Cincinnati/Northern
Kentucky International Airport has greeted two new discount airlines in
the past five months with water-cannon salutes, balloons, beach balls
and bands.
The arrival of Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air is
evidence the airport is making strides toward shedding its longtime
reputation as having some of the nation’s highest ticket prices.
New
routes to Denver, Orlando, Florida’s Gulf Coast and Trenton, N.J.
(serving nearby Philadelphia), are a nice mix of flights for business
and leisure travelers. Ultimate Air Shuttle, popular among business
travelers, also recently added premium-priced flights on its 30-seat
jets to the New York City region.
But the pressure is still on.
Consistently,
the need for more flights to more business destinations ranks as a top
priority for companies and community leaders anxious to keep and create
new jobs. Interviews with business leaders, airline experts and airport
officialsshow a clear demand for a game-changing carrier offering
low-cost flights to major airports in all-important East Coast markets
such as New York and Boston.
The only game-changing option is
JetBlue Airways. Any chance CVG may have had of landing Southwest ended
when the standard-barrier of low-cost airlines started flying out of
Dayton early this year.
Airport officials have been working to land a game-changer since Candace McGraw took over as CEO in summer 2011.
“JetBlue
is our best opportunity at this time,” airport board Vice Chairman
Larry Savage said a year ago. “We’ve talked to JetBlue. They’re the ones
in play.”
Officials say talks with New York-based JetBlue are
ongoing, but negotiations are confidential. The airline is proving a
tough get not only for CVG but other Midwestern cities, which generally
are not in JetBlue’s expansion plans.
Still, there is tempered
optimism at the airport about landing JetBlue sometime next year or in
early 2015. Success by Frontier and Allegiant will only help prove that
demand exists here, McGraw said.
“I think we have great momentum going right now,” the CEO said.
Airline expert: 'JetBlue on deck'
It’s
uncertain how recent turmoil in the boardroom – the failed attempt in
August by some board members to fire McGraw – might play with JetBlue.
But McGraw has built strong relationships with top Cincinnati business
leaders, who will help determine whether JetBlue comes to town.
McGraw
also has worked hard to build relationships with all low-cost carriers.
That allowed Frontier to make a successful transition from Dayton in
May and Allegiant to announce last week it’s coming to CVG.
CVG
is positioned to land the game-changing airline, airline experts say.
They cite Frontier’s New Jersey route – recently announced just five
months after the airline arrived at CVG – as a clear signal that a
low-cost carrier can compete here against dominant Delta Air Lines.
Frontier became the airport’s first low-cost carrier since the late
1990s when it launched a daily nonstop flight to Denver.
Recent
news that the number of local passengers flying out of CVG has increased
for six straight months is another selling point for the airport,
experts say. It shows more local fliers are choosing CVG instead of
driving to airports in Dayton and other nearby cities to catch flights.
Frontier
has contributed to the increase in local passengers: Half of fliers on
its Dayton-to-Denver flight typically were from Greater Cincinnati.
Delta’s downsizing during the past eight years also has opened the door
for competition.
“I think JetBlue is on deck,” said local
aviation expert Jay Ratliff, a former Northwest Airlines general
manager. “Six months from now, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if CVG is
making an announcement about JetBlue.”
Discussions between CVG
and JetBlue have focused on adding flights to Boston – among eight
cities to which CVG is trying to add more flights to reduce fares. In a
study commissioned by CVG and top Cincinnati companies, the business
community identified Boston as the No. 1 U.S. city to which it wants
more nonstop flights. New York also is on the list.
Currently,
Delta’s four daily flights to Boston are the only nonstop options to
that city out of CVG. Boston is home of Procter & Gamble’s Gillette
brand and of Fidelity Investments, which has a large office in
Covington. JetBlue officials have been talking to representatives from
some top Cincinnati companies, gauging potential interest.
JetBlue has big impact on East Coast fares
It’s uncertain whether JetBlue will want a financial incentive to come to CVG. If so, that could be a deal-breaker.
The
airport is limited by the incentives it can offer because of its lease
agreement with current airlines. The business community has not embraced
subsidizing an airline, primarily because there is no guarantee it will
stick around after the incentive expires. Example: Columbus waived
landing and gate-rental fees for a year to convince JetBlue to start
flights to Boston and New York in 2006. JetBlue left town a year later.
JetBlue
operates flights in comparable business markets to Cincinnati. The
airline offers East Coast flights from Pittsburgh and Charlotte. In
Pittsburgh, JetBlue added a fourth daily nonstop flight to Boston in May
– but dropped all flights to New York in February.
JetBlue’s
decision to end the New York flights showed the impact a low-cost
carrier has on flights to major East Coast business markets. Fares that
had been as low as $116 soared to as high as $838 immediately after
JetBlue ended itsNew York flights, according to the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette.
There’s not much else that indicates JetBlue has
any interest in Cincinnati. Chicago remains JetBlue’s only presence in
the Midwest. JetBlue’s expansion plans have been centering mostly on
adding flights to the southeastern U.S., Caribbean and Latin America
from its main hub at New York’s JFK Airport and Boston.
Meanwhile, CVG will continue to focus on incrementally adding more flights, pecking away at reducing fares.
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