Increased parking fees help airport survive pinch

Those measures seemed all the more important yesterday as American Airlines flight attendants re-voted on contract concessions that kept their employer from filing for federal bankruptcy protection.

American Airlines accounts for $6.1 million in revenue, about 8% of the airport's $74.7 million budget.

The airport developed several scenarios on how to deal with the outcome of yesterday's vote with American, as well as with any of the other airlines that are shaky financially, airport President Raul Regalado said.
''We're positioned well should the worst of anything happen,'' he said.

At Regalado's request, the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority deferred a 3% raise and 20% bonus that Regalado was due after his annual evaluation. The raise would be $6,240, and the bonus amounts to $41,600.

Regalado said it wouldn't be appropriate to accept the raise while financial instability in the airline industry could affect the airport's bottom line. The authority could consider the raise in June, when it considers a new budget.

The American Airlines flight attendants' concessions approval averted the possibility of an airline bankruptcy tying up an unknown amount of revenue that the airline owes the airport.

US Airways filed for bankruptcy protection last year; it owes the airport $150,000.

The airport has built a $1.7 million cushion into its budget so far this fiscal year, with revenue of $700,000 more than the $46.4 million projected for the first nine months of its budget year, which ends June 30. Expenses were $1 million less than the $27 million projected.

The number of people using airport parking lots in March was down 3% from last year, but parking revenue was up 4% because of the fee increase that went into effect in July, Regalado told members of the airport authority yesterday.

''Without the cost adjustments, our revenue would have been down about 9%,'' Regalado said.