TAMPICO DELEGATION PUSHES FOR REGIONAL AIR SERVICE IN MEETING WITH NEW MAYOR TONY MARTINEZ

By Juan Montoya
A delegation from Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico, is in town today to promote the relationship between that Mexican urban coastal center and Brownsville and to renew the relationship between its elected officials and Brownsville's new mayor Tony Martinez.
On top of their list is the promotion of tourism between both cities, and the establishment of a regional relationship between northern Mexico and South Texas.
"We want to look at the possibility of promoting a joint relationship with a regional aspect and to impress upon the new mayor that Tampico is committed to work with Brownsville to the benefit of both," said a municipal representative through a press release.
"Our objective is to explore the our relationship in a regional context between Tampico, Brownsville and South Padre Island. We should think about obtaining and creating new benefits for all the region, not merely the metropolitan canters," the statement said.
One of the goals in the Tampico delegation's agenda includes the creation of a new regional airline with international flights through the Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport, according to a spokesman.
The Tampico delegation will address the issue during the meeting s with Martinez and urge the mayor to consider the possibilities and economic potential of establishing direct air service between Brownsville and large metropolitan markets in Mexico, the statement said.
Now, whether the idea will fly with Martinez, who during the campaign chided his mayoral opponents former mayor Pat Ahumada and outgoing commissioner Eduardo Camarillo for supporting the Fly Frontera airline proposal in a mass flier is to be seen.
Martinez charged that Camarilo and Ahumada voted for the proposal, only to disclaim the charges when Camarillo challenged him to prove what happened in executive session when the proposal was presented by Fly Frontera representative Carlos Quintanilla.
That issue explodd in the city commission elections and spurred opposition to both Ahumda, Camarillo and Charlie Atkinson, who were seen as proponents of the Fly Frontera proposal.
But now, with the Ahumada, Camarillo, Atkinson and Quintanilla out of the picture, will the proposal, viewed as a viable and necessary aspect of increase tourism and commerce between South Texas and violence-wracked Tamaulipas fly?
At least one other local service provider – Hunt's Pan Am – has proposed similar service but wants the guarantees the subsidies that Fly Frontera was applying for with the different city entities. Its owner, Dave Hendricks (We stand corrected. It's Bob. We stand by the rest of the story), has said that unless the city provides the supports, he would seek other cities to establish a cargo (and passenger flight) hub between St. Louis and South Texas to exploit the China trade. However, industry experts said that Hendricks has approached Sky King to inquire about the leasing of planes for his enterprise only to be rebuffed because Sky King is indebted to Fly Frontera owner Jim Gallagher to the tune of $640,000 owed him after Sky King declared bankruptcy.
"I don't think Sky King is going to lease Hendricks anything while they owe Gallagher that money," said the source.
After the Fly Frontera proposal failed, many local bloggers fought over credit for the city's turning down the airline. Downtown rehabilitation activists were hoping that the service would be established to draw badly-needed capital and investors to downtown Brownsville.
"There's no doubt that we need the service," said a downtown promoter. "Unfortunately, personalities got in the way and now we're back to square one. I wish the Tampico delegation luck."