Myrtle Beach flights grow

by Susan Mikula Campbell
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, May 1, 2008
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, May 3, 2008

Myrtle Beach Direct Air is adding to its roster of low cost flights out of Niagara Falls International Airport to Myrtle Beach, S.C., but dropping, at least temporarily, its flight to St. Petersburg, Fla.

The airline now will offer five flights a week to Myrtle Beach from the Falls airport. There will be a flight out on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, plus two on Saturdays.

“Niagara Falls has done very well for us,” said Ed Warneck, company president. “We have been continuing to increase the number of flights coming from Niagara Falls to Myrtle Beach.”

The reason, according to company officials, is the load factor. Most of the 150-seat flights leave full.

Myrtle Beach direct air began flying out of Niagara Falls a year ago.

“It’s taken a year, and with the support of the Niagara Falls airport people, we’ve been successful in increasing from two flights to five flights,” said Judy Tull, airline CEO.

“It’s been a good relationship and it’s one we’re working hard to continue,” said C. Douglas Hartmayer, director of public affairs for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority. NFTA operates the airport.

Marketing east to Rochester and north to Toronto and Hamilton has resulted in more and more people discovering how convenient the non-stop flights are and that “they don’t have to do those 15-16 hour drives,” Tull said.

The last St. Petersburg flight leaves May 5. Those flights began on Dec. 20.

“With the beautiful weather we have around here in the summer, you can see why people want to stay here and enjoy the season,” Hartmayer said.

Since the area snowbirds will again be looking at Florida come cold weather, a seasonal flight could be the airline’s answer, he said.

Warneck said restarting the St. Petersburg flight is “always a possibility.” Current scheduling goes through Oct. 31. Company officials will look at how successful that flight was and make a decision whether to restart it.

Hartmayer said NFTA’s effort to draw other airlines to Niagara Falls International Airport is a “continuing work in progress. NFTA is always talking to other airlines about the attributes of the airport and the region,” he said.

Plans for the new $29 million Niagara Falls terminal, expected to increase airport activity, are continuing. Ground-breaking is set for May 16.

Unfortunately, Skybus, which had planned to start a low-cost flight out of Niagara Falls International Airport, but cancelled plans earlier this year, announced last month it was ceasing operations due to high fuel costs and a sluggish economy and is filing for bankruptcy.