Fund to promote lower airfares garners support

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Feb 07, 2003 by Yunich, Rob

During the first week of February, Central New York businesses donated more than $235,000 to the Airline Service Development Fund, created by the Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and Central New York, Inc, (MDA).

The fund, which was first announced Dec. 11, 2002, will be used to encourage existing airlines to lower fares and enhance service to the top business and leisure destinations from Syracuse Hancock International Airport. The fund will also provide advertising dollars for the airlines who agree to lower fares and increase service, as well as fund a local advertising campaign that will promote lower fares and increase passenger traffic at Hancock.

In addition, the fund will provide marketing dollars for Northern Airlines, which plans to commence service to New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Chicago this summer.

The Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce and the Manufacturers Association of Central New York endorsed the fund.

A letter asking for contributions, which the MDA hopes will total $1 million, was sent to approximately 2,500 MDA members on Jan. 27.

"The [Airline] Service Development Fund will be a powerful tool to negotiate lower fares and enhanced service for Hancock Airport," the letter says. "We, as leaders of the business community, must do our part to make this effort a success. A 5-percent contribution of your annual airtravel budget is necessary to fully capitalize the fund for a two-year period. If our negotiations are successful, we can expect to enjoy lower fares that will more than offset this level of contribution."

The top business destinations, reported in the Jan. 24 issue of the Central New York Business Journal, include New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C, Atlanta, Orlando, Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Hartford, and San Francisco. The most popular leisure destinations are Orlando, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Tampa, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, and Phoenix.

On Dec. 11, the MDA also announced that Delta Air Lines added two non-stop daily flights to Atlanta.