Once again, hopes are soaring that commuter air service may return to the Astoria Regional Airport in Warrenton, with connections to Portland, the rest of the country and beyond.

Ron Larsen, interim executive director of the Port of Astoria, announced at a press conference today attended by city and county leaders that the Port will receive an $842,400 U.S. Department of Transportation Small Community Air Service Development Program federal grant. “We’re incredibly enthusiastic,” Larsen said. It’s the largest grant awarded by the federal program this year.

He said the Port of Astoria and the city of Newport will split the grant funds, and each intends to use its half of the money as part of a 20 percent match for a $4-million-plus grant each is seeking from the state’s ConnectOregon II program. The Port applied to the state program once before, but was unsuccessful.

The purpose of the ConnectOregon II program, which is funded by lottery money, is to improve connections among the state’s highway system and other modes of transportation. Port and city leaders have been talking with Cape Air, a Massachusetts-based commuter line, with the goal of getting the company to establish service on the North Oregon and southwest Washington coast that would ferry commuters from Astoria and Newport to Portland International Airport.

Astoria Mayor Willis Van Dusen said the grant is great news that will help all aspects of this area, especially tourism, business and economic development. “Thanks to the teamwork of the Port, the county and Newport, it looks like it is going to happen,” he said.

“I’m just thrilled about this,” said state Sen. Betsy Johnson, who participated by speaker phone. “This is a great day for Oregon,” Johnson said, not just for Clatsop County. “We are a system of airports. PDX feeds people and goods out into the world. I’m confident it’s going to happen,” she said.

Johnson said she had talked with the president of Cape Air, and “I know how enthusiastic they are about coming out here.”

Cape Air is a short-haul, high-frequency airline, the kind the Port has been looking for, Larsen said, and it flies nine-passenger, twin-engine aircraft. Almost 1,000 people a month were flying out of Astoria when Horizon Air served Astoria in the mid-1990s, Larsen said, so there should be no trouble filling those seats. He said he would expect Cape Air to be self-sufficient within two years.

However, some improvements will be needed in order to accommodate the airline, Larsen said. Grant money can be used to upgrade the terminal and to help the airline get started. It will be a “public-private partnership, working synergistically,” Larsen said. He said the Port will be asking all to the entities at the press conference for financial support to come up with the $112,000 additional finding that is still needed for the ConnectOregon II match.

“It’s a tremendous step that the federal government has had confidence in us. This project will benefit all of Clatsop County and Pacific County (Wash.),” Larsen said. Astoria Regional Airport in Warrenton has “everything Portland’s airport has, but on a smaller scale,” Larsen said, and air service is one of the first things businesses and corporations look for when considering locating to Astoria.

“Corporations ask, ‘Do you have an airport?’ And we say, ‘Yes, we have an airport that has everything you need to come in,’ and their faces light up. The next thing they ask is ‘Do you have commercial air service?’ And as soon as you tell them you do not have commercial air service, their eyes glaze over and they say ‘It’s not going to work.’ That’s how important commercial air service and a good airport is to the economic development of the community. It is one of the first things all the businesses and corporations look for.”

Bruce Conner, co-owner of SunDial travel and cruise ship marketer, said air service will also make the area more attractive to cruise ships. “It’s a part of the puzzle we’ve been waiting for,” he said.

Port Commissioner Kathy Sanders said air service is a wonderful opportunity for economic development, and she hopes it will attract businesses to the County’s industrial park.

“It’s another step forward in our air system,” Johnson said, commending Larsen and the Port Commissioners, as well as Van Dusen and the Astoria City Council and the Clatsop County Commission for their efforts and foresight. She said the airport is well-used, safe, all-weather capable and well-maintained. “It’s a terrific facility,” Johnson said.

She said she will continue to advocate for Astoria during the ConnectOregon II selection process, which involves testimony before each “modal” board in Salem.

Establishing regular commuter air service from between Astoria and Portland has been an ongoing struggle. Empire Airlines was the first to try it. Arriving in 1994, it lasted just two months. Horizon Air began serving Astoria in 1995 and stayed for just a year. Larsen said Horizon left because of a companywide switch to larger aircraft that were not economical in the Astoria market. Next came Harbor Air. It lasted the longest, leaving in January 1999 after two years.