Lambert alters landing pitch INCENTIVE: Waive landing fees, terminal rent for new airlines GOAL: To sell airlines on moving to and expanding in St. Louis

In their latest bid to sell new airlines on flying to St. Louis, Lambert Field officials are trying an old trick of salesmen everywhere. You might call it fly now, pay later.

An incentive program approved last week by the Airport Authority would waive landing fees and terminal rental costs for at least six months for any airline that launches new flights here. Lambert will set aside $5 million over the next two-plus years for the program, and officials hope it'll be enough to tip an on-the-fence airline into adding service in St. Louis.

"It gives us an edge," said Brian Kinsey, Lambert's manager of business and marketing. "If it's a toss-up, we hope that this program will get them here."

It's an increasingly common tactic in a world of risk-averse airlines and airports hungry for more flights. Many cities, from Miami to Columbus, Ohio, have added similar programs in recent years. At Lambert, where flights and passenger traffic nose-dived after American Airlines cut back in 2003, it's a first.

"This makes us much more competitive than we were a week ago," Kinsey said. "We actually have the ability to entice carriers to come here."

Under the program, Lambert will offer to waive landing fees and terminal rental costs for nine months for new carriers, and six months on the additional landing fees and terminal rent for an existing airline that adds service.

The total will be capped at $5 million through June 2009. To get the money, a new airline must stay put for two years, an existing carrier for one year.

Airlines say the money can help them choose a city, but they don't want to start service they can't sustain.

For them, opening in a new market is a big investment. Equipment, hiring and training, marketing and other costs can easily top $10 million, experts say.

"You end up losing a massive amount of money in the first year or so," said Tad Hutcheson, spokesman for AirTran Airways, which is starting service at Lambert next month.

"The goal for both airline and airport is to get the route to profitability as soon as possible."

Landing fees are based on weight of the plane- Lambert's are $5.73 per 1,000 pounds. So for AirTran, which by June will have four daily Boeing 717 flights to Atlanta and one to Orlando, the waiver could save about $100,000 a month, which doesn't include terminal rental discounts.

Lambert had discussed the proposed incentives with AirTran months ago, and that helped the airline decide to come to St. Louis.

"It's not the factor, but it's certainly a factor," Hutcheson said. "It's icing on the cake."

It is less clear whether existing carriers will jump in.

American Airlines, for instance, could qualify for six months of discounts if it added flights to a new city. In a statement, the airline said it "certainly will consider" Lambert's program when expanding in the future.

Steve Sisneros, manager of properties for Southwest Airlines, said the incentives would be "a piece of a multifaceted puzzle" of its route planning at Lambert. But the airline is not going to add unprofitable service.

As Lambert's two biggest carriers, American and Southwest already figure heavily in its other incentive programs: cash for airline marketing and a deal to reduce fees starting next year to all carriers if overall passenger traffic climbs. But this is the first offered specifically to lure new service.

It's a good move, said aviation consultant Michael Boyd, especially for an airport like Lambert. Smaller airports often offer such programs but can't sustain the service, he said.

St. Louis is big and stable enough to be more attractive, and it has gates available now.

"In the case of St. Louis it makes a lot of sense, and it doesn't give the store away," Boyd said. "It says, 'Come here. We're not asleep.'"..."

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