Bristol Airport boss: ‘use or lose’ New York flights
27.06.08
The boss of Bristol Airport has called on businesses to ‘use or lose’ its New York flights. Paul Kehoe has said that ‘inertia’ is preventing business from using the Continental Airlines route from Bristol, instead of travelling to Heathrow to connect to the Big Apple. He claims that business users hold the key to increasing its popularity, although he insists that the Continental route is not struggling.
Mr Kehoe said: ‘Whether it is because of corporate deals done at a national or international level, or individual decisions based on building up air miles with Heathrow-based airlines, the end result is the same - unnecessary road or rail journeys to the South East, causing congestion, generating emissions and taking money out of the region.'
‘The New York route is thriving, but it would be prudent to look ahead and make sure it stays that way. My message is simply: use it or lose it’.
Continental Airlines launched its daily service to New York in May 2005. Since then, around 260,000 passengers have used the flights to and from New York. In the four weeks to June 7, Continental carried 7,513 passengers on the route. Last month, the airline announced plans to axe its New York routes from both Cologne and Athens, due to lack of use.
Mr Kehoe added: ‘We know there is enough transatlantic business here to secure this route and potentially build on it with additional services, but to do this, we need every organisation based in the region to get behind us. We must ensure we make the most of the benefits a direct connection to the world's largest economy can bring Bristol and the South West.’
Bob Schumacher, senior UK director for Continental Airlines, said: ‘We're very happy with the number of people using the New York service. Mr Kehoe is very supportive of the service and the message is simply for people to keep using it for it to remain successful.’
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