Watertown airport to welcome American Eagle on Thursday

DEXTER — When American Eagle Airlines begins service to Watertown International Airport on Thursday, one of the first people who will step off a plane from Chicago will be a north country native arriving for a Thanksgiving homecoming from Iraq.

Maj. Kenneth D. Slover, executive officer with the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division of the 1st Armored Division at Fort Riley, Kan., returned from Iraq about a month ago, according to his father, William M. Slover, Rodman.

“I asked him about how he happened to get a flight direct to Watertown, and he said ‘it was the best price,' a special rate for military people,” said Mr. Slover, who retired in 2002 as a captain with the Watertown Fire Department.

Maj. Slover, with wife Michelle and daughters Griffin, 8, Gabrielle, 6, and Gillian, 4, are scheduled to fly out of Kansas City at 4:05 p.m. Central time Thursday. Following a 70-minute layover at Chicago O'Hare, their American Eagle flight is due to depart at 6:30 p.m., destination Watertown. William and Cynthia Slover are anticipating a 9:30 p.m. reunion with their son and family.

“It's quite exciting,” Mr. Slover said. “And we're real proud of him.”

The Rodman couple visited their son and his family at Fort Riley in June, when he was there on a two-week leave.

Maj. Slover is a 1991 graduate of South Jefferson Central School and a 1995 graduate of Clarkson University, where he began his military career in the ROTC program.

Military passengers are one of the primary targets for American Eagle and Jefferson County in marketing the service.

The service, which includes 12 weekly flights from Jefferson County to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and the same number of return flights, will begin on Thursday. American Eagle's 44-seat Embraer ERJ-140 aircraft will replace the 9-seat Cessnas now flown by Cape Air to Albany. Cape Air will make its final flight from Jefferson County's airport tonight.

The county will welcome the first American Eagle incoming flight at 4:25 p.m. Thursday at the airport, 22529 Airport Drive, off Route 12F. A ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. and end with the first outgoing flight at 5:05 p.m.

Regular flights from Watertown will leave at 7:10 a.m. for an 8:55 a.m. arrival at O'Hare, every day except Sunday, and at 5:05 p.m. for a 6:45 p.m. arrival at O'Hare, every day except Saturday. Flights from Chicago will leave at 1:30 p.m. for a 4:25 p.m. arrival in Watertown, every day except Sunday, and at 6:30 p.m. for a 9:30 p.m. arrival, every day except Saturday. The airport's code is ART.

American Eagle will receive $3,047,972 annually through a federal Department of Transportation Essential Air Service contract for the service. American Eagle, Fort Worth, Texas, has 1,700 daily departures from 180 airports. It is the regional service partner of American Airlines.

Though American Eagle couldn't share booking numbers on Tuesday, “bookings are building in what we believe is a developmental market,” spokesman Edward Martelle said in an email. “We are confident the community will respond to the travel opportunities provided by our Chicago cornerstone hub.”

Jefferson County employees are scrambling to get ready for the arrival of the first American Eagle Airlines flight on Thursday afternoon.

“They're well-organized and it's just the details that we want to make sure that both American Eagle and the airport are ready and professional for the public that will be using the service here in two days,” said James L. Lawrence Jr., county highway superintendent. “We want to make it a unique experience for Jefferson County residents and passengers.”

County officials have hoped that American Eagle's larger planes with a connection to a major hub will push the airport over 10,000 boarding passengers, qualifying it for a larger subsidy from the Federal Aviation Administration and making it, at least, self-sufficient.

“We're very pleased to see American Eagle flying out of Watertown and we certainly believe it's going to be a great asset to not only Jefferson County, but our neighboring communities,” said Legislator Barry M. Ormsby, who chairs the board's ad hoc airport committee. “It's going to be great for economic development and the businesses in our area and for our Fort Drum travelers.”

As the two carriers make the transition, Jefferson County employees are unpacking, preparing and organizing American Eagle equipment, setting up communications lines and preparing to train American Eagle staff on the airport's procedures.

“We are working to get office space intact for American Eagle and also set up the revised baggage and passenger area; we've got the temporary trailer for screened passengers while the terminal is still being completed,” Mr. Lawrence said.

To make space for the expanded service, Jefferson County is spending $794,750 from its money earned through Fort Drum housing projects' host agreements to expand the terminal, install a baggage claim conveyor belt and a secure seating area for 49 people. County employees are also creating an expanded gravel parking area and renovating the second floor offices and conference room.

“We have continuation of the terminal,” Mr. Lawrence said. “And this is a time when we are gearing up all our maintenance equipment for snow removal.”

And staff may need to be prepared: the region has a lake effect snow watch in effect from Thursday morning to Friday morning.