Savannah/Hilton Head Airport hoping for another carrier to Chicago, Atlanta

Nov. 10--The Savannah Airport Commission talked air fares, load factors and the potential for adding a low-cost carrier at Wednesday's monthly meeting at the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport.

Bob Uhrich, director of air service development for the airport, said he remains in contact with JetBlue, which is in a holding pattern.

"We remain hopeful," he said. "They just haven't made any decisions yet."

Uhrich said he and and marketing director Lori Lynah will be going to Dallas later this month to meet with officials from both American Airlines and Southwest.

"We're hoping to talk to American about adding another Miami flight and the possibility of resuming the service to Chicago we had before 9/11," he said. "With Southwest, we want to get a better idea of where they're going when they take over AirTran in Atlanta."

Southwest acquired AirTran Airways in May, with integration of AirTran into the Southwest fleet expected to begin early next year.

Savannah has a good case for a Southwest flight to Atlanta, he said.

"Before AirTran left, we had 252 passengers a day flying to Atlanta either on Delta or the low-fare flight," he said. "Today, that number is just over 40.

"That's more than 200 people who are now driving to Atlanta."

As for the possibility of American initiating service to Chicago, there's a strong argument for that as well, he said.

The United Express fares from Savannah to Chicago are by far the highest of all the airport's direct flights. Even so, with daily load factors of between 90 and 95 percent, they stay full, Uhrich said.

Load factors, compiled monthly by the Air Transport Association, measure the percentage of available seats that are filled with passengers. A load factor of around 75 percent is considered the norm by most airlines, Uhrich said.

United's fares to Chicago are higher for the same reason Delta's fares to Atlanta can be steep, said airport executive director Patrick Graham.

"Airlines don't want their hubs to be destinations," he said. "They want their hubs to be 'pass-throughs' to another destination. That's where they make their money."

Graham is convinced Savannah could sell more seats if they were available.

"We historically run load factors of 75 to 76 percent, no matter how many seats are available," he said.

Graham, who is also chairman of the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, said lower fares and additional airline seats would help Savannah's convention business but conceded it presents something of a chicken-and-egg scenario.

"We've lost four large conferences because of airfares in the last year," he said. "But airlines are not going to offer discounted conference fares for an average of four big conferences a year.

"When we get to 20 conferences with 5,000 attendees each, that will be a different story."

It's a problem Savannah needs to resolve, said airport commissioner Steve Green.

"If we're going to realize the full potential of our trade center, we've got to get those conferences here," he said.

AVERAGE SAVANNAH FARES

Fares shown are for round-trip flights to the city's most popular destinations, purchased at walk-up and seven, 14 and 21 days in advance. Survey was conducted in first week of November, putting the 21-day purchase in the Thanksgiving holiday period.

DESTINATION Walk-up 7 days out 14 days our 21 days out

Atlanta $453 $353 $353 $219

New York $463 $408 $383 $336

Boston $583 $320 $290 $287

Dallas $525 $525 $545 $403

Chicago $840 $801 $454 $352

Detroit $527 $527 $344 $461

Philadelphia $502 $372 $372 $242

Source: Savannah Airport Commission

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