Sherbrooke actively soliciting air companies

By Gordon Lambie

The City of Sherbrooke is looking to sweeten the pot when it comes to attracting passenger carrier to its regional airport. On Monday night the city agreed to provide $250,000 per year for five years to a company that signs on to offer commercial flights as part of an incentive deal meant to help offset the cost of getting a profitable business model up and running. Marie-France Délage, the city’s deputy general manager, explained that the city has created a ten year business plan for the airport, in which an operator would be able to become profitable in year six. Over those first five years, however, the plan foresees a $5.2 million shortfall. That loss estimate, she continued, is the main reason it has been hard to get a company to sign on to date. Although the city does not usually have the legislative power to give money to private companies, Délage said that this amount of $1.25 million over five years is an exception because supporting this kind of offset is seen as a measure that will pay off in the long run. See full story in the Thursday, Oct. 24 edition of The Record.

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