Gainesville Sun - January 15, 1999

Where have all those passengers gone who used to fly out of Gainesville?

It's no secret that the Gainesville Regional Airport has steadily lost passengers since Delta Air Lines pulled its jets in December 1997, but knowing which passengers and where they've taken their business may be key to striking a new deal for permanent jet service, said Gene Clerkin, director of aviation at the airport.

The Gainesville-Alachua County Airport Authority agreed Thursday. Members voted unanimously to hire a consultant mainly to find out if passengers using airports in Jacksonville and Orlando are business clients or leisure travelers. Since Delta pulled out, the airport is down 57,337 passengers or more than 16 percent to a total of 300,707. In 1997 with Delta still here, 358,044 passengers flew out of the Gainesville airport.

Clerkin told the Airport Authority that if a study shows that a large number of lost passengers are business travelers, the three airlines that Gainesville is courting would be much more inclined to listen.

"Airlines want to know who these (lost) passengers are," Clerkin said. "If they are leisure, they are not interested...if they are business customers, it will pique their interest."

The consultants' study will cost from $8,500 to $12,000, Clerkin said, and probably be completed primarily by getting figures from travel agents. Other questions the authority hopes are answered include: How much of the local market's traffic is escaping to other airports? Which airports/airlines are benefitting from Gainesville's loss? What service or fares are the primary causes of the loss? What are the top destinations for lost vs. retained passengers?

Clerkin said the information can be critical in presenting to airline executives Gainesville's true potential.

He said the airlines are interested in business travelers because they spend more money, fly on a moment's notice and fly often. He said the airlines will gladly fill other seats with leisure travelers but they are not enough of an incentive to attract jet service.

"The airlines have asked for this study," Clerkin said, adding that once it is completed another pitch can be made to three airlines - American Eagle, Comair and USAirways.

A task force headed by banker C.B. Daniel, chairman of the Council for Economic Outreach, made several trips last year trying to convince airlines that there's money to be made in Gainesville for an airline. A fourth airline, AirTran, said it would bring three DC-9s to Gainesville but wanted a $190,000 incentive package. The package was not approved.

Meanwhile the Gainesville airport lost passengers every month in 1998 except December, according to a chart distributed by Clerkin. The number of passengers in December increased 2,224 to 25,874 compared with December 1997.

See January 15, 1999, issue of Gainesville Sun for original article.