November 22, 2009

Competition could mean lower fares for southwest Missouri-Orlando flights

By Cara Restelli, KY3 News

Tools

Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

Story Published: Sep 28, 2009 at 7:34 PM CST

Story Updated: Sep 28, 2009 at 11:20 PM CST

SPRINGFIELD -- More options for air passengers in the Ozarks are on the way. This December, AirTran Airways will begin offering direct flights between Branson Airport and Orlando. Air Tran will compete with Allegiant Air, which flies between Orlando and the Springfield-Branson National Airport. Those in the airline industry say it's a win/win for airlines and passengers.

“It gives competition and that never hurts. It's a good thing,” said travel consultant Robin Hufft of Springfield Travel Service.

“A lot of people assumed that new airport hurts this one. What they didn't realize is airlines are competitive,” said Kent Boyd, spokesman for Springfield-Branson National Airport.

It may sound good but may be hard to believe. You might think there's no way there are enough passengers to support two airlines flying to the same destination until you look at how other flights out of Branson impact Springfield.

Despite direct flights from Branson to both Dallas and Atlanta, flights from Springfield to those same destinations have not been impacted. Air travel out of Springfield overall is up 4 percent over last year. In fact, Springfield's airport is the only one in the region whose numbers grew over last year.

“Will the new service hurt or help? Given our experience over the last few months, it can only help if it forces fares down even more,” said Boyd.

Boyd admits, without a price drop, the competition from Branson may not translate to more passengers flying to Orlando unless, of course, the trend that Hufft has been seeing continues.

“We've seen an increase in vacation destinations. They may be cutting back on stay, but they still feel need to get away," said Hufft.

We couldn't get reach a spokesperson for the Branson airport for a comment on Monday afternoon but, in a news release, its executive director said "the new service will make it easy and convenient for folks in southwest Missouri and northern Arkansas to travel to…Orlando."

More Good Stuff

StormTeam Weather

More Weather

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.