilots who use Boreal Avia-

tion, the Fixed Base Operator atSawyer (MQT/SAW) are beingasked to assist the airport bycompleting a 13-question sur-vey about Boreal. The purposeis to enhance service to generalaviation users. Anonymous submissions will be acceptedexcept from pilots who want a staff followup.

The survey is on Sawyer and Boreal web sites or thislink: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SawyerSurvey.

Pilots with special concerns should contact Duane Du-Ray, Airport Manager, at (906) 346-3308, Ext. 222.

PRESENTING: MEDIRIDE EMS MediRide EMS, founded by local EMTs, is a leader in

emergency medical services and transportation, with thehighest level of emergency care availa-ble, with cutting edge technology andmodern life-saving equipment.

For over a decade, MediRide hasprovided comprehensive and advanced emergency medi-cal treatment to all of Marquette County. They are locat-ed in Marquette and at Sawyer, telephone 226-4565.

DID YOU KNOW?• The earlier you make reservations,

the more likely you are to get flights,hotel rooms, and car rentals at the bestprices. Traveling during the least busytimes of the day often means shorterlines and less traffic.�

• Passengers age 75 and older maykeep their shoes and light jackets on when going throughsecurity.

FACT OF LIFE: THE ‘S’ WORDWhen major air carriers learned that their profits would

no longer be guaranteed on smaller routes after fare dere-gulation went into effect in 1978,scheduled service to these fields was injeopardy. To keep commuter planesserving the small markets, Congresscreated the Essential Air Service(EAS) program, which uses federal taxdollars to subsidize commuter airlineflights to 117 rural airports, includingfive of the six U.P. fields.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) under-writes a number of daily round trips to these 117 fields,some of which have fewer than three passengers a day.EAS subsidies in 2012 were $142 million. This year, theytotal $199 million, up 40%.

Here are Upper Peninsula airport subsidies, in dollars:

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2009 2012 2012AIRPORT Subsidy Subsidy Per PassSawyer 0 0 0Houghton 934,156 934,156 20.47Soo 237,825 1,676,136 45.30Escanaba 2,090,534 2,833,558 107.85Iron Mount. 2,090,534 2,512,971 92.57Ironwood 1,410,250 1,747,326 368.79 TOTAL 6,763,299 9,704,147(source: U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Aviation andInternational Affairs, US Subsidized EAS Reports)

The five other U.P. airports share over $9.7 million an-nually, which can mean lower fares for them. The need forEAS funding is not under question here; however, area res-idents who choose to fly from other airports should knowabout one of the reasons for the lower fares.