CONTACTS:
Dan Mann, Airport Director, 362-3131 or
Pam Hinman, Director of Marketing & Communications, 286-5719
January 2007 Breaks Monthly Record
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 26, 2007 - The Eastern Iowa Airport’s record-setting ways continue with a new mark made for the month of January. In Jan. 2007, 81,690 total passengers flew to and from the airport breaking the previous record for January set in 2006.
The new January number is 2.5% higher than the total number of passengers in January 2006, which was 79,638.
Airport Director Dan Mann said the higher passenger numbers translate into positive message to the airlines.
“This kind of Corridor support makes it possible for us to approach other airlines, such as Frontier,” he said.
Airport officials were recently notified by Frontier Airlines the Denver, Colo.- based airline is interested in starting service at CID. The airport was one of 50 cities targeted by Frontier last fall, asking each airport to submit a proposal for service.
CID requested two, daily roundtrip flights to the Denver hub, using a 70-seat regional jet aircraft. Statistics show CID is underserved on Westbound markets. Frontier is also a true, low-cost airline, something Corridor residents have been wanting at CID for many years.
Estimates show there would be a $4.8 million cost savings on Westbound destinations in the first year of Frontier service.
The airline has asked the community to secure a one-time $500,000 revenue guarantee to mitigate the airline’s risk upon entering a new market.
In this case, local businesses are being asked to pledge toward the guarantee. The pledges are being run through the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, which could be the entity that would sign the guarantee. Taxpayers would not be liable for the guarantee.
Mann said he will be meeting with Frontier March 5. For more information on the Frontier proposal and a pledge sheet, go to www.eiairport.org.