Arnold Palmer Regional Airport's gamble on casino junkets seems to be paying off, airport officials reported Tuesday. Airport Manager Gabe Monzo directed the attention of members of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority yesterday morning to Runway 5/23, where more than 100 passengers were boarding a DC-9 bound for Atlantic City, N.J. While increasingly frequent charter flights to the East Coast gambling mecca are nothing new for the burgeoning county-operated airport, the air carrier is, Monzo said, hailing the departure as Southeast Airline's 'inaugural flight' from Unity Township. 'We're really happy to have them here,' he said, noting the jet is one of five DC-9s now owned by the fledgling air carrier based in Tampa, Fla. Southeast joins Ryan and Spirit Air as the third charter airline to fly Atlantic City flights out of Arnold Palmer Regional. Charles W. Green, air-traffic control tower chief at the airport, added that for the past three months Casino Express also has been flying Boeing 737 loads (115 to 125) of local passengers to gambling getaways in Memphis, Tenn. 'We are averaging more than 700 people per month in and out of the airport with these flights. They are a moneymaker,' Green said, explaining the airport receives a $3 Passenger Facility Charge for each ticket sold on the flights. A landing fee - which is based on aircraft weight and ranges from $90 to $130 for DC-9s and 737s - also is paid on each trip made while the control tower is operating, he said. After regular hours an additional $150 is charged to cover overtime costs. Green said there were 15 round-trip gambling flights chartered from the local airport in April, and so far 14 round-trip flights have been scheduled in May. 'That boils down to roughly three flights a week,' said authority member John Finfrock. 'That's tremendous.' 'It's not bad, considering we started in 1985 with one gambling flight,' Monzo said. Links from the airport's Internet Web site (www.palmerairport.com) can connect passengers to Preferred Casino Tours and Trips to Win - two of the vacation vendors who offer packages from Unity Township to Harrah's and Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, respectively. 'These trips can also be booked through local travel agents,' Monzo said, noting prices vary for the junkets, which range from single day to two-night stays. Meanwhile, airport officials 'have also been talking to (Southeast) about some type of commuter service going south,' Monzo said. 'But that is still in negotiation.' He and authority Executive Director Gene Lakin also met with Continental Express officials last month to discuss additional commuter service at the airport. While no deals have been struck as yet, Monzo said, 'it's still a possibility.'

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