Boutique official meets with airport board

By TOM LAVENTURE

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Ironwood Township - An official with Boutique Air Inc., said that recent lapses with on-time arrivals and departures are being addressed as a scheduling issue and that service should soon reflect the passenger airline's on-time ratings nationwide.

Tom Warren, the vice president of business development from Boutique Air, Inc., a former Boutique pilot and instructor, flew in from Colorado to address concerns of the Gogebic-Iron County Airport Board at its meeting on Monday. Boutique Air is the Essential Air Service Provider that started service on Aug. 1.

James Lorenson, an airport board member and Gogebic County commissioner, said his concerns are with flyer complaints about Boutique staff at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport not allowing passengers to board with large luggage and skis despite assurances from Boutique that it would be resolved. He was also concerned with on-time arrivals and departures, and issues with spare plane maintenance that resulted in flight cancellations. 

"I don't believe much in (social media) but if you were to survey the comments it appears that you have a perception issue in terms of how well you serve customers and particularly in the Twin Cities," Lorenson said.

Warren said the airline is working with the Transportation Security Administration for an exemption to regulations that currently do not allow skis and golf bags in the cabin area. It will require a cabin modification, he said.

Flyers have not had much difficulty in flying with skis or golf clubs, he said. It is when flyers pack skis and snowboards into large bags or travel with professional tour golf bags or hard cases for the clubs that don't fit in storage. 

Boutique is working on a third-party air freight solution for skis and golf clubs that involves pickup at the passenger's home so that the bags are waiting for them upon arrival to their destination airport, hotel or other accommodation, he said. A similar service in Colorado is working every week, he said.

"It would be great to have a concierge service so you have things waiting for you when you get there," Warren said. "We are trying to be creative about that."

Patrick Hanson, an airport board chair and Iron County supervisor, said from his perspective it appears that Boutique has on-time and arrival issues more often in the Midwest. He was concerned with issues early in the contract and where that could be leading.

As for the on-time arrival and departure issues the airline is now adjusting the schedules to allow 15 to 30 minutes more between Ironwood, Twin Cities and Chicago flights. It was simply an issue of too tight a schedule that did not allow for any additional time if needed on the ground.

"We needed to give ourselves more time on the ground between flights," Warren said. 

The new schedule will go into effect on March 1. The new times will be posted on the airline website.

Operating in cold environments often requires more time to prepare aircraft and the schedule needs to allow for that time, he said. The issue in Chicago is with fueling in a timely manner, he said. Fueling cannot occur until the aircraft weight with passengers and baggage is determined which can sometimes slow the process, he said.

The issue of the backup aircraft is that it needs to be sitting wherever the pilots are located, he said. Boutique is working to identify pilots who would work out of Ironwood on a rotation basis, he said. 

The Boutique boarding numbers are positive given the pandemic, he said. The August boardings totaled 434 passengers, with another 564 in September, 544 in October, and 496 in November - combined for both the Twin Cities and Chicago routes, he said. 

"I am happy with the results on total passenger numbers but we could be a lot better," Warren said. 

Service excellence must be consistent, Warren said. When the slightest slip up can crush reputations it is important to reach out to people directly and not to provide any excuse for more complaints.

The board also expressed concern about a Pilatus PC-12 turboprop plane that lost a tire on approach to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. The Boutique Air plane landed without incident or injury, but it presents "an image" concern for the airline that could potentially shake confidence in flying commercial out of Ironwood

Warren said the Federal Aviation Administration investigation could take six months or longer before a probable cause is determined. At this point he could say that an additional part was found on the ground and that with four components that hold the wheel to the plane it was more likely an impact with the ground that could cause damage to the wheel assembly than in the air.

"We inspected every aircraft and all the aircraft that the same mechanic and supervisor touched," Warren said. 

There were no issues with the second wing wheel of the aircraft that lost a wheel, he said. There were no problems found with any other aircraft in the Boutique fleet of Pilatus PC-12 aircraft, he said. 

This incident is exceedingly rare and the Pilatus PC-12 has the best safety record for its type since it came out in 1995. 

"Turbine, or non-turbine, no one can touch this aircraft," said Warren, who personally has more than 5,000 hours flying the Pilatus PC-12.

Boutique and the Pilatus PC-12 have no history of accidents with injury. It is a testimony to the strength of the airframe and how it was built that a wheel could come off and the landing would still have a safe outcome, he said.

Dan Siirila, airport board member and Gogebic County commissioner, said the incident still presents a credibility issue that is very difficult to overcome in a smaller community. 

Warren said that the only way to overcome a loss of confidence is to get out into the community and talk about the safety record and rebuild that confidence in service. 

"We are a good, clean and safe operator - I flew them and know this," Warren said. "An event like this is exceedingly rare and when it happens it shatters confidence for a period of time. We still have people hopping on the airplanes but we probably could be doing better."