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Syracuse Hancock International Airport is looking west for continued growth

Ellen Abbott
/
WRVO
Hancock International Airport says its passengers want more flights west.

It’s been a good year for Syracuse Hancock International Airport, according to it’s yearly report to the community. It added new concessions, a new airline and destinations, and improvements to the facility. But perhaps the biggest change came behind the scenes, as facility management was turned over to the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority.

“We’ve gotten the hard part out of the way in getting the paperwork out of the way with the transfer," said Airport Chief Christina Callahan. "That took a lot of time, and it took a lot of work. So now we can refocus our efforts on air service and continuing to improve the facility.”

She says airport officials are now looking at a wish list for next year, but that central New Yorkers are "California Dreamin'."

She knows that because of a recent study done in conjunction with CenterState CEO asking where central New Yorkers want to go. But flying out west from Syracuse is not an easy task.

“Direct service to L.A. or San Francisco is probably never going to happen," Callahan said. "It’s not going to happen here, it’s not going to happen in Albany, and it’s not going to happen to Rochester. It’s just not feasible or practical. But if we can get better service to the hubs that drive service then to these other markets on the west coast, and it’s convenient and it’s inexpensive, that’s what we’re looking for.”  
 

Credit Ellen Abbott / WRVO
/
WRVO

So that brings Callahan to an airport that’s growing and is a hub for Southwest Airlines; Baltimore-Washington International Airport, known as BWI.

"I would like to see Southwest start service to BWI," Callahan said. "I think that would open up such a huge opportunity for people to get anywhere in the Southwest network. It would absolutely be huge for this area.”

Callahan says the airport will make a big push to get that connection going, and will meet with carriers starting later this year.

The Syracuse Regional Airport Authority is hoping the survey of flyers out of Syracuse will help officials convince airlines to provide more service out of Hancock International Airport. Callahan says airlines don’t have current information about the market and that hurts when trying to make a pitch. For example, she says airlines aren’t aware of the large number of Canadians that fly out of Syracuse.

“We reach all the way into Ontario, Canada, we see people coming from Kingston and Cornwall," Callahan said. "And so we have the data to back that up. And that’s the kind of information that I think the airlines are sometimes surprised to hear because they don’t quite understand where we fit geographically with the Canadian market.”

She says the data from the latest survey will give airlines updated market information, which could make a Syracuse connection an easier sell. Beyond BWI, Callahan would like to see the airport get more flights to Chicago and Florida, for the large number of snowbirds that head south for the winter.

Ellen produces news reports and features related to events that occur in the greater Syracuse area and throughout Onondaga County. Her reports are heard regularly in regional updates in Morning Edition and All Things Considered.