THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 27, 1994 TAG: 9407270341
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By PHIL MURRAY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
Passenger traffic at the Norfolk airport is up nearly 40 percent through the first six months of 1994, thanks to low-fare competition sparked by Continental Airlines' no-frills service.
And it may soon climb even more with the addition of a new carrier.
Business Express Airlines, a regional carrier, is returning to Norfolk International Airport in September with three daily flights to New York's LaGuardia Airport.
The Portsmouth, N.H.-based airline, which will fly as Delta Connection, pulled out of Norfolk last year in the midst of financial problems. The airline - now restructured - will use 34-passenger propeller jets on the nonstop, Norfolk-to-LaGuardia route. Service is set to begin Sept. 12.
New York is the largest market for travelers in Norfolk, accounting for 10 percent to 12 percent of the traffic here.
``We have felt for some time that we needed additional service to LaGuardia and Kennedy'' airports in New York, said Wayne Shank, deputy executive director of the Norfolk Airport Authority.
The return of Business Express comes during a time when Norfolk's airport is on record for air-passenger travel.
Through June, the number of people flying into and out of Norfolk was 1.62 million, up from 1.16 million in the same period the year before. At that pace, the airport will break the 3 million mark this year for the first time since 1988.
USAir held onto its nearly 40 percent share of the Norfolk traffic in the first six months of this year. Continental, which had a small presence in Norfolk before last fall, surged into second place at 22 percent of the local market. All other major carriers saw their market shares decline here. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
JOHN CASERTA/Staff
FARE CUTS GIVE AIRPORT A LIFT
SOURCE: Norfolk International Airport
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
by CNB