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Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport Executive Director Greg Kelly received an email Wednesday morning from JetBlue’s regional marketing director indicating the airport’s newest carrier was “very happy” with its first month of business in Savannah.
JetBlue began service from Savannah to New York’s JFK International and Boston’s Logan International airports on Feb. 13. In that first month, JetBlue’s load factors — or percentages of available seats filled — were so good, Kelly said, the airline has bumped up to larger aircraft between Savannah and JFK several times a week.
“And they are still filling airplanes,” Kelly told the Savannah Downtown Business Association at its March luncheon meeting Wednesday.
The best part?
“This has enabled JetBlue to drop its lowest fares between Savannah and New York to $75.”
Boston also is showing healthy bookings on par with expectations, Kelly said.
“JetBlue now expects to end the month of March with load factors in the 80 percent range, something that is almost unheard of for new service.”
April is shaping up to be just as strong.
“What you are doing by supporting JetBlue as a community is sending the message that they made the right choice, the right investment in coming to Savannah,” Kelly told the business group.
“And, if they continue to succeed, I think we could see additional service from JetBlue to other cities in the future.”
That said, Kelly reminded his audience of what happens when a community doesn’t support its airlines.
“Remember AirTran?” he asked. “When they began serving Savannah and Hilton Head with low fares in the late 1990s, Delta responded by bringing in large aircraft — as many as eight 757s a day, each with a capacity of 180 seats. That drove fares down to the point that people were driving in from Charleston to fly Delta out of Savannah.”
Things changed dramatically when AirTran left — and they left because they weren’t supported by the community,” he said. Once the low-cost carrier was gone, Delta reduced the size of its planes and fares shot back up.”
Now, the “JetBlue effect” has resulted in airfares dropping by as much as 50 percent to New York and Boston, Kelly said. “No longer are we one of the highest-fare airports in the country.
“But, if we want to keep those fares — and even attract more service — we need to support our airport and all our airlines.”
The recently approved merger of U.S. Airways and American should end up being a good thing for the region and Savannah’s airport, Kelly said, even though Savannah has already seen its first casualty of the deal — the expected loss this spring of U.S. Airways direct service from Savannah to Washington’s Reagan National.
“But, at the end of the day, when they get through this merger and things settle down, we think we might see better service to Dallas, added service to Chicago and, quite possibly, the return of a direct flight to Miami,” he said.
“We will be working hard to help make those things happen.”
What’s next on Savannah’s wish list?
“We are always looking for ways to bring Southwest here,” Kelly said. “We don’t intend to let up on those efforts.
“But, beyond Southwest, our target priorities are getting our Florida flights back — Miami or Fort Lauderdale — and attracting a Canadian airline out of Toronto.
“Studies show that Hilton Head Island plays host to more than 50,000 Canadian visitors a year.
“That would be a great market to tap.”