Rolling out red (flying) carpet

The new service that AirTran Airways is bringing to Charleston could save local employers millions of dollars and bring a financial windfall to area tourism companies, business leaders said Thursday.

Tad Hutcheson, AirTran's director of marketing, noted that he flew into the Lowcountry on a $954 Delta Air Lines ticket to help spread the word that his company will begin offering two daily trips between Charleston and Atlanta on May 24. The carrier will add two more flights on that route June 7.

"We did a lot of research and we found that Charleston had the key ingredients that we like," Hutcheson said.

The incumbent carriers will likely match AirTran's lower fares, but Hutcheson said Florida-based AirTran will survive because it has lower costs than Delta and other big airlines. Also, Hutcheson said, AirTran's relatively low fares will boost airport traffic by appealing to travelers who do not typically fly. AirTran might even add nonstop service from Charleston to its small hub in Orlando, depending, in part, on the response to its Atlanta flights.

Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said AirTran's relatively low fares, about $90 each way on average last year, will afford him the chance to see the Atlanta Braves play at home more often. More importantly, Riley noted that AirTran will spur economic development and tourism while giving local companies a less expensive alternative when forced to fly for last-minute business trips. "I think even the most optimistic or visionary of us here cannot really fathom the impact it will have on our community," he said.

David Ginn, chief executive of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance, said AirTran fares will help his group sell the Lowcountry to prospective businesses looking to relocate or expand. "Companies are looking for ways to eliminate you, and this is going to give them one less reason to turn us down," Ginn said.

The windfall that discount air service can provide is evident in Richmond, Va., which welcomed AirTran flights in mid-2005 and service from JetBlue Airways in March 2006. In its 2006 fiscal year, the airport there posted an 18 percent increase in passengers, while its average airfares plummeted by 20 percent, according to a study. The discount carriers saved Richmond businesses an estimated $34 million a year.

Riley, House Speaker Bobby Harrell and other officials urged the crowd of 130 people who were on hand to welcome AirTran to use the carrier, even if competitors match its fares. AirTran will get some help from area business groups. The Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau agreed to spend $100,000 to advertise AirTran flights to Charleston in other cities. Charleston Place Hotel, Wild Dunes Resort and Kiawah Island Golf Resort each chipped $5,000 into that fund. The CVB, joined by the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Charleston County Aviation Authority, also spent about $10,000 to hire Joel Antolini, a consultant who used to direct route planning for US Airways.

Antolini and a small group of local business and tourism leaders made their case to four of AirTran's top route-planners Jan. 23 at the airline's Orlando headquarters. In an effort to seal the deal, a few of those same boosters drove to Columbia last week to be on hand when Harrell phoned AirTran executives personally.

"I told them that these people in Charleston will keep their word," Harrell said Thursday. "They'll make sure to make it happen."