Nearly $35M in budget plan for Little Rock airport

Proposal for 2019 forecasts continued rise in boardings

FILE — A sign for the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock is shown in this undated file photo.
FILE — A sign for the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock is shown in this undated file photo.

The proposed 2019 operating budget for Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field totals almost $34.98 million, a 1.5 percent increase over its 2018 estimated $34.47 million operating budget. The proposal assumes a continuing increase in airline passenger traffic.

Next year's budget includes no increase in parking fees, which is the single largest source of revenue at the state's largest airport. Parking is projected to bring in about $9.5 million this year, accounting for nearly 28 percent of the 2018 operating budget. Rates range from $8 daily in the economy -- or Peanut -- lot to $13 daily in the short-term lots and parking deck.

"We have not changed the rate in the parking lots," said Bryan Malinowski, Clinton National's deputy executive director. "We don't plan to."

Parking is expected to account for about $9.7 million in revenue in next year's budget, or 1.9 percent more than parking revenue projected for 2018, according to airport documents.

The increase is attributed to a rise in passenger traffic, which is forecast to be 2 percent higher in 2019 than the projected passenger traffic for this year.

Officials say they anticipate the airport will finish 2018 with 1,063,904 passenger boardings, 4.6 percent more than the 1,017,004 boarding passengers reported in 2017. Next year's proposed budget assumes the airport will see 1,085,182 boardings.

The seven airlines that fly in and out of the airport will be charged more to use the airport next year.

Charges, based on how much each airline flight weighs upon landing, will rise to $4.21 per 1,000 pounds from the $4.17 charged now, a 1 percent increase.

Airlines also will be charged more for space they lease in the passenger terminal to cover the facility's operating and capital costs. Those rates will increase to $42.50 per square foot from $41.07 per square foot, a 3.5 percent increase.

Landing fees and airline terminal lease rates are expected to account for $11.4 million in revenue next year, or almost a third of the proposed operating budget, up from $11 million estimated for this year.

Part of the increased revenue is attributed to the increase in passenger traffic, airport officials said.

Stacy Hurst, the chairman of the Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission, had questions about the increased fees on the airlines but was mollified by airport officials, who said the increases still kept Clinton National as a good place for the airlines to do business.

"I'm just always concerned we remain competitive in the marketplace for airlines," Hurst said after a meeting Tuesday of the commission's finance committee to review the proposed 2019 budget. "Just raising the rates, I always have questions just to make sure we remain competitive. But I'm satisfied with it. I think it's a conservative, thoughtful approach. I think they've done their homework. As long as our enplanements continue to increase slightly next year, I think we will be good."

The finance committee, of which Hurst also is a member, voted to recommend the budget and the airline fee increases to the commission, which is scheduled to vote on the budget next week.

The higher passenger traffic is driving revenue increases in other areas of the proposed operating budget next year.

Terminal concessions next year are projected to rise to nearly $1.3 million, a 1.2 percent increase over the $1.28 million the airport expects to collect in 2018. Income from rental car operations is projected to rise 2.1 percent, to $4.6 million from $4.5 million.

Operating expenses are expected to total $24.3 million next year, which is $2.2 million, or 10 percent, more than the $22.1 million in expenses Clinton National is expected to incur in 2018.

About half of the increased expense is attributed to salaries and wages and to employee benefits.

Salaries and wages for the airport's roughly 150 employees are expected to cost the airport $8.6 million in 2019, or $670,000 more than the $7.93 million this year. The difference includes a 3 percent merit-pay increase for employees who qualify and unspent salaries and wages created by retirements and resignations.

Employee benefits are projected to total $4.4 million next year compared with $3.8 million in 2018, an increase airport officials attribute primarily to a 14 percent increase in employee health insurance premiums.

Metro on 11/14/2018

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