All about business

By the time it marks its first year this May, Branson Airport will be reachable by air service from seven cities — compared with one today.

Earlier this month, Denver-based Frontier Airlines announced new flights between Denver and Branson beginning in April. Then last week, Branson Airport officials announced that scheduled charter flights will begin serving five new markets in May on the newly minted Branson AirExpress.

"Things are expanding and growing like we hoped they would," said Branson Airport Director Jeff Bourk.

The $155 million privately developed airport opened last May. AirTran Airways would not discuss passenger loads on its daily flights between Atlanta and Branson, but spokesman Christopher White said the airline was "very happy" with its first year of service.

Bourk said AirTran provided a link to the eastern United States through its Atlanta hub, and Frontier will provide low-cost flights to destinations west of the Ozark entertainment venue. The new charter service, by contrast, will be more of a regional feed from Houston; Austin, Texas; Terre Haute, Ind.; Des Moines, Iowa; and Shreveport, La.

"Scheduled public charters are not unique," Bourk said last week. "What makes it unique is the relationship between … our community here and their airports out there and their communities."

Introductory fares on Branson AirExpress will start at $39 one way for the Terre Haute, Shreveport and Des Moines markets, and $49 one way for Austin and Houston travelers. It will be operated by ExpressJet Airlines using 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145 jets.

Terre Haute, which has been without commercial air service for more than a decade, is looking forward to the business, said airport director Dennis Wiss.

"No. 1, it’s activity," Wiss said. "We need the activity at the airport. We stand to make a small amount of revenue. If this model works, we hope to expand and add more flights."

In Des Moines, airport officials helped put Branson AirExpress in touch with Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino, which will help "mitigate some risk," said Roy Criss, a spokesman at Des Moines International Airport payday loans with no fax.

Branson provided data showing about 1,200 Iowans visit the Missouri resort area each week during its peak season from May 17 to Dec. 11, Criss said. To make the air service profitable, he said, it would have to capture only one-sixth of that, or 200 passengers a week.

A secondary benefit is that travelers would be able to connect through Branson to cities such as Austin and Houston, he said.

If the Branson charter service demonstrates strong demand, Bourk said, a commercial airline could step in and take over one or more of the routes.

"We are not an airline," he said. "That is a very important distinction. We are trying to prove these routes to other airlines. If somebody wanted to come in and take the Houston route, a major airline, we would be happy to see that happen."

The Branson Airport opened during one of the worst commercial aviation slumps in U.S. history. But Bourk said the low fares and the affordable nature of Branson had helped offset the recessionary effects.

Branson airport officials expected as many as 300,000 passenger boardings in the first year of operation. Airport officials did not provide actual figures by late Friday.

Meantime, passenger numbers have climbed 55 miles away at Springfield-Branson National Airport.

In 2009, passenger numbers grew 4 percent at Springfield-Branson, despite an 11 percent cut in its flight schedule. No other airports in the region were seeing growth, said airport spokesman Kent Boyd.

Boyd credits low fares, the growth of Allegiant Air in the market, the relatively strong performance of the southwest Missouri economy and the heightened awareness of the new passenger terminal at the airport.

Bourk said Springfield-Branson served business travelers "very well," but it is not the type of service that will bring leisure travelers into the market.

He is hoping the new charter service will help to do that.

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