The flights into TIA from the Midwest and northern New York will begin in time for many people's winter vacations.
By STEVE HUETTEL
Published August 5, 2004
TAMPA - By year's end, local travelers will be able to fly to two more destinations from Tampa International Airport without stopping at busy hub airports.
AirTran Airways announced plans Wednesday to begin nonstop flights to Rochester, N.Y., on Nov. 4 and Dayton, Ohio, on Dec. 17.
Neither route produces huge numbers of passengers. Rochester was the No. 44 market from Tampa International last year and Dayton was No. 49. But the flights move the airport closer to an informal goal of providing nonstop service in all its top 50 markets, said Louis Miller, executive director at Tampa International.
"Nonstop service by itself stimulates traffic," Miller said. People might choose to visit another city if flying into and out of Tampa requires making a connection, he said.
Seattle, Tampa International's No. 33 market, will be the largest market without nonstop service when Southwest Airlines starts flights to Buffalo, N.Y., on Sept. 15.
Miller and two assistants flew to Seattle two weeks ago to pitch executives of Alaska Airlines on starting Tampa-Seattle flights. Nearly 126,000 passengers - an average of 345 per day - flew between the two cities through other airports last year.
Other top-50 markets without nonstop service include San Diego (No. 37), San Francisco (No. 40), Albany (No. 41), Norfolk (No. 46) and Syracuse (No. 47).
The new flights, one daily round trip between Tampa and each city, are part of a wider expansion connecting cities where AirTran already flies in the Midwest and Northeast with its Florida destinations. AirTran decided to grow this year by "connecting the dots" rather than through the costlier route of expanding into new cities, said spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver.
Round-trip fares start at $198 for Rochester and $204 for Dayton. AirTran also will begin nonstop flights to Flint, Mich. - a route now served only by Northwest Airlines - on Dec. 17. Round-trip fares starting at $234.
