Comox's airport is successful, said consultant Paul Ouimet, for many reasons - both of their making, and due to assets they naturally have.

"I truly believe the Comox Airport is one of the biggest success stories of any airport we've working with in the last 10 years," said Ouimet, vice-president of InterVISTAS Consulting As a part of the release of the Comox airports' annual report and new five-year strategic plan, Ouimet gave a presentation about the air travel industry overall in Canada.

He said Comox has benefitted from an expansion of "low-cost" carries, such as WestJet, who have been able to expand while network carriers like Air Canada, have had to balance costs by cutting back capacity.

"These are the carriers that are getting more aircraft on and are agressively expanding," said Ouimet, about the low-cost companies.

An example of that is, from 2000 to 2006, WestJet grew from carrying 10 per cent of Canada's passengers to 27 per cent. Air Canada grew only from 42 per cent to 54.

While they've faced some challenges in the past decade, including the passenger drop after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, the increasing price of oil, and the decline in American tourists travelling in Canada - Comox's airport has continued to grow.

In fact, the local facility has led all Canadian airports in passenger traffic since 2001 - with the highest customer satisfaction rating to similar-sized airports.

That has a positive impact on the broader community, resulting in 11,300 directly-generated jobs and $237 million in wages. "We're in a very, very strong position here today," said Ouimet.

Being the mid-Island's number one airport was just a take-off point for the Comox Valley Airport Commission - but now they're ready to soar higher.

After years of steady growth that went beyond expectations, the commission's new five-year strategic plan released last week at their annual general meeting sets the next goal to be "Vancouver Island's preferred gateway."
"That sets the bar pretty high," said airport CEO Chuck Fast.

Expectations are certainly climbing, as their targets to reach that goal includes growing their passenger base from 238,000 to 400,000, their destinations from six to 10 (with one American stop), maintain their 4.5 customer satisfaction rating, and increase the percentage of Island passengers who use their terminal from 13 to 17 per cent.

While the plan ahead is certainly a challenge, Fast said he feels it's something they can achieve based on their growth during the past few years.

"We attract airline service to meet the growth needs of the community and we've been very successful at doing so," said Fast. That doesn't mean there won't be challenges to overcome it they hope to reach their new goal. Consultants working with the non-profit commission said they'll have to increase parking and expand the current building - particularly if they look at international flights.

With an airport already reaching its 15-year build out capacity, customs and proper holding areas would have to be accommodated somehow.

That's important because a flight into the United States - Seattle is the most talked about option - is their next big goal. The connections that would be available through there, said Fast would certainly open up Comox's airport to more and more people. They're also not shy about what they have over the number one Island airport right now - Victoria. That city's runways, said Fast, aren't long enough to handle long-haul flights, even if their terminal building is almost four times the size.

Their immediate steps for the new strategic plan include extending their lease with DND, work to improve road access to the terminal, participate in local tourism and economic development and working with existing and new carriers to increase service. The potential for growth at the local facility, said the commission's board chair Dave Mellin, is huge. "Everything is possible and exciting - we just want to keep this things going," said Mellin.