Few Nonstops Cost Flint Airport Fliers

Fliers weighing Detroit Metropolitan Airport against Bishop Airport say they would love to fly more often from Flint - but won't do it without more nonstop service.

That's a major issue facing Bishop as it fights Metro more aggressively for passengers in southeast Michigan.

Several readers, responding to an April 1 Flint Journal article on Bishop-Metro competition, said they like using the Flint airport and want to help it in its battle for passengers. But they don't like the hassle and extra time it takes to change planes to get to their ultimate destination.

"It is very disappointing that Bishop does not have more nonstop flights to Tampa, Fla., like they used to," said Nancy Somogyi of Grand Blanc Township.

"Bishop has always been our preferred airport, and I still want it to be, (but) ... if we have to go through Detroit, we usually just drive there since its cheaper and you don't have all the layovers."

Northwest Airlines, a top carrier at Bishop, sends most Flint passengers to Detroit, where they must catch a connecting flight - an inconvenience many won't consider.

Bishop has been drawing only 7 percent of fliers in what it identifies as its battleground area with Metro, and is losing 38 percent of passengers in what's considered its home base, which includes all of Genesee County.

Many of those "lost" fliers said they would use Flint much more often if they could get the direct flights they want - something airport officials believe is a common feeling, and one they are using to sell airlines on the idea of adding nonstop flights here.

"We're hoping to have some new service to announce this summer," said Pat Corfman, spokeswoman for Bishop. "We are continuing our meetings with the airlines to see if we can't get additional nonstop service. We've been working real diligently."

The airport also is bulking up advertising aimed at fliers who are used to driving to Detroit for a flight.

Flint is limited in its nonstop flights, sending the vast majority of its fliers to Detroit on Northwest and Atlanta on AirTran Airways to connect with other flights before getting to their destination.

There are direct flights to Orlando, Fort Myers and Tampa, Fla.; Chicago; Cleveland; and Milwaukee.

That turns away people such as Jo Ann Turnwald, 54, of Lapeer County's Oregon Township.

"I used to use Bishop exclusively," said Turnwald, who flies about six times a year and now does most of her flying from Detroit "because its so hard to get a direct flight from Flint to anywhere."

Earlier this year, she ran into one of the problems with connecting flights at Bishop: A delay in her flight from Flint to Atlanta caused her to miss her connecting flight from Atlanta to Phoenix.

"I was wishing I had spent the extra time driving to Detroit" when that happened, she wrote in an e-mail to The Journal.

"Most of the people I talk to have quit flying from Flint because they want nonstop flights to avoid the chances for delay."

Although Bishop outperformed other Michigan airports in 2006, traffic in the second quarter dropped 14 percent compared with two years earlier, fares rose sharply and the number of seats available dropped 11 percent, according to Seabury APG, a consulting firm that works with airlines, airport authorities and others.

If talks with airlines produce more flights in Flint, several fliers said they would be quick to use them because they prefer Bishop to Metro if all other factors are equal.

"We love the airport, but we fly to Europe three times a year and must go to Detroit," said Tom Ruddy of Richfield Township. "Flint is great for flying south, but not east or west."

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