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.
