REGIONAL AIRPORT Vacation Express: to Florida, to Myrtle Beach, to ... ?

It's too early to talk about additional flights, company officials say.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
VIENNA -- Today, Sanford, Fla.; tomorrow, the world.
Or at least, maybe, Atlanta.
Local officials hope that air routes launched last week from Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport to Sanford and Myrtle Beach, S.C., will convince other airlines -- and potential passengers -- that this is a good place to fly to and from.
The airport, supported by Trumbull and Mahoning counties, had been without scheduled passenger service since Northwest Airlines pulled out a flight to Detroit in October 2002. It lost two other commercial carriers in the two years before that.
"People around here have seen so many things put up the pole and shot down," said Michael Harshman, who serves on the Western Reserve Port Authority board, which runs the airport. "I think a lot of people are waiting to see if this will work."
Mahoning and Trumbull commissioners lent the port authority $300,000 to get the new flights off the ground. And on top of the annual subsidy and additional sum to guarantee a Federal Aviation Administration grant, Trumbull commissioners are considering pitching in more to paint hangars and fix up the parking lot to help impress other potential airlines.
"We need more than one," said Trumbull Commissioner James Tsagaris.
The Caribbean
When the new Vacation Express flights were announced in January, A. Cary Evans, executive vice president of parent company Flightserv Inc., said connections to the Caribbean were on the drawing board.
Later this month, the airline will start using Sanford-Orlando International Airport as a hub for passengers to transfer from flights from more than a half-dozen East Coast cities on their way to destinations in Mexico, Costa Rica and the Caribbean.
The late arrival time of the flight from Youngstown-Warren, however, now makes connecting to these flights impractical.
Company officials say they are focused now on the two new flights from Youngstown rather than what might be in the future.
"It is really too early for us to worry about that," said Ron Slotin, a spokesman for Vacation Express. "We are worried right now about getting this service started."
There also has been talk of a flight from Youngstown to Atlanta, which has been the center of Vacation Express operations, said John Masternick, another port authority member.
An air taxi service also has expressed interest in possibly locating at the airport.
The new service to Florida was a hit with Janet Walden of Youngstown, who flew to Orlando last week on Air Tran, out of the Akron-Canton Regional Airport, to meet relatives.
She came back Saturday on one of the first flights from Sanford to Youngstown on Vacation Express.
"I like to come, of course, to Youngstown," she said. "I also like the idea of leaving from Sanford without the hassle of [going to] Orlando."
The Florida airport
Although the Sanford-Orlando International Airport has become one of the country's fastest-growing airports, it is still quite small. It is no exaggeration to say most passengers could get from the ticket counter to one of the 12 gates in about 10 minutes, including security checks.
The former military base got its first scheduled flight in 1999. The airport, more than an hour from Orlando, now hosts 14 airlines, said Victor D. White, chief operating officer of the Sanford Airport Authority.
There are as many as 28 departures a day, and the airport offers 50 destinations.
The Sanford Airport Authority uses many of the same incentives Youngstown employed to get the Vacation Express flight, including waiving landing and terminal rental fees for the first six months and helping to market new services.
Marketing
The aggressive marketing campaign coordinated by the Western Reserve Port Authority alerted many of the people who eventually bought tickets for the first Florida flight.
"I didn't even know there was an airport here until I bought the flight," said Kelly Fenske, 32, of Mentor, who met up with seven relatives from Ashtabula to take the flight.
siff@vindy.com