Example of the potential
Thanks Slug, more good news, long short term but shows the long propsects are good. No other airline except for JB/Airt are talking about new cities.
Article from the Fresno Bee
Southwest Airlines two years 'away'
By Jim Steinberg
The Fresno Bee
(Published Thursday, August 15, 2002, 6:00 AM)
Southwest Airlines' planners told Mayor Alan Autry Tuesday that Fresno remains in contention for passenger service -- but not for at least two years.
Autry, airline consultant Mike Boyd and Patti Miller, spokeswoman for Fresno Yosemite International Airport, met with six Southwest planners in the carrier's Dallas offices.
Autry said after the meeting that he is encouraged that talks raised Fresno's profile as a candidate city.
He thought he succeeded in reassuring Southwest about the pace of construction to expand Fresno Yosemite International Airport and of finding a new transportation director. He conceded that he won no guarantee that Southwest service to the city is on the horizon.
The slow-going airport expansion project includes four jetways that officials hope will attract more jet carriers, specifically Southwest.
The new concourse was supposed to be completed in February. City officials have said it could be done as late as October.
Autry said he had reminded the airline planners of expansion of the airport and of the area's freeway system. Autry spoke to The Bee from Dallas and Little Rock, Ark.
He also reassured them that the city will soon be hiring "a top-notch airports director." The city fired its transportation director, Charles Hayes, in March.
Troubles in the airline industry have stifled expansion plans among carriers, Southwest planners told the mayor.
"These are still uncertain times in the airline industry," Autry said after the meeting.
"I will say this: We are on the radar screen. We already were on Southwest's radar, and I think we've grown from a blip into a bigger blip."
Boyd, speaking from Denver after the session, said that the meeting allowed Fresno representatives "to schmooze" Southwest and to remind the airline of the city's continuing growth.
"It doesn't mean this will result in air service right away," he said. "They flat out said not for two years."
On the other hand, Boyd said, Southwest wouldn't have met with the mayor's group if the airline were not considering Fresno.
"The meeting left us in a better position, sure," he said. "They know about the terminal, about better access to the terminal" and people moving to Fresno from other areas.
At Southwest, spokeswoman Angela Vargo had no information about the mayor's meeting, but did say that more than 150 cities vie for inclusion in the airline's airport service list each year.
Southwest adds one new city a year on average, she said, but the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that savaged the air travel industry will hold off expansion for the next year or two.
Although Southwest remains profitable, Vargo said, "We are in recovery."
She listed several factors that Southwest considers in adding or rejecting city destinations:
An overpriced and under-served market attracts Southwest.
Southwest avoids congested hub cities and airports.
The airline looks for airports located away from large international airports.
New jetways are a plus because Southwest looks for airports capable of sustaining growth.
Autry thinks Fresno Yosemite International has what Southwest needs, and not just because of its growth.
He reminded the airline executives about the new baseball stadium downtown, economic growth, 3.5 million people living from Bakersfield to Stockton and new businesses coming to the airport.
Fresno has the potential to be the top regional airport in the San Joaquin Valley, he said.
The mayor, who combined the airline discussion with visits to in-laws in Little Rock, said he felt optimistic:
"They didn't seem too concerned about delays. They said they have always been impressed with Fresno as a potential market."
