Numbers looking good at Latrobe airport
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Gabe Monzo, executive director of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, thinks the number of annual passengers using the airport could triple with new flights to Orlando, Fla.
"Last year, we had about 65,000 passengers total, including those leaving and coming here," he said. "With the flights to Orlando, I think we could easily see 200,000 passengers in the next year."
Spirit Airlines began four flights a week from Latrobe to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last February. They also fly in the summer and fall to Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Flights to Myrtle Beach this June will expand, as well. They will fly seven days a week, compared to four flights a week in 2011.
"We've been pulling in people from the entire Tri-State area," said Mr. Monzo, "from Ohio and West Virginia. We've had a family drive here from New York City to save money.
"We're ecstatic with their performance," he said. "They kicked down the door last year."
That has benefited DeNunzio's Italian Restaurant and bar at the airport, as well, he said. He noted the Florida flights have been good for the entire Westmoreland County region.
"People are coming to this region who have never been here before. We're getting back some of the people who went to Cleveland for cheaper flights.
"As soon as the snowflakes hit, people start booking to Florida," he said.
The local colleges are using the flights to appeal to students, too.
"Saint Vincent College [also in Unity] uses the convenience of the flights to recruit for basketball and football," he said. "They advertise in Florida now. And we have students using the flights during spring break."
Spirit Airlines, which has its hub in Fort Lauderdale, also has many flights to various Caribbean islands, he noted.
Mr. Monzo said he's also seen a fair number of people using the flights who have business in Florida.
"It's not just people going to Fort Lauderdale in the winter; people are going in the dead of summer, too. People live here and work for corporations in Florida."
Mr. Monzo said after flying into Orlando in central Florida, and Fort Lauderdale in the south near Miami, vacationers can be almost anywhere in Florida within three hours.
"I tell people, you can spend those three hours driving from here to the Pittsburgh airport and standing in their security lines, or you can spend them riding in a car in Florida with the top down and your hair blowing in the breeze. I know which I'd rather do."
First Published February 9, 2012 12:00 am
