Page 8/The Sun and News, Saturday, March 23, 2024More expansion on tap for Gerald R. Ford International
James Gemmell
Contributing Writer
A groundbreaking cere-
mony for a terminal expan-
sion project at Michigan’s
second-largest airport will
take place next month.
So said Gerald R. Ford
International Airport
Authority Chief Operating
Officer/Vice President
Alexander Peric at the Gaines
Chamber of Commerce’s
quarterly luncheon Tuesday,
March 11. It was held at the
Crossroads Conference
Center, 6611 Clay Ave., in
Cutlerville.
Groundbreaking for the
terminal expansion is sched-
uled for April 10. Peric said
the building will be extended
to the west side, with the
ticket counters for the vari-ous airlines being consolidat-
ed to one section rather than
being on either side of the
baggage claim area. The bag-
gage claim will be in a sepa-
rate section from the ticket
counters.
Plans for a new control
tower are in the design phase.
Peric said the Federal
Aviation Administration
(FAA) owns all the control
towers across the country
and Ford International has
been trying to get it moved
since 2009. He expects it will
be relocated by the end of
2026 or early 2027.
Until then, Ford Airport
cannot build a parking garage
in the north lot or build large,
tall hangars to accommodate
general aviation or corporate
aircraft.
“So, moving the tower’s
going to be critical,” Peric
said.
The airport authority is an
independent body guided by
a seven-member board. Peric
said 3.79 million passengers
walked through the gates at
Ford Airport in 2023. And he
said the findings of a study
on the airport’s economic
impact on the region will be
released to the public this
spring. Ford International
sits on 3,200 acres of land at
5500 44th St.
It was Peric’s first address
to the Gaines Chamber since
Sept. 2021.
He gave a slide presenta-
tion to Chamber members
and guests, updating what
the airport is up to this year.He talked about the $
million expansion of
Concourse ‘A’, the first
phase of which opened last
summer.
It will have legacy carriers
such as United, Delta and
American Airlines and con-
tain higher end amenities,
including a V.I.P. lounge that
is scheduled to open in
March 2025.
“It’s not airline-specific.
You won’t need to be a cer-
tain airline passenger to
access the second-story
lounge,” Peric said.
Three concessions areas
have opened there, and more
will be opened soon in
Concourse A.
“It’s a brew garden, a retail
area in the middle there down
in the common area, and thena market kind of district
location with fresh-baked
goods. We are opening up
Freddy’s (restaurant). So,
Freddy’s will open at the end
of this month. Uccello’s will
open up sometime in the
summer,” Peric said.
Parking has expanded at
Ford International, which
recently opened an extension
on the airport’s economy lot.
Pricing has gone up a bit,
too.
“In the short-term area, we
lifted the cap of $36 per day.
So, now it’s an hourly; $2 per
hour with a daily rate of
$48,” Peric said.
The long-term garage park-
ing is $24 daily. The north lot
charges $17, and the other
lots are $14 per hour.
Peric said Ford
International offers non-stop
flights to distant places like
Houston and Los Angeles,
although sometimes it is on a
seasonal basis. He says there
are 30 or more nonstop
flights on any given day.
Ford Airport’s newest car-
rier is Sun Country Airlines.
“They’ve been doing char-
ters to Biloxi (Mississippi);
Laughlin, Nevada; Atlantic
City. But now they’re going
to be doing nonstop service
to Minneapolis/St. Paul start-
ing June 13. And then, we’ll
try to convince them to do
more, of course. And into
Florida and maybe Las Vegasand Arizona,” Peric said.
He noted that there are
several airports that Ford
International has to compete
with for passengers. For
example, there are commer-
cial-service airports in
Muskegon, Kalamazoo,
Lansing, Flint and in metro
Detroit, plus two in Chicago.
“We’re getting passengers
all the way down from
Traverse City, up from South
Bend to fly out of our air-
port,” Peric said. “So, we’re
really being the airport of
West Michigan.”
He said the average round-
trip domestic flight out of
Ford International is $377,
which is above the national
average but less than some
other airports in the region.
About 14 years ago, the
airport was the second-most
expensive airport to fly out
of in the country. Community
leaders got together to entice
AirTran Airways to begin
nonstop service in Grand
Rapids in 2010.
“It put downward pressure
on overall fares,” Peric said.
The competitive pricing
began inducing passengers to
choose Ford International as
their preferred airport. Peric
said the airport authority
sells the community on air-
lines and puts an emphasis
on making sure the airlines
have what they need to oper-
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Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority
executive Alex Peric speaks at the Gaines Chamber
of Commerce quarterly luncheon. (Photo by James
Gemmell)
A crowd of business leaders listens to a presentation at a Gaines Chamber of
Commerce luncheon gathering at the Crossroad Conference Center on March 11.
(Photo by James Gemmell)Gas prices reach yearly high in Michigan, for the
third week in a row
Janelle D. James
Bridge Michigan
Michigan gas prices have
been steadily increasing over
the last few weeks — just as
families prepare to hit the
road for spring break. Prices
have reached yearly highs
for the third consecutive
week, according to AAA.
The statewide average for
a gallon of regular gas is
$3.63, which is 11 cents
more than it was last week
when the average was $3.52.
Gas prices have shot up 44
cents over the last month.
Nationally, the average price
for a gallon of regular gas is
$3.52.
“Michigan motorists con-
tinue to see higher prices at
the pump, with the state
average reaching a new
2024-high,” said Adrienne
Woodland, spokesperson for
AAA. “If demand continues
to increase, alongside tight
supply, gas prices will likely
follow suit.”
The price of gasoline has
increased as demand slightly
rose from 9.01 to 9.04 mil-
lion barrels per day, accord-
ing to recent data from the
Energy InformationAdministration. However,
domestic gasoline supply
declined from 239.7 million
barrels to 234.1 million bar-
rels.
Gas prices also tend to
increase as the deadline for
states to switch over to sum-
mer-grade gas approaches.
Fuel terminals are required
to transition to summer fuel
by May 1, according to the
Energy Information
Administration. Gas stations
across the country aren’t
required to make the switch
until June 1.
Summer-grade fuel ismore expensive to produce
and people usually drive
more as the weather warms,
increasing demand.Summer-grade gasoline
typically contains 2 percent
of butane, a colorless, odor-
less gas that is used in lighterfluid for example. In the win-
ter, gas contains more butane,
to help vehicles start up in
colder weather.Gas prices in Michigan have shot up 44 cents in the last month, reaching year-
ly highs for the third consecutive week. (Bridge photo by Janelle D. James)