Air travel
Service cuts may impact Dayton airport
Friday, June 27, 2008
WASHINGTON — Business travelers have long complained about the costs imposed by flight delays. But now they are facing "a full-blown crisis" as some air service disappears entirely, a travel expert told Congress on Thursday.
Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, said that as financially struggling airlines cut flights to secondary markets, small business owners are feeling "huge local effects" that are as demoralizing as a terrorist attack."
Mitchell, whose group advocates for the travel industry, testified at the House Small Business Committee's hearing into the impact of air transport turmoil. Earlier this week, his organization released a list of 150 airports likely to see service cuts, based on factors such as proximity to other airports, proposed airline mergers and previous fluctuations in air service.
The assessment concluded that Dayton International Airport would likely lose service. And in fact, United will discontinue service between Dayton and Denver starting Aug. 29.
But Iftikhar Ahmad, director of the Dayton International Airport, said his facility has not been impacted by the oil crunch to the extent of other Ohio airports.
Rather, the number of seats available to passengers and the number of seats occupied both have jumped, he said. In May, for example, passenger traffic reached a nine-year high and Ahmad said he expects the numbers to remain high in June.
