City of North Bend supports SORA Portland flight effort

North Bend City Council on Sept. 24 approved supporting Southwest Oregon Regional Airport’s efforts to bring a flight service to Portland to the North Bend/Coos Bay Area.

SORA received a federal grant in 2019 for $750,000 that requires a local match. The grant is to help the airport expand its air service to the region.

The council approved $7,500 a year for three years for the northbound flight, starting with the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The motion, made by Councilor Jenny Jones and seconded by Councilor Pat Goll, passed unanimously.

During the council’s discussion, there was some dispute as to whether the funds would exclusive support a northbound flight or, if SORA fails in the effort, would go to support the airport’s efforts to expand its southbound flights.

At a joint session between the council and the Urban Renewal Agency on Sept. 24, SORA Executive Director Rodger Craddock explained that the airport is also pursuing additional flights to Las Vegas and Burbank.

“We already go south, let’s go north,” said Goll. “The way Roger explained it, I know he said north and their potential for doing it on their own to Vegas and stuff, but ... we’re better off having north service than Las Vegas.”

He added, “We already did this in ‘19 and because of COVID it never came true so all we’re doing is re-upping our original giddy-up.”

City Administrator David A. Milliron explained the council could approve it that night, and revisit it during the budget season in May 2025.

“Northbound is their priority,” he said. “They can come back at any time to the governing body and request a modification to any action you’ve taken.”

He added, “You can always alter or change, as could a subsequent council.”

Craddock, at the previous day’s joint session, asked the council to reaffirm its prior commitment to the matching grant.

He noted that in 2023, SORA had 44,000 passengers through terminal.

“That’s larger than any other year in the past 10 years,” he said.

Currently, SORA has two flights, seasonal, twice a week, to Denver and back, and daily, for the majority of the year, to San Francisco.

But SORA wants to do more, said Craddock.

“One of the goals that was provided to me when I became director at the airport last year was to find new routes, and the highest priority is northbound flights to either Portland or Seattle,” he said.

This work began in 2019, with SORA going to community partners for matching funds for the $750,000 federal grant.

“Unfortunately, COVID occurred,” said Craddock. “Even though we had a very positive response from Alaska Airlines, COVID really changed the aviation world, much like it did for everything else.”

Getting a new route requires an incentive. In this case, it is in the form of community support.

“Airlines just don’t start (a route) without an incentive,” explained Craddock. “They require incentives because they want to reduce their risks. They want a safety net. They want to make sure they can get up to a profitable flight within the two-year period.”

In October, Craddock will travel with Marie Simonds from Bandon Dunes and Jack Penning of Volaire Aviation Consulting to attend the Take Off North America Conference in Green Bay, Wisc.

The conference brings together the domestic air service community to talk about trends and challenges, build relationships, and discuss air services whether they are new or already existing.

Several meetings have already been set up with airlines in the hopes of bringing a Portland service back to North Bend/Coos Bay.

Already six appointments have been made with airlines, reported Craddock, with a potential for more.

Bandon Dunes is a key factor to this effort.

“We currently have, in excess, 1,000 golfers a month who come through the airport, but we’re not getting them all,” said Craddock. “We actually have quite a bit of leakage because of lack of connections, people are flying into Eugene, Medford and even Portland. We’d like to redirect them and get them here.”

If successful, SORA could see its first northbound flights start as early as 2026.

For more information about Southwest Oregon Regional Airport and its services, visit www.cooscountyairportdistrict.com.