Munro Int'l Airport To Give Pearson A Run For Its Money

<B>Munro Int'l Airport To Give Pearson A Run For Its Money</B>

By Carolyn Green

Hamilton, Ontario - The addition of two new carriers and the possibility of Air Canada starting up a third could transform this city's John C. Munro International Airport into a viable alternative to Toronto's often-congested Pearson International Airport.

Until early March, when Continental Airlines started service between Hamilton--about 40 miles west of Toronto--and Cleveland, US Airways Express was the airport's sole passenger airline. Now, Calgary-based WestJet Airlines--a discount carrier that had served only Western Canadian cities--recently began service in the east, designating Hamilton its Eastern Canadian hub.

Initially, WestJet is offering service from Hamilton to Thunder Bay, Ontario; Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Calgary. Later in the year, it plans to add Ottawa, Halifax and Montreal to its Eastern Canadian schedule.

"A lot of people who are still flying out of Pearson don't realize they can fly out of Hamilton," said Sue Ann Ryan, airport manager for Chatauga Airlines, the US Airways Express feeder airline that has served the Hamilton-Pittsburgh route for 12 years. "With all the exposure and publicity from WestJet and Continental, people are calling their travel agents and saying, 'What about Hamilton?' WestJet is really going to put Hamilton on the map and, hopefully, we're going to go along for the ride.''

Although no additional routes will be added, Ryan said US Airways Express is increasing its capacity to Pittsburgh to cater to its business travelers. Currently offering four weekday flights daily and three flights daily on the weekends, by June the carrier will use the 33-seat Saab 340 aircraft, which will increase capacity by 40 percent. Nineteen-seat Jetstream 31 planes had been used for two flights each day.

Similarly, Continental Airlines expects the majority of its passengers will be business travelers. Said Robyn Hudson, regional sales manager for Canada, "Hamilton was the eighth city that we expanded to in Canada. We had gone into all the primary markets and now we're looking at secondary markets, where there is a significant business travel opportunity." Initially, Continental will use 19-seat Beechcraft 1900 aircraft. If demand increases, the airline could put its 37- or 50-seat Embraer regional jets in service, Hudson added.

Sandy McDougall, vice president of marketing for the airport, said with the addition of Continental and WestJet, the number of passengers using the airport could climb to 370,000 this year, compared with 24,000 in both 1998 and 1999. If WestJet continues to expand its route network and if Air Canada launches a discount airline using Hamilton as its hub, the passenger count next year could reach 1.5 million.

In October, Air Canada and TradePort International Corp., a private company that operates the airport, reached an agreement on the establishment of a no-frills discount jet service that would connect Hamilton with more than 20 U.S. and Canadian destinations.

Laura Cooke, spokeswoman for Air Canada, said the carrier is committed to establishing a discount airline in Hamilton, but the timing depends on a number of factors. Because of a ruling by the Federal Competition Bureau, Cooke said, if any carrier other than WestJet started a discount operation, Air Canada would have to delay its startup in Eastern Canada to Sept. 30, 2001. However, if WestJet is the only other company to start discount services in Hamilton, then Air Canada would be in a position to commence a discount domestic operation in Eastern Canada after Sept. 30, 2000.

Cooke added that the Competition Board ruling does not preclude Air Canada from launching transborder or a Western domestic operation immediately. "We have stated publicly that we would in all likelihood consider a late summer/early fall transborder and/or Western Canada operation," Cooke said.

When BTN asked Cooke what potential U.S. destinations Air Canada Light (as it's called) might fly to, she said: "We are considering destinations on the eastern seaboard and potentially to the Florida market. At this stage, I can't say when we will announce decisions with respect to specific destinations."

For Air Canada and others, the Hamilton Airport offers many advantages. Said McDougall, "We're the closest airport for 1.7 million consumers and are within 90 minutes of 7.4 million people in the Niagara region and in Toronto." In addition to its proximity to Toronto and other southern Ontario cities, Cooke said, Hamilton is Air Canada's first choice because numerous improvements have been made to the runways and the 13-year-old terminal in recent years.

Also, landing fees are about 40 percent less than those charged at Pearson airport, said McDougall, and terminal rent is less expensive. "We're a private company and can be much more aggressive in offering incentives for carriers to come into the marketplace."

From an operational standpoint, McDougall added, the airport is particularly attractive because it's smaller and less congested. "Planes can get in and out of here very quickly, and the prime requirement for low-cost carriers is to have that aircraft in the air flying, not on the ground waiting on taxiways, waiting to get out to the button to take off."

Despite the advantages, Pat Pearson, vice president of T&E solutions for Toronto-based Carlson Wagonlit Travel, said the Hamilton airport may not suit all travelers. "Depending on the cost differential and the choice of U.S. destinations offered to and from Hamilton, Hamilton may offer an alternative for only some business travelers who live and work in the surrounding area or in the western part of Toronto." Pearson said difficulties arise for passengers who want to travel to U.S. cities not served by Hamilton-based carriers or for those requiring connections on airlines not located in Hamilton.

Still, McDougall remains optimistic. Noting that TradePort has had discussions with a number of U.S. carriers in an effort to lure them to Hamilton, he said in five years, "the terminal building will be expanded and we'll see additional carriers coming here, because those that are here now will give the airport credibility.