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Airport officials work on building contingency fund to bring airlines to La Crosse, and keep them here

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The La Crosse Regional Airport offers daily flights on just one major airline right now, American Airlines. But the airport staff wants to attract more, and they’re seeking to build up a special funding source that could help bring in new carriers.

Airport officials took some La Crosse County board members on tours of the facility during January, showing off the LSE property. At its most recent meeting last month, the county board did vote to provide up to $250,000 to a minimum revenue guarantee fund. Airport director Jeff Tripp says the effort to build a fund to help airlines operate in La Crosse is a community-wide campaign.

Viewing the runways from inside the tower at La Crosse Regional Airport (PHOTO: Brad Williams)

“Between local funds and hopefully a federal aviation grant for the small community air service development program this year, up to about $750,000” could be set aside for the airport, says Tripp. “The air service working group, which is a combination of airport staff and community leaders, like LADCO, Gundersen, and the like…we’re gonna be trying to raise the funds for the revenue guarantee.”

Airport staffers showed off their snow-clearing equipment during a tour of airport facilities last week. (PHOTO: Brad Williams)

Tripp says the fund-raising effort might lead to a possible return of Delta Airlines, which ended flights through La Crosse two years ago, or bringing in another carrier. He says airlines like having such a fund, in case their revenues at a specific airport don’t meet their yearly goals.

“If the route is not as successful as their revenue projections, then we will help make up the shortfall,” says Tripp. “So, say they’re 20 per cent less than their anticipation, we’ll be helping to match up to the first two years of those losses,” subject to the airline’s need.

Recently, the airport began a bus shuttle service through Sun Country Airlines, to take passengers between La Crosse and the Minneapolis airport.

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.

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8 Comments

8 Comments

  1. Jeffrey Wayne Hotson

    February 3, 2025 at 12:30 am

    No tax dollars for this

    • walden

      February 3, 2025 at 6:53 pm

      Wow, a “revenue guarantee.” How many businesses wish there was such a thing. How about a revenue guarantee for the local coffee shops, or what remains of the mall. Or a guarantee for the businesses that vanished from our storefronts downtown.

      Supply and demand should take care of this matter. Either the airlines can raise their prices to generate a return on their investment or not. We donated land for the airport, the govt pays for air traffic control and all the property maintenance. The PFAS contamination from airport operations will ultimately cost in the $100s of millions to fully clean up. Some years ago the airport built a car wash to keep the car rental outfits happy. But the “best” project was spending about $20 million of taxpayer money to move the airport bar and restaurant that was on the lower level to the upper level and move everything from the upper level to the lower lever; that was brilliant.

      • Bob N.

        February 4, 2025 at 6:58 am

        All well and good, Walden. However, the airport status falls under the same category as our highway system—transportation. You can’t compare the transportation demands and financing to the world of retail.

        Did you know that airlines, probably the most regulated business there is, made no profit in the first 50 years of their existence? Only when they began charging for baggage did they begin to show a profit.

        I’ve been stiffed by airlines as much as anyone with cancelled flights. lost bags, gyrating prices and no compensation for their mistakes. No one loves the airlines.
        But the commerce and personal travel needs of greater La Crosse demands first rate air connections, just as we need and demand a first rate highway system if we want the city to have the healthy growth other nearby cities have. The amount of public money involved is about the same as it takes to pour asphalt on 3 blocks of city streets.
        If the city stays stagnant too long it will begin to shrink and decline, a situation that will take 10 times the money to reverse.

  2. R Head

    February 3, 2025 at 9:36 am

    So we are going to pay airlines to come to La Crosse, what are you people thinking! You can tell these a liberals the why they piss are money away.

  3. Mary LaMorhe

    February 3, 2025 at 11:09 am

    Socialism at its best! This plan really is God awful. We should not have to bribe airlines to come to LaCrosse.

  4. Bruce Leslie Olson

    February 3, 2025 at 11:53 am

    Sometimes, you have to spend money to make money.

  5. LG

    February 3, 2025 at 12:20 pm

    It is in the interest of our community to bring additional airlines to the region because doing will help fund the airport. However, there are several unknowns with regard to this idea/effort. Something to be said from the outset is airlines are large publicly traded companies that sell stock and pay stockholders dividends. They are also not stupid. They will not service an area if it is not profitable or if the intangible benefits of accepting some losses are not worth tolerating for the good kudos received. The second unknown is how long will our community subsidize or mitigate losses incurred by the airline that receives it. If private individuals or organizations wish to donate money to a fund like this, such as Gunderson/Emplify) because an additional airline will benefit them), that is their business. Unfortunately, we have several members of the county board who think it’s OK to confiscate tax money from individuals in order to subsidize an airline. That’s where the line should be drawn. Freely give to this fund if you wish to do so, but do not confiscate money from county taxpayers to subsidize an airline. Get a clue county board. It’s not your role to use the power of government to subsidize what appears to be a losing proposition. If 2 airlines could make money by servicing our area, they would do so. Maybe there isn’t enough ridership for two airlines and that’s why we only have one.

  6. Bob N.

    February 3, 2025 at 4:56 pm

    There are ways to cause a second airline to begin service in La Crosse without “the taxpayers paying for it.”
    But first, enough community interest needs to be there to get the ball rolling. Remember, the County Board has anteed less money than the La Crosse School Board gave away in earnest money for the ill-fated 200 million dollar high school property failed referendum, never to be seen again.
    Let the money people in town figure this one out. Then, bring it back as a plan we can’t resist.

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