Tallahassee Airport Lands Another Airline

Posted on Tue, Feb. 17, 2004 

Airport Lands Another Airline
Tallahassee Democrat, FL

Continental Airlines is planting roots in Tallahassee,
giving the capital more competitive fares, routes and
airline seats headed west.

Beginning May 1, Continental - the No. 5 U.S. carrier
behind United, American, Delta and Northwest - will
offer two daily nonstop flights to its Houston hub,
the George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

"We think it's fantastic news that we can establish
new partnerships with another airline," Ken Austin,
director of Tallahassee Regional Airport, said Monday.
"This gives us another hub and another hub to the
west."

Before Continental, SkyWest - one of the airport's
four Delta Connections - was the only airline with
flights nonstop to Texas. SkyWest flies to Dallas-Fort
Worth.

News of Continental's entry into the market comes on
the heels of an earlier announcement by AirTran
officials to cut back on flights out of Tallahassee.
Last month, the low-cost air carrier ended its flight
from Tallahassee to Miami through Tampa.

"This is a tremendous success," Tallahassee Mayor John
Marks said of Monday's announcement. "And it will be
particularly good if we can get another carrier in
here to replace the routes we lost."

Continental is the airport's eighth carrier. Others
include Comair, Delta, Atlantic Southeast, Northwest
and U.S. Airways.

Continental officials, who will bring 50-seater
Embraer jets, say they had been studying the
Tallahassee market for more than a year. They plan to
employ about 10 local workers at the airport.

"We saw no nonstop going west from Tallahassee," said
Ned Walker, senior vice president of worldwide
corporate communications. "And we know business
travelers want to get to the West more often."

Continental has about 100 international flights. By
establishing direct flights from Tallahassee, it will
better connect Tallahassee and Florida to destinations
in Mexico, Central America, South America and Japan,
Walker said.

"There are strong economic ties with these countries
from Florida," he added.

Rick Kearney, president and chief executive officer of
Mainline Information Systems, agrees. Kearney, who has
offices in Asia, travels there every two months.
Continental, he said, will now give him more options.

"Part of the problem we've had is a perception problem
- that there were limited flight options," Kearney
said of Tallahassee. "People prefer one hop instead of
two. This is the right step to overcome that
perception problem."

Kearney said it also doesn't hurt that Continental is
a SkyMiles partner. Now if he has to catch a Delta
flight, his SkyMiles will be combined with those he's
accumulated with Continental. They won't be split
between the two airlines.

Last year, Continental expanded its alliance with
Delta to include frequent-flyer mileage.

Continental officials also promises competitive fares.
For example, 14-day advance round-trip ticket
purchases could offer prices such as: Tallahassee to
Los Angeles, $320; Tallahassee to Las Vegas, $290;
Tallahassee to Houston, $240.

No subsidy required for deal

Unlike the AirTran deal where city officials gave the
airline a $1.5 million subsidy to come here,
Continental didn't require such an incentive, city and
airline officials said.

What it will have is access to $100,000 to cover
marketing expenses.

"It's an incentive available to all airlines," Austin
said. "Any new carrier that comes in has access to
this." The money is available to new carriers or those
expanding service.

Continental brings with it not only two additional
flights but also 100 additional seats. And it boosts
the number of daily arrivals and departures out of
Tallahassee to about 85.

"What we're seeing is that Tallahassee is continuing
to make its mark," said Sue Dick, president of the
Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce and Economic
Development Council. "Airlines are seeing it's a
viable opportunity. I think it really shows
Tallahassee is moving in a strong direction. We're
bringing in service that continues to add to our
portfolio."


 

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