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Southern Airways pitches LAX‑focused strategy for Imperial Airport; urges reliability, booking help to rebuild ridership
Summary
Southern Airways told the Board that focusing flights on Los Angeles (LAX) rather than splitting service between LAX and Phoenix could improve connections, ticket prices and reliability. The carrier also asked the county to help with customer service and outreach to regain passengers and reach FAA grant thresholds.
Austin Meyer of Southern Airways presented an update on Essential Air Service (EAS) operations at Imperial County Airport, describing how route choices, interline partnerships and reliability affect passenger numbers and subsidy efficiency.
Meyer said the airport’s EAS subsidy (about $2.9 million annually) offsets operating costs so fares are lower than they would be on an unsubsidized route. He argued the county could regain pre‑pandemic passenger levels by consolidating frequencies to one hub — LAX — rather than continuing a split LAX/Phoenix schedule. Meyer said LAX offers better interline connections within a single secured terminal circulation and shorter total travel times than Phoenix for many routes.
He also acknowledged reliability problems in recent years after Southern expanded into a number of small EAS markets during the pandemic recovery. Meyer said the carrier has added new aircraft (Caravans) and is trimming its commitments so it is less stretched; he noted fleet deliveries coming this year and suggested that operational reliability should improve as contracts roll off.
On ridership targets, Southern and the airport intend to reach FAA thresholds that unlock larger entitlements tied to passenger counts (the airport receives more grant eligibility at 10,000 enplanements annually). Meyer said charters, marketing and targeted scheduling could help grow numbers and that the airline is willing to work with county staff to walk customers through booking and ticketing to reduce friction.
Board members urged Southern to improve customer assistance and to coordinate flight times to meet local business travel needs. County staff representatives volunteered to connect community groups with the airline to run outreach and test promotions. Meyer said charters and promotional tickets can count toward enplanement totals and welcomed invitations from event organizers.
Ending: The carrier requested county help to promote the service and pledged to return with operational improvements; supervisors suggested tactical steps such as time‑of‑day adjustments and community “how to book” outreach to restore confidence and grow ridership.
