AirTran wooed for Syracuse airport

AirTran wooed for Syracuse airport
Friday, January 27, 2006

Less than a month after Independence Air ceased operating, Sen. Charles Schumer has asked another low-fare airline to add service to Syracuse's Hancock Airport.

In a letter Thursday to AirTran CEO Joseph Leonard, Schumer, D-N.Y., called Syracuse "an ideal match for AirTran."

The senator cited Syracuse's strong performance in recent years seventh in the nation in passenger growth in 2004. Seats on JetBlue flights between Syracuse and New York's JFK Airport are more than 90 percent occupied, he said.

"New service could mean new destinations, which would drive down airfares even more throughout Central New York, making air travel more affordable for local passengers and generating economic growth for the entire region," Schumer said.

AirTran flies out of two Upstate New York cities: Rochester and Buffalo. It offers direct flights from Rochester to Baltimore, Atlanta, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Orlando, Fla. It flies from Buffalo to Orlando and Atlanta.

AirTran officials did not return phone messages.

Before going out of business Jan. 5, Independence Air offered three flights a day from Syracuse to Washington's Dulles Airport.