Airport pushes to increase nonstop flights; NFTA will pay up to $400,000 to airlines that add such services to popular destinations

Buffalo Niagara International Airport will pay up to $400,000 to airlines that add nonstop flights to Los Angeles, Denver or Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers in Florida, a marketing campaign meant to enhance service between Buffalo and these major U.S. markets.

Adding the routes should boost passenger levels at the airport because those are popular stops for local travelers that currently don't have nonstop service, airport officials said.

"The more nonstop flight destinations we can get, the better off we'll be," said William R. Vanecek, director of aviation for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, which operates the airport.

A growing number of airports across the country are offering similar marketing incentives to airlines in an effort to expand nonstop service to new markets.

The inducements are part of doing business in the competitive airline industry, observers said.

"I think it minimizes the risk the airlines will feel," said Ron Luczak, marketing director for the Travel Team, a large area travel-services company. "It shows the [airport] has a commitment to help them fill their seats."

Buffalo Niagara International Airport already offers service to the six targeted airports, but travelers have to endure stops or flight changes at hub airports.

Offering the nonstop flights will make the routes more attractive, Luczak said, and the new flights won't have trouble attracting passengers. "We can fill those seats," he said.

Los Angeles, Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale were selected for the program because they are three of the most popular markets for Buffalo travelers, the NFTA's Vanecek said.

For example, 145,745 passengers traveled between the Buffalo Niagara and Fort Lauderdale airports in the 12 months that ended March 31.

That ranks Fort Lauderdale No. 8 among all cities served by Buffalo Niagara, with Los Angeles at No. 14, Fort Myers at No. 15 and Denver at No. 22.

In addition to LAX, the program includes two smaller Southern California airports: Orange County's John Wayne Airport and Long Beach Airport.

Denver is on the list because that city's airport is the home base for Frontier Airlines, which doesn't yet provide service to and from Buffalo Niagara, Vanecek said.

Any airlines that establish new, nonstop service between Buffalo Niagara and the targeted airports are eligible for up to $400,000 each in incentive money, the NFTA said.

To get the full amount, the airline must lease a new gate at the airport, offer at least 100 outgoing seats per day on the route and maintain the flights for a minimum of two years.

The $400,000 would be paid in four installments.

Airlines that already offer service through Buffalo Niagara could receive up to $200,000 for adding a route.

The authority expects to recoup any incentive money in the form of fees collected from passengers on the new routes.

"It's becoming more common in the industry, and we thought it was time we got into that game," Vanecek said.

The cooperative incentive program seems to have some potential, said Charles Lindsey, an assistant professor of marketing at the University at Buffalo.

The money could help sell an airline on Buffalo Niagara, Lindsey said, but the carriers must be convinced that the new route will be profitable.

"In my mind, the first thing you need to do is present the airline a compelling business model based on their needs," he said. "At the end of the day, the numbers have to be there."

The new nonstop routes should help bring even more travelers from southern Ontario, Rochester and northwestern Pennsylvania to the airport, said Thomas A. Kucharski, president and chief executive officer of Buffalo Niagara Enterprise.

And convenient flights could make this region more attractive to businesses in Denver, Southern California and Florida that are considering investing here, he said.

"The destinations match up really well with the targeted industries we have, especially in the life sciences," he said.

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