PUBLIC NOTICE:
Notice of Intent to Impose and Use Passenger Facility Charges for
Gallatin Field Airport, Belgrade, Montana
The Gallatin Airport Authority intends to file an application with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to impose and use Passenger Facility Charges (PFCs) for preliminary design fees of the terminal expansion project identified in the 2008 Master Plan Update at Gallatin Field Airport, Belgrade, Montana.
As required under Section 158.23 of Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 14 Part 158, “Passenger Facility Charges”, (last amended March 23, 2005), the Authority is hereby providing written notice to all air carriers and foreign air carriers having a significant business interest operating at the Airport. CFR Title 14 Part 158 is the final rule by the FAA that implements Section 9110 and 9111 of the Aviation Safety and Capacity Expansion Act of 1990, passed by U.S. Congress in November 1990.
Background
The Gallatin Airport Authority owns and operates Gallatin Field Airport, the air carrier airport serving the City of Bozeman, Gallatin County and Yellowstone National Park. The airport also serves several ski areas and surrounding Counties of Madison, Jefferson, Broadwater and Park.
The airfield was constructed at its present day location in 1941 to provide a training school for pilots just prior to World War II. In anticipation of jet service a number of improvements were completed in the late 1960’s at Gallatin Field including the expansion of the main air carrier runway 12-30 to its present length of 9000 feet. The terminal building including related taxiways, aprons and roads were constructed in 1977.
The existing pavement surfaces of all runways, taxiways and aprons were rehabilitated as well as providing new facilities to meet the need for substantial growth at the airport from 1980 to 2008. Passenger enplanements at Gallatin Field have grown at a rate of approximately 7% per year compounded for the past thirty years. The Airport Authority has used PFC’s to complete two substantial expansion projects to the air carrier terminal building, to match AIP funding of the rehabilitation of the main air carrier runway 12-30 and its parallel taxiway, as well as replacing several pieces of snow removal equipment and updating the Master Plan.
The following paragraphs provide the information required under Section 158.23 of CFR Title 14 Part 158 for the notice to air carriers serving Gallatin Field Airport.
Section 158.23(1). Description of Project
The Gallatin Airport Authority will file an application with the FAA to impose and use PFC’s for the following projects:
Terminal Expansion Preliminary Design
Purchase Express Ramp Loading Bridge
The Airport Authority is taking steps to develop plans to expand the Airline Terminal to ultimately provide a facility capable of handling 1.4 million passengers per year with 12 to 14 contact gates. The Airline Terminal Planning Study was conducted under the Preliminary Design Phase to provide a phased plan for the expansion of the Terminal. The airport has hired a consultant to provide professional design services through design development to modify and expand the current Airline Terminal building to accommodate the initial terminal expansion phases. The Airport Authority is requesting input and approval of a PFC application to reimburse their capital account for the preliminary design fees associated with the terminal expansion project. The estimated cost of the Terminal Expansion Preliminary Design is $2,165,000.00.
The Airport Board also approved the purchase of an Express Ramp loading bridge to be used by the airlines serving the airport. The ramp will allow ground loading of midrange aircraft from the CRJ to the A320. A recent project included the expansion of the terminal apron in anticipation of the future terminal project. The express ramp will allow for ground loading of passengers from the new ramp area until the terminal is expanded. The estimated cost of the loading ramp is $35,000.
Section 158.23 (2) The PFC Level, Effective Date, Expiration Date, and Total Revenue
PFC Level: $4.50 per enplaned passenger at Gallatin Field Airport for all of the proposed projects. As per Section 158.3, enplaned passenger is defined as a domestic, territorial, or international revenue passenger enplaned in the United States on scheduled and nonscheduled service on aircraft in intrastate, interstate, or foreign commerce. A revenue passenger is one who possesses an air travel ticket. An air travel ticket means all documents pertaining to a passenger’s complete itinerary necessary to transport a passenger by air, including passenger manifest.
Proposed Charge Effective Date: February 1, 2010
Estimated Charge Expiration Date: February 1, 2012
Estimated Total PFC Revenue: $2,200,000.00
Section 158.23 (3) Request that a Class of Carrier not be Required to Collect PFC’s
(i) Class Designation: Air Taxi/Commercial Operators (ATCO) filing FAA Form 1800-31
(ii)
and
(iii) Names of Known Carriers Belonging to Class Identified in this Section and Estimated Number of Annual Enplaned Passengers:
Schedule Type Carrier Calendar Year 2007 Enplanements
ATCO Global Aviation, Inc. 2
ATCO Jet Solutions LLC 92
ATCO Montana Aircraft, Inc. 140
ATCO Mountain Aviation, Inc. 1
ATCO R A Bridgeford, Inc. 14
ATCO World Class Aviation LLC 7
Source: Federal Aviation Administration
(iv) Reasons for Requesting that Carriers Identified in this Section not Required to Collect the PFC: The number of passengers enplaned annually by this type of carrier represents about 0.08% of FBO’s operating on the airport, of the total emplanements at Gallatin Field Airport. The estimated revenue from these carriers over the next two years that the PFC would be imposed would be about $1,840.00 as compared to the estimated revenue of $2,240,000.00 from all the other carriers. In accordance with Section 158.11 of CFR Title 14 Part 158, the Airport Authority may request of the FAA in its application to impose and use PFC’s that the PFC’s by any class of air carriers or foreign air carriers not be required if the number of enplaned passengers by the carriers in the class constitutes no more than 1% of the total passengers enplaned annually at the airport at which the PFC is imposed. This would be the case with the carriers identified herein.
Any public comment or request for additional information can be addressed to:
Mr. Ted Mathis, A.A.E.
Airport Director
850 Gallatin Field Road, Suite #6
Belgrade, MT 59714
(406) 388-6632
