Consultant hired to recruit low-cost airline
TRAVERSE CITY -- Cherry Capital Airport leaders are ramping up their efforts to bring cheaper flights and more tourism to the area.
Last week, the airport commission voted to hire a consultant to recruit a new, low-cost airline. They hope the end result will be a carrier that will attract more service in and out of Traverse City for a fair price.
That consultant is Tom Rockne, a former Northwest Airlines executive and Passageways Travel with 19 years of experience in the industry. He will be paid $1,000 a month for seven months to research the business models.
Tom Rockne says, "Who's a fit for us and are we a fit for them? We have a relatively small population and small business base comparatively."
While he says finding the right airline for the right price will be difficult, he already has an idea of where to start.
Rockne says, "The target is probably Florida because if we looked at what people in Traverse City want in the winter, its sun. The destination that most people travel to is Florida."
One possible scenario is to offer a few flights a week to a Florida destination in the winter months, and then in the summer the airline could fly north to bring visitors to Traverse City.
Rockne says, "We are probably looking at service two, maybe four days a week. Who offers that? There is Allegiant Airlines, Direct Airlines, and there's a new startup called Vision Airlines that may be a possibility."
Potential partners also include Spirit, Frontier, and Sun Country.
Cherry Capital Airport is also partnering with the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Grand Traverse Resort and Spa for an advertising campaign on Delta flights in June. The five minute video is part of Delta Destination, and will be shown to at least 17 million passengers. They will split the $37,000 cost.
