Business Travellers Vital for Air Link Between Liverpool and New York

ATTRACTING enough business flyers will be essential to making an air link between Liverpool and New York viable, according to the Mersey Partnership (TMP).

Yesterday, TMP's director of investment Mark Basnett said that although the majority of the 70,000 annual passengers on the route would be tourists, it was the higher fare business travellers that would make it pay.

Mr Basnett has launched a consultation study to ascertain the level of support in Merseyside's business community for a link between Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA) and New York. He also revealed that representatives from three US airlines - American, Continental and Delta - had all visited the city in recent weeks and had been impressed by what they had seen.

It is envisaged such a route would operate a daily return flight and it is estimated around 80% of passenger coming into Liverpool would be tourists with that figure being more than 60% for outbound. However, although in the minority, business travellers would be expected to pay extra for their seats. Mr Basnett said: "We expect the business market would be the premium payers on this route so what we need to do now is to prove there is a business demand.

"We have had dialogue with these three airlines and they have all visited the city to see it form themselves. They were bowled over in terms of our attractiveness as a tourist destination but we still need to make a hard-headed business case."

TMP project officer Matt Jacobs has been tasked with talking to companies across Merseyside over the next two months to accurately gauge the level of demand.

Mr Basnett added: "We have already been speaking to some of the major corporates in the city and there is clearly a demand there, particularly among sectors such as life sciences, IT, aviation and the oil industry."

It is estimated that an air link with New York could generate more than pounds 10m a year in extra tourism revenue for Merseyside.

Flights could begin early 2007

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