Now we have not one, but two new direct flight destinations: Phoenix (Mesa), Arizona, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. That brings the number of direct flight destinations to 11, over twice as many as this time last year.
So I asked Greater Peoria Regional Airport Director Ken Spirito, “to what do you attribute your success? I would assume past airport directors have also tried to get more direct flights, but were unsuccessful. Do you have connections that past directors didn’t have? Is the airline industry just in a growth phase these days? Has demand for air travel picked up recently? Is it some combination of those?”
His response:
I have to say that all I am doing is telling the story of what we have and actually showing the airlines how they can make money. I do, however, know many people in the industry. But, it really boils down to profit and how the airlines can get there…
Whatever it is he’s doing, it’s working. Kudos on a job well done.
Ken Spirito is a visionary and knows what it takes to persuade airlines to add flights, capacity and destinations.
It’s sort of ironic as a decade ago, Mike LaPier did the same for Bloomington-Normal’s Central Illinois Regional Airport (CIRA). Back then, our airport suffered from an inferiority complex, high fares and poor air service. Now, while CIRA continues to post record enplanements, Peoria has the momentum.