Efforts begin to spruce up Cochrane airport.

The skies over Cochrane have been without commercial flights for some time now, but a newly-formed commission dedicated to breathing life back into the town's airport may change that.

Peter Picard is chair the Cochrane Aviation Business Commission (CABC), which was formed over six months ago by the Town of Cochrane to promote and create aviation business activity at the town's airport.

Picard says CABC would ultimately like to see commercial flights touch down in Cochrane again, but right now he would be satisfied with increase in air traffic of any sort.

"Our mandate is to, basically, turn the airport from a quiet, run-down airport being supported basically by the town, to a more thriving airport that can become more self-sufficient and pay its own way," Picard says of CABC.

He became involved in the commission when a consultant's report commissioned by the town revealed "a multitude of ideas" for the aiport.

"With the report in hand and my particular interest, and the interest of the (Ontario) Ministry of Natural Resources in establishing a base of operations there, it was thought that it would be a good idea to put together not just a committee but a commission of people with a vested interest in the airport to oversee it."

The commission's first order of business, he says, was to bring the airport up to standards to make it a more appealing location to land.

Those improvements were highlighted at a recent fly-in at the airport, where pilots landed their aircraft to socialize with airport officials and the general public.

"We did a lot of repairs to the inside of the airport and got it cleaned up with proper signage," Picard says.

"We wanted to make a statement that the Cochrane airport is open for business, that we're no longer a little, run-down station.

He says it was just the first of many fly-ins to come, but CABC will try to organize future fly-ins to run in conjunction with other major community events, like the town's carnival or truck drag.

Running events simultaneously gives people another excuse to fly into the airport, he says.

"Somebody who's thinking of coming to Cochrane (for those events) might say, 'Hey, I'll fly there.' But to fly there just for a free hamburger and to shoot the breeze might not be worth It.

"We're going to try to promote (the airport) along with other things. We want to get the hotels and the cabs (involved) and we plan on having a courtesy car. It's little perks like that allow the aviator to fly in and feel this is a friendly place.

"They do that in the U.S. at better airports. They come right out and pick you up at the plane when you arrive.

"They drive you to the terminal and they have lounges where you sit; they have computers available so you can check the weather, they have courtesy cars if you want to go downtown and have dinner.

"So it's well arranged, and you remember that."

Picard says the airport also has set its sights on being more competitive. CABC has set a policy whereby fuel prices at the airport are guaranteed to be two cents lower than at neighbouring airports in Iroquois Falls and Timmins.

"People will eventually get to know that Cochrane is the best place to fuel up," he says.

"We have to make ourselves attractive to the fly-in community. We've seen where other communities -- communities that have less redeeming qualities than Cochrane -- are doing extremely well by having promoted their airport in many ways like tourist packages."

Built in 1968, the Cochrane Municipal Airport was once a thriving facility with regular scheduled passenger service.

A decrease in demand and an increase in costs, however, led to the cancellation of regular flights, and the airport was left all but abandoned.

Picard says it's now up to CABC to change that. Bringing in passenger service is "a major goal of ours," he says.

"Of course, until we have either the demand or the passengers, what's there to entice a company? It costs a lot to fly planes around. That's the reason they stopped. They can't land in Cochrane on a regular basis to pick up nobody or one person.

CABC intends to become a self-supporting organization within three years. Although the airport is owned by the town, it is operated and maintained by CABC.

"The reason it was set up as a commission was to be like the (Cochrane) public utilities commission, where eventually it would be an autonomous body more or less," Picard says.