David Barger says Hancock Airport could support more air traffic.
Dave Barger, CEO of JetBlueSyracuse, NY -- JetBlue Airways Corp. CEO David Barger was in Syracuse Monday, part of a tour of airports where JetBlue has operations, visiting with company employees — they’re called “crewmembers” — and marking the airline’s 10th anniversary.
While in Syracuse, he met with Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, Hancock Airport Commissioner Rory McMahon and members of Centerstate CEO.
Before getting on a JetBlue plane back to company headquarters in New York City, Barger sat down for a few questions with The Post-Standard’s Charles McChesney.
What sort of trends are you seeing for the airline industry?
“Overall they’re positive. The economy is stronger. We’re not seeing anything that looks like a double dip.”
And for the Central New York area?
“We’re really pleased. JetBlue’s summer has been very strong. We’ve seen plenty of 90-percent load factor.”
Syracuse's Hancock Airport could support more air traffic, said JetBlue CEO David Barger, who visited Syracuse Monday to meet with company employees and political and business leaders.“Load factor” is a measure of what percent of seats are full on a given flight. Barger explained that a plane might break even at 75 percent “load factor.” This summer it is common for JetBlue flights in out of Syracuse to have an 85 percent load factor, he said. Currently, JetBlue flies four flights a day from Syracuse to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York and one direct flight each day to Orlando. Barger said he could see more JetBlue flights in and out of Syracuse.
“Look at what Empire used to do and Piedmont used to do,” he said. Those airlines, headquartered in Upstate New York, flew direct to many markets from Central New York, he said. Piedmont took over Empire and, in 1988, USAir took over Piedmont. Over time, USAir eliminated direct flights that once tied Syracuse to Cleveland, Baltimore, Ottawa and Montreal, among other places.
During his meeting with Centerstate CEO members, Barger asked what destination they would choose if JetBlue assigned one of the 21 planes it is getting in the next two years to serve Syracuse. At the top of the list was Washington, Barger said. Second was Boston; Florida came in third.
Those flying into Washington are dealing with high airfares, Barger said. Boston was attractive to business travelers as well as those from the region’s academic community — “that’s really part of the business community,” he said. As for Florida, JetBlue used to fly directly to Fort Lauderdale from Syracuse, Barger said, but when jet fuel prices shot up two years ago, that ended.
What would it take to get one of those new JetBlue planes to fly out of Syracuse?
“Mostly support from the business community.”
In particular, Barger is hoping the business community pushes for lower operating costs out of Hancock Airport. He said the way airlines are charged — even cargo airlines — makes the airport more expensive than comparable airports. “For JetBlue, Syracuse is not competitive.” And that, he said, is a detriment to airlines and to economic development. “I think costs at this airport have stunted economic growth.”
That concern came up during his meeting with city officials. “I’m really pleased with what I’m hearing from the mayor,” he said.
Hancock could support more air traffic, Barger said. The airport serves a “catchment” of around 2 million people, he said. Passengers come from Utica, Ithaca, Northern New York and Canada to fly out of Syracuse. The airport has the infrastructure — some from the days when Syracuse was a hub for Piedmont Airlines.
» Jet Blue was in the news this week when a flight attendant quit in spectacular fashion on Monday. Read the story, Take this job and shove it: JetBlue flight attendant flips out