By Nicole Nelson<\/p>\n
The new carrier. The new city. The new growth. In the language of air service development, all of the above translate to \u201cthe sexy things\u201d associated categorically with success, according to Brian Pratte.<\/p>\n
As San Antonio International Airport\u2019s Chief Air Service Development Officer, Pratte is proud to tout the \u201csexy\u201d trifecta SAT has achieved with the announcement of service via Sun Country Airlines to its Minneapolis-St. Paul hub in May, followed by the commencement of Sun Country service to Portland International Airport in June. SAT is also thrilled with its Valentine\u2019s Day gift of nonstop flights to JFK via American Airlines that began Feb. 14.<\/p>\n
Yet as wonderful as these new routes may be, both Pratte and San Antonio\u2019s Aviation Director, Russ Handy, attest that they are perhaps equally, if not more, gratified by the existing routes that continue to grow and thrive in the highly leveraged marketplace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis probably doesn\u2019t sound real glamorous, but I\u2019m as proud of the things that you don\u2019t see as much of as I am about the big wins in air service,\u201d Handy explained, noting the gratification that ensues when air carriers decide to not only stay in a route but expand in that route by adding additional seats or larger aircraft. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a couple of airline meetings in the recent past where airlines have stressed how well their routes are doing. When you see a bunch of positives, you know that not only did you secure that new route, but you made a good overall decision. We\u2019ll have some losses as well as wins, but I think that is what I\u2019m most proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Campbell-Hill Aviation Group Vice President, Kevin Schorr, applauded airports such as SAT that take a well-rounded approach to route development.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople instinctively think about marketing and talking about new service, but we also need to keep the existing service in mind,\u201d Schorr said. \u201cAirports need to make sure the public knows what they offer because, in the end, it really comes down to butts in seats, and that is going to determine whether or not you maintain service for the long run or lose it before it has a chance to mature.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pratte said that SAT has taken a three-pronged approach to air service development to better serve the tremendous growth the mid-sized airport has experienced in recent years. In 2017, SAT exceeded 9 million passengers for the first time ever, and by 2018, the airport exceeded 10 million passengers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is maintenance and keeping what you\u2019ve got; expansion of what is already there and, of course, the growth,\u201d Pratte said. \u201cWe have been able to hit on all three approaches. I think that\u2019s really what\u2019s more beneficial than just one singular victory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three years ago, the city and the airport system made a strategic decision to focus on air service development, both air service new development and retention, Handy explained. \u201cBrian and his team, in an impressive amount of time, developed an air service development plan, a strategic plan with goals and metrics identifying, with data, air service opportunities and how they might go about that, and they tackled it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prior to Pratte\u2019s hire, air service development was relatively flat \u2013 growing by roughly one percent per year \u2013 despite the fact that the San Antonio community was consistently growing. The numbers have risen very quickly since then due, in part, to the under-told story of up-gauging with added frequencies and added capacity. Pratte and his team developed the plan and have spent up to three-quarters of their time on the road, selling the realities of SAT\u2019s demand potential to airlines. The result was that the airport system exceeded its five-year goal in a little over two years.<\/p>\n
Once an airport has a stellar route development team in place, one might think the job of air service development is seemingly formulaic. Between meetings at air carrier headquarters and air service speed dating conferences on the road (ACI-NA\u2019s JumpStart\u00ae Air Service Development Conference) and periodic conference calls with the airlines from the home airport office, there are seemingly tried and true techniques and strategies.<\/p>\n
But truth be told, it is far from a wash, rinse and repeat affair, according to Campbell-Hill\u2019s Schorr. As each airport has its own unique circumstances, the air service development consultant shared that in-depth data dives and community outreach have proven necessary to round out airport-airline mating and relationship rituals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we now have at our disposal are new data and new tools that make us smarter and hence make the airlines smarter about existing opportunities and about how to market new service, as well,\u201d Schorr said, emphasizing the customized approach. \u201cWe now have better insights as to who is using the airport or not using the airport, and other choices they are making. Which airlines are they flying, for example? While we have been able to get that kind of information for years, we can now get it sooner and with greater granularity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edmonton International Airport is all about the granularity as it relates to air service development. Realizing the vast importance of data, the airport developed \u201cEIA rewards\u201d a proprietary program that has provided the airport with a steady stream of exclusive passenger data since the program\u2019s inception in 2011.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen our customers reserve a parking stall or become a rewards member, we have the data on where they fly,\u201d said EIA Vice President of Air Service and Commercial Development, Myron Keehn, noting that EIA owns the data derived from the proprietary rewards program. \u201cWe have a lot of data on very frequent customers\u2019 travel and we utilize that as a tool to provide data so we can go to the airlines to have a\u00a0conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Used in tandem with industry data, Keehn said this valuable information has contributed to EIA\u2019s acquisition of seat capacity, both on mainline Canadian carriers as well as in the lower-cost entrance market with Air Canada Rouge, Swoop and Flair.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll three of (the new entry lower-cost airlines) provide service from our market and that has, honestly, helped on all routes,\u201d Keehn said, noting the carriers have \u2018thickened\u2019 some routes, and added new routes based upon the steady growth demand. \u201cThis has opened opportunities for people to travel somewhere they haven\u2019t gone before, which is really helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n
The other thing EIA is prone to do is work very closely with the Edmonton business community \u2013 whether it be the tech, health, manufacturing, professional services, finance or\u00a0beyond.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe take the opportunity to say, \u2018Where do you guys need to go?\u2019\u201d Keehn said, noting that the May 18 launch of air service to San Francisco was a community-driven objective with an Air Canada partner. \u201cThere is a large tech sector in Edmonton, and they need connectivity from a financing perspective to get to Silicon Valley. The tech communities simply don\u2019t connect, so going through L.A. wasn\u2019t working. They wanted point to\u00a0point.\u201d<\/p>\n
From an airport perspective, Keehn said his team strives to work hard with the airlines in partnership.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a partnership, and we really view it that way,\u201d Keehn said. \u201cWe work on both the supply side, working with the airlines to look at where capacity is unserved or underserved, and where they can thicken routes, increase frequency or drive a larger aircraft under the same route itself, and still maintain the same crew cost.\u201d<\/p>\n
But that is only part of what EIA does. The other part is the work on the demand side of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy team actually goes out and acts like an airline sales agent,\u201d Keehn said, explaining the airport personnel work with tourist agencies, travel agencies, and trade agencies on both sides of the network route. Keehn again cited the recent Air Canada launch of the nonstop, year-round EIA-SFO route as a prime example.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe actually had trade missions go down on the business side in advance, and after the route was actually launched, we had a bunch of business-to-business meetings in both cities,\u201d Keehn said. \u201cWe actually hosted a group that came up here, and at trade shows as well. So, we drive from a business perspective, a political perspective, and an association perspective \u2013 like a Chamber of Commerce or Board of Trade. Then, we do it from a travel and tourism perspective as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keehn said he believes 2018, by far, was the year EIA has proven to be the most effective at community outreach.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were very deliberate, and we spent a lot of time and effort planning and working from both ends,\u201d Keehn said. \u201cI have a team of folks that I like to see often, but I tell them, \u2018I really don\u2019t want to see you in the office\u2019 because their business is out of the office.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mined data, combined with community education and support, has also played a large role in Ontario International Airport\u2019s rise from a small regional airport under the Los Angeles World Airports system to a vibrant, independent aviation gateway.<\/p>\n
In recent years, the Inland Empire airport has marketed its convenience and accessibility in serving one of the fastest-growing population and economic centers in the United States, giving its airline partners more reasons to put more flights in the air. The result has been a double-digit increase in traffic over the past two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can really get my hands dirty in data,\u201d remarked ONT CEO, Mark Thorpe, who has utilized his vast air service development background to work with reliable sources and consultants to process data and make appropriate industry inferences. \u201cI spend a lot of time myself with it; it is what I enjoy and what I do best.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thorpe explained that LAWA acquired Ontario Airport back in the 1960s mainly for diversions. After a long period of growth throughout the early 2000s, the financial crisis hit and service was retrenched to primary airports.<\/p>\n
As Thorpe recalled, the LAWA management team focused on building up and adding new facilities at LAX \u2013 and they needed to keep all the revenue that they could at that airport.<\/p>\n
With that change in management philosophy came a division between the cities of Los Angeles and Ontario, which ultimately resulted in the transfer of the airport with the support of local, state and federal government. As a result, the dynamics changed and the realization took hold that overdependence on one airport wasn\u2019t going to be a good thing for the region in terms of environmental and infrastructural impacts, among others.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of reasons that went into why it was transferred back, but what it means for us now is that we have the only airport in Southern California that can accommodate any significant amount of passenger and cargo traffic growth,\u201d Thorpe said.<\/p>\n
ONT had been the most expensive airport in Southern California in terms of airport costs on a per unit basis. But the tables have turned since the transfer to make ONT the least expensive airport in Southern California, in terms of rates and charges. This structure has led to ONT\u2019s ranking as a Top 10 cargo airport in North America with a UPS hub, the Amazon West Regional hub, and the current build out of a FedEx hub facility.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve already got a lot of cargo traffic growth, but we want an airport that can really accommodate passenger traffic growth,\u201d Thorpe explained.<\/p>\n
For this reason, Thorpe has used numeric proof to make a significant case for the resurgent airport in its first stage of redevelopment. For example, Thorpe noted, ONT is more convenient than LAX for 10 million out of 18 million people in Southern California. \u201cWe have a huge market to go appeal to and we\u2019re really careful in seeing where we have an advantage of getting to this airport, as opposed to LAX or the other airports on the coast. And that\u2019s where we focus our marketing and our advertising. That\u2019s what we tell airlines about \u2013 where our catchment area is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thorpe said the airport is bullish about regaining essential routes that were lost a decade ago to reinstate ONT as a true gateway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re at this first stage where we\u2019re getting back a lot of services that we\u2019ve lost,\u201d Thorpe said, citing as a case in point the April 22 reinstatement of daily Delta service to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport \u2013 as well as a red-eye beginning in June from ONT to the world\u2019s busiest airport.<\/p>\n
In addition, red-eye flights prevailed with recent additions to include JetBlue\u2019s service to the JFK market and United\u2019s overnight to Houston. Southwest is entering the San Francisco market for the first time via ONT with four daily flights planned this summer, and Frontier has proven to be \u201ca really great partner\u201d offering frequency to a multitude of markets.<\/p>\n
Most notably, however, is ONT\u2019s banner offering of transoceanic service with China Airlines flights to Taipei.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you think about a flight to Taiwan from Ontario Airport, it was kind of a seven on the Richter Scale,\u201d Thorpe said, noting that the route is historic as the only commercial aviation flight to either Asia or Europe originating from an airport in Southern California beyond LAX. \u201cIt was a major occurrence in the aviation world, at least in Southern California.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re starting to see things really take off and I think we\u2019ll start to see things reach a tipping point where we really can develop this airport into a second major international gateway in the United States,\u201d Thorpe\u00a0projected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BLENDING SMART TECHNIQUES WITH SEXY APPROACHES By Nicole Nelson The new carrier. The new city. The new growth. In the language of air service development, all of the above translate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1590,"featured_media":7976,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[89,103,104,102],"class_list":["post-7975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air-service","tag-air-service","tag-air-travel","tag-airports","tag-routes"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n