Tyler Pounds Field Might Land Bigger Planes By GREG JUNEK, Business Editor   |   Jun 04, 2008

American Eagle could reintroduce a larger airplane to serve Tyler Pounds Regional Airport this fall.

Clyde Sanders, general manager for American Eagle in Tyler and Longview, told the Tyler Airport Advisory Board that the airline would begin serving Tyler with Super ATR turboprop airplanes, but the company has not told him much more than that.

“Nothing’s been announced,” Sanders said. “We just know that they’re coming. It will be good for the airport. They carry more passengers and they’re pretty fuel efficient.”

Airport Manager Davis Dickson said American Eagle served Pounds with its ATR aircraft in the late 1990s, before the west-side terminal was built.

Sanders said the Super ATRs can carry 64 passengers, compared to the 34-passenger capacity of the Saab turboprops that currently serve the airport. They also have more cargo capacity than the Saabs.

Two weeks ago, Gerald J. Arpey, president and chief executive of AMR Corp., parent company of American Eagle and American Airlines, announced changes to adapt to slow economic growth and high oil prices.

The strategy involved the retirement of some planes, including some of the company’s turboprops. At that time, an American Eagle spokeswoman said the company uses ATR aircraft in Miami and the Caribbean and it had not determined which turboprops to retire.

American said rising oil prices had increased its expected annual fuel costs by nearly $3 billion since the start of the year.

Sanders said the ATRs will probably begin service at Pounds in the fall, but he did not know if they would be the sole American Eagle aircraft or would be used in conjunction with Saabs.

Also on Tuesday, the board approved recommending that the City Council ratify a submission of an application for $2.85 million in Federal Aviation Administration grant funds.

Part of the money would be used to fund design and clearing of a runway visibility zone. Airport Manager Davis Dickson previously said a tree line blocked visibility in the approaches to Runway 4 and Runway 31. The clearing has been estimated to cost about $1.3 million, he said.

The grant money would also pay for Phase III, or completion, of the airport’s perimeter road construction project, an estimated $1.26 million, Dickson said.

The remainder would be put toward funding design services for a Runway 4/22 safety area. Another board discussion involved future airport projects, especially options for more general aviation areas.
A possible area to expand general aviation exists on the north side, Dickson said. The infrastructure is in place, but the area would require a great deal of fill dirt.

Another possible area for general aviation is northwest of the tower, but it lacks a taxiway to connect it to the runways.

would be required, he said he believes more infrastructure is needed there.

Dickson said a third possible general aviation area is on the west side. Although less dirt work would be required, he said he believes more infrastructure is needed there.