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Travel
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The $6 million dollar project
expands the building by 15,000 square feet and adds
three airline operations facilities. Northwest
Airlines will move their operations into one of the
spaces during the next two weeks. Airport Director,
Jim Rice, "It had gotten to the point where we were
out of airline operating space. Not only was
there no place for new carriers to rent, one of our
current tenants, Northwest Airlines, was bursting
at the seams. They've been working out of an area
that was designed for turboprops. Now, their
service is almost entirely jets. This expansion
will give them the room that they need."Bishop International
Airport has seen record growth over the last few
years. In fact, just within the last month, three
of our carriers initiated new service. The first to
announce was AirTran Airways. On August third, they
announced that nonstop, daily jet service from
Flint to Tampa would begin December 17th. They were
quickly followed by an announcement from Northwest
Airlines that they would begin nonstop, daily jet
service to Ft. Lauderdale on December 15th. This
was an upgrade from their Saturday-only service.
Then, just this week, ATA Connection announced that
they would begin nonstop flights to Indianapolis,
in addition to their current service to
Chicago-Midway, on February 4th. Bishop Airport's rapid rise in
passenger traffic can be directly related to the
entrance of AirTran Airways into the market in
1997. The stimulation created by the entrance of
AirTran Airways cannot be underestimated. It has
stimulated traffic in Flint by more than 100
percent. In 1997, the airport hosted a total of
456,720 passengers. In 2004, more than one million
passengers will have utilized the facility.In 2002,
another low-cost carrier, ATA Connection, joined
AirTran Airways. They brought low fares to
Chicago-Midway-service that area businesses had
been clamoring for -- and beyond, with new service
to Indianapolis quickly on its way. Bishop International Airport
(FNT) is predicted to be the second fastest growing
airport in the nation from 2000 to 2010, according
to a recent study by Michael J. Boyd of The Boyd
Group. Flint also offers the lowest average
airfares in the state. Currently, the facility is
served by AirTran Airways, with nonstop jet service
to Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando and Atlanta; ATA
Connection, with service to Indianapolis and
Chicago-Midway; Continental Connection, with
Cleveland service; Delta Connection, with jet
flights to Cincinnati and Atlanta; Midwest Connect,
featuring nonstop service to Milwaukee; Northwest
Airlines, with nonstop flights to Minneapolis,
Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando and Detroit; and by
Funjet Vacations with service to Cancun. For
reservations and flight information from Flint,
visit our web site at
http://www.bishopairport.org If you would like additional
information on the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, contact
the Bishop International Airport Authority's
Director of Marketing and Public Relations at (810)
235-6560. You CAN Get There From
Here! Flint's
Bishop International Airport Sets Monthly Passenger
Record Even after
Bishop International Airport came in with a record
setting enplanement year for 2003 with 952,309
passengers -- up 31.42 percent year over year --
2004 is already looking even more promising than
that. The final numbers are in for February, and
FNT was up 41.10% over February 2003 figures. The
facility hosted a total of 105,082 passengers. This
tops the previous record of 92,726 monthly
passengers, which was just set in December of
2003. All of Bishop
Airport's airlines showed growth year-over
year. Flint Bishop International
Airport CONTACT: Pat Corfman, Director
of Marketing and Public Relations of Bishop International Airport
Authority, +1-810-235-6560 ext. 120, or
Pager: +1-810-389-0040/ /First Call Analyst:
/ /FCMN Contact: / /Web site:
http://www.bishopairport.org / |
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Michigan.:
Flint's Bishop International Airport Expands