"Low-Fare Carrier May Offer Flights from Ontario, Calif., Airport to Europe"

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Low-Fare Carrier May Offer Flights from Ontario, Calif., Airport to
Europe
Inland Valley Daily (CA) Bulletin


ONTARIO, Calif. -- An upstart low-fare airline based in Virginia is in
talks that could lead to non-top flights between Ontario International
Airport and Europe.

Skylink Airways, which plans to start operating in the spring of 2005,
has already committed to service from Baltimore to Europe and has
capacity to introduce new routes that may include Southern California,
said Joshua Marks, the company's president.

The airline, which is in the process of getting certification from the
Federal Aviation Administration, is looking at both ONT and Los Angeles
International as possibilities for European flights, particularly to
London. 

"The location of the (Ontario) airport is great; the terminal facility
is great," said Marks, who was in Ontario Monday to meet with airport
and city officials. "We still have to look carefully at how we can
actually roll out services at the airport. Just because we have
available gates and a terminal, doesn't mean the rest of the facilities
and the administrative services are ready for it."

Airport officials said they were very excited about the company's
interest. Skylink Airways is the first company to seriously consider
using Ontario International Airport to fly to Europe.

While the Ontario airport is mainly focusing its marketing efforts on
Canadian and additional East Coast destinations, Monday's meeting
indicated that international service to other continents is possible
sooner than initially thought, said Mark Thorpe, air service marketing
director for Los Angeles World Airports, which owns ONT.

There is a need in Southern California for a second international
airport to relieve the congestion and pressure on LAX, Thorpe said.

LAX covers 98.7 percent of all international destinations from Southern
California. With millions more expected in the region in the near
future, it is not feasible that the region continue to depend on one
airport, he said.

Ultimately, officials would like Ontario International Airport to offer
service to major cities in Europe and Asia, including Tokyo, London and
Paris.

"We see a lot of reasons to feel positive about the viability of
developing international air service in our airport in Ontario," Thorpe
said.

Ontario has some advantages over LAX, such as getting through U.S.
Customs and Immigration more quickly and being closer and more
hassle-free to inland residents. While it is more expensive to operate
out of Ontario than Los Angeles, the costs at LAX are expected to
increase with major plans for expansion.

Ontario Mayor Gary Ovitt said the city, along with Los Angeles World
Airports, is eager to do what it takes to make service from Ontario to
Europe a reality.

"I think it will increase our number of passengers per year," Ovitt
said. "This will be another service for corporate executives where they
can fly to London and other parts of Europe."

Officials from Skylink Airways say they hope to capture passengers that
want more than a traditional, low-cost carrier experience.

The airline, which eventually would like to offer service to Asia and
South America, hopes to offer products associated with higher-fare
travel, such as upscale catering, and other services at the airport to
distinguish themselves from other airlines, Marks said.

Passengers on a 10-hour international flight have much different needs
than those on shorter, transcontinental flights, he said.

"There's certainly demand in this area for service to Europe," Marks
said. "The question is which cities, what frequency and how big of an
airplane. Those are the questions we are trying to answer right now."


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************