Airport set to land lower fares

Huntsville International joins national trend with Independence Air arrival

Sunday, August 08, 2004

By MARIAN ACCARDI

Times Business Writer accardi@htimes.com

For at least the past 15 years, Huntsville International Airport has been courting low-fare carriers. Now that the airport has landed its first discount airline, it joins what one of its executives calls the country's low-fare revolution.

Dulles, Va.-based Independence Air announced last week that it will start service at Huntsville International on Oct. 1. The airline will have six daily non-stop flights to its hub at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., and, from there, connections to 30 more cities.

By the end of the summer, Independence Air expects to have the largest low-fare hub in the United States, with 300 daily departures.

Huntsville and Charlotte, N.C., will be the 36th and 37th cities, respectively, in Independence Air's network.

Rick Tucker, executive director of the Port of Huntsville, which includes the airport, has high expectations for the new service.

"Any time a low-fare carrier comes into a marketplace, obviously, fares get lower across the board," Tucker said. "And in every market, with lower fares, you increase the volume of traffic."

Typical fares to Washington with Independence Air range from $69 to no more than $129 one-way.

More than a half-million passengers flew out of Huntsville in 2003.

"If we retain all our passengers that are driving to competing airports for lower fares, we could double the amount of traffic," Tucker said. In all, there were more than 1 million passengers flying into and out of Huntsville last year, according to airport officials.

"Low-fare carriers tend to have ripple effect on fares in the market and will assist in bringing fares on legacy carriers down," said Dr. Rebecca Lutte, a faculty member with the University of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute. That will give travelers in this area better opportunities for low fares, she said.

Huntsville International might see a rise in traffic, Lutte said, but "I think more so, you'll see (a discount airline) draw people away from other carriers."

Jeff Pollack, the senior director of market planning for Independence Air, predicted another benefit that airports have experienced after a discount airline arrives: "a significant stimulation of the overall economy," not just for the airport and related services, but the community.

In 1996, Akron/Canton Airport had 425,000 passengers. It was difficult for the airport to compete with the much-larger Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to its north, which offered service with Southwest Airlines. Then Orlando-based discount airline AirTran Airways arrived at Akron/Canton.

The airport had a record 1.2 million passengers in 2003, the first year the airport has broken the 1 million-passenger mark, said Kristie Van Auken, the airport's marketing director. In June, the airport had a record month with 133,747 passengers, about 20,000 more than a typical month for the airport, and officials there expect the airport to have 1.4 million passengers this year.

"We've worked very hard to position ourselves as a viable alternative," Van Auken said. "In the last three or four years, we've seen a real increase in the number of Cleveland travelers."

The airport has the lowest average fares of any airport in Ohio, she said.

"Without a doubt, AirTran is the straw that stirs the drink," she said. "Other carriers match (AirTran's fares) almost dollar for dollar on every route."

The next crucial step in Huntsville, she said, is for passengers "to hop on those airplanes. You've got to fill up those airplanes."

Why did Independence Air pick Huntsville? "In general, it's very clear there is a tremendous demand for low-fare service," said Rick DeLisi, the airline's director of corporate communications. Independence Air's mission, he said, "is to bring low-fare service to markets that currently don't have it."

DeLisi called low-fare service "the wave of the future. There is a low-fare revolution going on in America."

Low-fare carriers claimed about 4 percent of the market share in the U.S. airline industry in 1991; that has increased to about 25 percent today, according to the 2004 Airline Quality Rating, conducted by the Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute. That number could increase to nearly 40 percent in the next few years, according to the study.

Pollack said Independence Air had considered providing service in Huntsville for years. Its parent company is Atlantic Coast Airlines Holdings Inc., formerly a regional jet partner to United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. (The company officially changed its name last week to FLYi Inc.).

"We're looking for cities that understand what we're trying to do and know how to respond to low fares. The community is ready for low fares" and ready "to embrace the services we have."

"The facility here made it a no-brainer for us," Pollack said.

When Tucker and others at Huntsville International found out last year that Atlantic Coast Airlines would launch a low-fare airline, they immediately started communicating with representatives, reminding them how much the airport wanted low-fare service.

"It was certainly encouraging from the beginning," Tucker said, though he didn't expect to be part of Independence Air's initial rollout of cities.

"We visited their office earlier this year," Tucker said. After that, Independence Air representatives came here to check out the facilities.

As airport officials planned an $87.7 million expansion and renovation project for Hunts-ville International, they looked not only at a normal growth scenario of about 2 1/2 percent annually, but also a scenario taking into account a sudden growth spurt that could come from the introduction of low-fare carrier.

The five-year, nine-phase expansion project includes a concourse renovation that will bring in two extra jet bridges with baggage lifts and air conditioning, extra passenger screening lanes and a new parking deck. Food concession areas will be expanded, and a larger public waiting area will be built to give more room for people meeting travelers.

With low-fare carrier service, "you'll draw a greater leisure market and you'll have meeters and greeters," Tucker said. "All of (the expansion plans are) geared toward taking care of this kind of anticipated growth."

Though airport officials are excited about attracting a low-fare carrier, there's no breather in their competitive industry.

Tucker and Barbie Peek, the airport's marketing director, attended an air service development forum in Portland in late June, where 803 meetings were scheduled among 47 airline representatives and 132 airports. It was a sort of speed-dating scene for airlines and airports.

Although it was likely by then that Independence Air would pick Huntsville for service, Tucker and Peek met with the carrier's representatives there as well as reps with some major airlines already serving Huntsville.

"You have to continue to have an active air service development program," Peek said last week. "We have an obligation to work with our existing carriers to enhance their service and to try to attract new service.

"I don't think you ever stop. You can't."




Airport set to land lower fares Huntsville International joins national trend with Independence Air arrival Sunday, August 08, 2004 By MARIAN ACCARDI Times Business Writer accardi@htimes.com For at least the past 15 years, Huntsville International Airport has been courting low-fare carriers. Now that the airport has landed its first discount airline, it joins what one of its executives calls the country's low-fare revolution. Dulles, Va.-based Independence Air announced last week that it will start service at Huntsville International on Oct. 1. The airline will have six daily non-stop flights to its hub at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., and, from there, connections to 30 more cities. By the end of the summer, Independence Air expects to have the largest low-fare hub in the United States, with 300 daily departures. Huntsville and Charlotte, N.C., will be the 36th and 37th cities, respectively, in Independence Air's network. Rick Tucker, executive director of the Port of Huntsville, which includes the airport, has high expectations for the new service. "Any time a low-fare carrier comes into a marketplace, obviously, fares get lower across the board," Tucker said. "And in every market, with lower fares, you increase the volume of traffic." Typical fares to Washington with Independence Air range from $69 to no more than $129 one-way. More than a half-million passengers flew out of Huntsville in 2003. "If we retain all our passengers that are driving to competing airports for lower fares, we could double the amount of traffic," Tucker said. In all, there were more than 1 million passengers flying into and out of Huntsville last year, according to airport officials. "Low-fare carriers tend to have ripple effect on fares in the market and will assist in bringing fares on legacy carriers down," said Dr. Rebecca Lutte, a faculty member with the University of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute. That will give travelers in this area better opportunities for low fares, she said. Huntsville International might see a rise in traffic, Lutte said, but "I think more so, you'll see (a discount airline) draw people away from other carriers." Jeff Pollack, the senior director of market planning for Independence Air, predicted another benefit that airports have experienced after a discount airline arrives: "a significant stimulation of the overall economy," not just for the airport and related services, but the community. In 1996, Akron/Canton Airport had 425,000 passengers. It was difficult for the airport to compete with the much-larger Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to its north, which offered service with Southwest Airlines. Then Orlando-based discount airline AirTran Airways arrived at Akron/Canton. The airport had a record 1.2 million passengers in 2003, the first year the airport has broken the 1 million-passenger mark, said Kristie Van Auken, the airport's marketing director. In June, the airport had a record month with 133,747 passengers, about 20,000 more than a typical month for the airport, and officials there expect the airport to have 1.4 million passengers this year. "We've worked very hard to position ourselves as a viable alternative," Van Auken said. "In the last three or four years, we've seen a real increase in the number of Cleveland travelers." The airport has the lowest average fares of any airport in Ohio, she said. "Without a doubt, AirTran is the straw that stirs the drink," she said. "Other carriers match (AirTran's fares) almost dollar for dollar on every route." The next crucial step in Huntsville, she said, is for passengers "to hop on those airplanes. You've got to fill up those airplanes." Why did Independence Air pick Huntsville? "In general, it's very clear there is a tremendous demand for low-fare service," said Rick DeLisi, the airline's director of corporate communications. Independence Air's mission, he said, "is to bring low-fare service to markets that currently don't have it." DeLisi called low-fare service "the wave of the future. There is a low-fare revolution going on in America." Low-fare carriers claimed about 4 percent of the market share in the U.S. airline industry in 1991; that has increased to about 25 percent today, according to the 2004 Airline Quality Rating, conducted by the Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute. That number could increase to nearly 40 percent in the next few years, according to the study. Pollack said Independence Air had considered providing service in Huntsville for years. Its parent company is Atlantic Coast Airlines Holdings Inc., formerly a regional jet partner to United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. (The company officially changed its name last week to FLYi Inc.). "We're looking for cities that understand what we're trying to do and know how to respond to low fares. The community is ready for low fares" and ready "to embrace the services we have." "The facility here made it a no-brainer for us," Pollack said. When Tucker and others at Huntsville International found out last year that Atlantic Coast Airlines would launch a low-fare airline, they immediately started communicating with representatives, reminding them how much the airport wanted low-fare service. "It was certainly encouraging from the beginning," Tucker said, though he didn't expect to be part of Independence Air's initial rollout of cities. "We visited their office earlier this year," Tucker said. After that, Independence Air representatives came here to check out the facilities. As airport officials planned an $87.7 million expansion and renovation project for Hunts-ville International, they looked not only at a normal growth scenario of about 2 1/2 percent annually, but also a scenario taking into account a sudden growth spurt that could come from the introduction of low-fare carrier. The five-year, nine-phase expansion project includes a concourse renovation that will bring in two extra jet bridges with baggage lifts and air conditioning, extra passenger screening lanes and a new parking deck. Food concession areas will be expanded, and a larger public waiting area will be built to give more room for people meeting travelers. With low-fare carrier service, "you'll draw a greater leisure market and you'll have meeters and greeters," Tucker said. "All of (the expansion plans are) geared toward taking care of this kind of anticipated growth." Though airport officials are excited about attracting a low-fare carrier, there's no breather in their competitive industry. Tucker and Barbie Peek, the airport's marketing director, attended an air service development forum in Portland in late June, where 803 meetings were scheduled among 47 airline representatives and 132 airports. It was a sort of speed-dating scene for airlines and airports. Although it was likely by then that Independence Air would pick Huntsville for service, Tucker and Peek met with the carrier's representatives there as well as reps with some major airlines already serving Huntsville. "You have to continue to have an active air service development program," Peek said last week. "We have an obligation to work with our existing carriers to enhance their service and to try to attract new service. "I don't think you ever stop. You can't." Copyright 2004 al.com. All Rights Reserved.