Newburgh's Expansion Could Provide New Competition to Bradley

Feb. 5, 2007
Connecticut transportation officials, business people and economists all say Stewart's appeal in the state and its potential threat to Bradley will depend more on the services it offers than on proximity.

If the prospect of another major New York-area airport within 40 miles of the Connecticut state line doesn't scare Bradley International Airport officials, it has at least caused them to turn a wary eye westward.

``At some point it might be something to be reckoned with,'' said Kiran Jain, Bradley's chief marketing officer, who once held a similar position at the emerging rival, Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, N.Y.

By contrast, to the people who run city halls, chambers of commerce and businesses in parts of Fairfield and Litchfield counties, the plans to transform low-traffic Stewart into a little sibling of New York's JFK and LaGuardia appear to offer a bounty.

``It's good news,'' said Mayor Mark Boughton of Danbury, which lies 44 miles east of Stewart, nearly a straight shot along I-84. ``Stewart is only 45 minutes from Danbury and you avoid having to go into New York City traffic.''

JetBlue and four other passenger airlines already offer flights in and out of Stewart, which has ambitious plans for growth.

Beyond the personal convenience of a nearby major airport, an expanded Stewart could yield economic development opportunities for the surrounding region -- not only the Hudson Valley, but western Connecticut as well. Boughton pictures the day when corporate executives from out of state who ``come tire-kicking in Danbury'' can hop in a limousine at Stewart for a smooth trip to The Hat City along I-84.

And people in the hospitality business say they'd be glad to be able to steer tourists to another airport outside New York City, simplifying the drive into the Litchfield countryside.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey last week announced a $79 million deal for a long-term lease at Stewart, which served 300,000 passengers last year. The authority wants to expand it to relieve congestion at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International airports, and to promote economic development of the Hudson River Valley.

The authority expects to assume control of the former Air Force base by October, pending closure of the deal and bureaucratic approvals.

A new exit off I-84 leading directly to the airport -- already under construction -- is expected to open in September. The airport is also seeking money to build an international terminal.

The authority has not defined a timeline or a budget for Stewart's expansion, but says it would accommodate private jet operators, cargo haulers and passenger airlines. Certainly there's room: Stewart, still home to an Air National Guard unit, sprawls over 2,400 acres and includes an 11,818-foot runway. By comparison, LaGuardia covers 680 acres; its two runways measure 7,000 feet each.

``We do believe that to go from 300,000 into the millions is possible and will happen,'' said Marc La Vorgna, a Port Authority spokesman.

Most of the growth would come from the surrounding counties in New York state and from northern New Jersey, but also from Connecticut, he said. Each year, 11 million passengers from these regions use the existing major New York-area airports.

Undoubtedly, Stewart, which is now served by five airlines making a total of 20 departures a day, has a way to go before it would match Bradley, which is served by 20 airlines making 268 daily departures and counting.

In March, Frontier plans to begin direct service between Hartford and Denver.

In July, Northwest Airlines is scheduled to start trans-Atlantic service between Hartford and Amsterdam. Stewart does not offer a direct passenger flight overseas.

``If the service doesn't come there, then we don't have too much to worry about,'' said L. Scott Frantz, the chairman of Bradley's board of directors.

Bradley draws 12 percent of its passengers from Fairfield and Litchfield counties combined, according to a 2006 survey of 50,000 drivers leaving the airport's parking garage over two months. This compares with 30 percent from Hartford County and 15 percent from New Haven County. About 3 percent come from New York state. In all, Bradley served 6.8 million passengers last year.

Stewart has advertised in Danbury in the past, said Tanya Vanasse, the airport's general manager for marketing, a practice she encourages. She said the share of Stewart traffic from the area could reach 5 percent.

``There is a good market there,'' she said.

Connecticut transportation officials, business people and economists all say Stewart's appeal in the state and its potential threat to Bradley will depend more on the services it offers than on proximity -- the number and times of departures, routes flown, the fares charged.

``Assuming they have the schedules and good pricing, an expansion of Stewart would be beneficial to Praxair,'' said Susan Szita Gore, a spokeswoman for the Danbury-based industrial gases supplier.

Praxair's biggest facility, with 1,200 people, is located near Buffalo, which means there's a lot of traffic between far western New York and the Danbury headquarters, she said. The opportunity to fly in and out of Stewart instead of New York's biggest airports would save time, as well as rental fees and bridge tolls.

``We will be watching developments with interest,'' she said.

While Praxair tends to use New York airports for most of its travel, relying on Bradley about 20 percent of the time, other Danbury companies now rely mainly on Bradley for domestic travel.

Dean Hamilton, a spokesman for ATMI, the Danbury-based semiconductor materials supplier, said that the firm has annual travel expenses in the ``multimillions'' and that 80 percent of the domestic trips depart from Bradley. The rest depart from New York-area airports.

Hamilton expressed skepticism that the Port Authority would follow through at Stewart, saying officials have discussed similar plans to draw traffic away from JFK and LaGuardia to no end.

But, he said, ``it's much easier for us in Danbury to travel west than to travel east.''

For now, Bradley appears to offer more flights and significantly lower fares than Stewart.

On Wednesday, for example, fares started at $270 for a mid-July round trip between Hartford and Minneapolis on Northwest Airlines, according to the airline's online booking system.

Travel between Stewart and Minneapolis on the same dates with the same airline would cost at least $430. Bradley offered 15 flights a day, Stewart offered 6.

Stewart could draw travelers from deeper into Connecticut than Danbury, depending on its amenities, said Fred V. Carstensen, an economist at UConn's Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis who has written about Bradley.

``If they make Stewart really attractive -- nice infrastructure, good parking, easy access, lots of connections -- then a lot of people from Connecticut are going to start going there,'' he said. ``You're not always going to go to the closest airport. You want to go to a place that has amenities.''

Frantz, the Bradley chairman, says ``that's a big if,'' and said he believes it will be 10 or 15 years before Stewart could have a meaningful effect on Bradley.

Carstensen, who has harshly criticized the state of Bradley's facilities and the way state officials market the airport, said the Port Authority's ambitions for Stewart should alarm Bradley's management.

``It ought to be something they're waking up in the morning worrying about,'' he said.

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.