MANATEE — Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport should focus more on attracting domestic airline service and less on luring international travelers, its governing board said Monday.
During a marketing workshop, the Sarasota-Manatee Airport Authority told airport officials to put together a proposed incentive plan — which could include subsidies — to get more seats and flights to U.S. destinations.
“I’d like to see us devote more time trying to get domestic flights,” said Eric Robinson, the authority’s chairman.
Currently, SRQ offers to pay airlines up to $7 for each passenger they bring in on new or expanded domestic service. The airport also offers marketing support for new domestic flights and has lowered its landing fee.
That effort has achieved mixed results.
The number of available airline seats at SRQ is down 3.5 percent, largely because Continental pulled out and Delta cut back, said Mike Boyd, president of The Boyd Group, a Colorado aviation consulting firm. But other airlines, notably AirTran and JetBlue, have added seats at SRQ.
And nearly 82 percent of those seats are filled with paying passengers, he said.
“The news ain’t all bad,” Boyd said. “That’s the good news: Your flights are full.”
But SRQ might have to sweeten the pot by adding subsidies if it wants to attract more service, especially in today’s business climate, he said.
Airlines, slammed by last year’s record-high fuel prices and fewer passengers, are in survival mode right now. That means they’re looking to reduce or eliminate less-profitable routes, cut operating costs and raise more revenue, thus anything that makes a potential flight more profitable will draw more attention, Boyd said.
Possible routes that SRQ could target include Continental service to Houston, American Airlines service to Dallas-Fort Worth and Delta/Northwest service to Memphis, he said.
But Southwest Airlines will remain out of SRQ’s reach, largely because the airline is focusing on larger cities and reducing service where it now flies, Boyd said.
SRQ also has an international marketing program, but international travelers make up just 4.2 percent of its annual passenger traffic. But those travelers account for 14 percent of airline revenues at SRQ, including a quarter of Delta’s, said Michael Walley, SRQ’s director of development.
“International (travel) is a critical component,” he said.
But authority members approved scaling back advertising in international aviation journals and skipping international conferences in Beijing, Dublin and Paris this year.
Duane Marsteller, transportation/growth and development reporter, can be reached at 745-7080, ext. 2630.
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