QCIA Executive Director Benjamin Leischner announces twice-daily flights to Charlotte, North Carolina. CREDIT QUAD CITIES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
“Air service is a community effort,” said Quad Cities International Airport Executive Director Benjamin Leischner at a recent press conference celebrating the addition of direct flights to Charlotte, North Carolina. It is a succinct message that needs to be heard and embraced by the entire Quad Cities region because the air service market is quite […]
“Air service is a community effort,” said Quad Cities International Airport Executive Director Benjamin Leischner at a recent press conference celebrating the addition of direct flights to Charlotte, North Carolina. It is a succinct message that needs to be heard and embraced by the entire Quad Cities region because the air service market is quite fragile and its success can significantly impact a region’s economic vitality.Mr. Leischner might have added, “because it can’t be taken for granted.”The new twice-daily American Airlines service to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) will depart from Moline (MLI) at 6:50 a.m. Central Time and arrive at Charlotte at about 10 a.m. Eastern Time. Afternoon flights will depart MLI at 4:30 p.m. and arrive in CLT at 7:40 p.m. (ET). The new air service will begin on Dec. 20.These strategic time slots will allow Quad Cities travelers to access Charlotte’s expansive connections, according to airport leaders.The Quad Cities is hoping to make a case that these new direct flights to Charlotte will draw sufficient numbers of travelers, especially business travelers, to make it financially successful for the airline because if it doesn’t, it could just as easily be taken away.Take, for example, a cautionary tale that occurred just 2 ½ hours away and was detailed in a March 25 Illinois Times article: On June 1, United Airlines stopped serving Springfield.“We’re very disappointed to learn that United, our hometown airline, has decided to discontinue service to the Illinois state capitol,” Mark Hanna, executive director of Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, told the newspaper. “We understand the decision was really based on a lack of current demand, overall market conditions and a severe nationwide pilot shortage.”United has one daily flight between Springfield and O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.The United announcement comes two months after American Airlines announced that it would discontinue its daily flight between Springfield and Dallas-Fort Worth, also on June 1.“Air service is very emotional for us as a community,” Mr. Hanna said in the article. “But when it comes to the providers, they need to meet their internal (financial) returns and their targets.“And basically, it’s a very mobile resource. They can fly that aircraft to another market and make more money. So, we don’t just compete against Champaign, Bloomington, Peoria or St. Louis. We’re competing against Portland, Oregon; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Idaho Falls, Idaho; Amarillo, Texas; Sacramento, California. We compete with every community — east, west, north, south — for aircraft time.”We are confident that with a concerted effort by the Quad Cities business community and, especially John Deere’s strong presence in North Carolina, these new direct flights will be successful for not only the airline but also for the region’s economy.
