CdA wins out over Spokane on Empire deal – Airline will move 40 jobs to new Idaho site

Empire Airlines will build its new maintenance hangar and offices in Coeur d’Alene, moving about 40 jobs from Spokane to North Idaho, the company announced Friday.

The regional airline, based in Coeur d’Alene, considered competing offers from both Idaho and Washington on where to build the hangar and a separate office building.

Tom Sowa
Staff writer

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=122503&ID=s1461026&cat=section.business

The hangar will be a 44,000-square-foot building. Empire’s new offices will fill about 12,000 square feet in an adjacent airport building.

The two structures should cost about $3.3 million.

Both states coveted Empire’s expansion since it involved 40 current jobs and an extra 18 new jobs over the next year as the airline continues to grow.

The Idaho offer, said Empire Airlines CEO Tim Komberec, was slightly better than Washington’s.

"Both were extremely good proposals. It was a difficult decision for our board to make," said Komberec.

Empire currently has about 40 Spokane workers handling maintenance and flight operations. It has another 50 in Coeur d’Alene, where its main office is located.

Regionally, Empire employs close to 190 workers.

The 40 Spokane workers will transfer to Coeur d’Alene when the new facilities are finished next summer, said Komberec. Those skilled mechanic and technician jobs pay about $37,000 per year.

Empire Airlines hauls freight, primarily for FedEx, in 13 Western states and British Columbia.

Company officials say they need the new hangar to provide maintenance for up to four aircraft at a time.

"We’re sad we didn’t get the hangar," said Spokane airport spokesman Todd Woodard. "But we’re glad for Coeur d’Alene. Empire Airlines is a great company with a great vision."

Washington officials offered a $3 million deal that included $1 million in state money plus another $2 million from Spokane’s airport to build the facility.

Idaho’s Department of Commerce and other agencies countered with an offer that came to $3.5 million in incentives.

"There was quite a tug of war between both states on this proposal," said Michael Journee, a spokesman for Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne.

The winning offer included an $850,000 grant from Idaho’s Department of Commerce, plus additional money for work force retraining. Another $500,000 in Idaho grant money will go to the Panhandle Area Council to help with infrastructure improvements at the Coeur d’Alene airport, said Journee.

The Panhandle Area Council, which arranges economic development programs in North Idaho, will build the hangar and then lease it to Empire.

The airline will continue to operate flights from Spokane’s airport and keep about 12 workers there, Komberec said. It will continue to lease a flight hangar there as well.

The Coeur d’Alene hangar will focus on "heavy maintenance" which occurs when aircraft need extensive work or repair, said Komberec.

•Business writer Tom Sowa can be reached at (509) 459-5492 or at [email protected]