As the new administrator of Hartford’s Bradley International Airport prepares to start his new job next week, the airline industry is in a state of upheaval.
Fuel costs have soared more than 70 percent in a year, prompting widespread cuts in flights and jobs.
In the past year alone, hundreds of airports have seen flights dropped, and dozens of smaller airports have lost all scheduled commercial service, including New Haven and Wilmington, Del. Most recently, American Airlines said it would slash its domestic capacity by 11 to 12 percent in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, airlines are staging massive mergers on hopes that further consolidation of routes and staffs will help them stave off financial crisis.
It’s a challenging time for Jeffrey Schultes, who steps into his new post June 2.
The good news, Schultes said, is that Bradley doesn’t appear to be in line for serious cutbacks. In fact, the former administrator of the Portland airport in Maine said he aims to work with Connecticut business leaders to bump up Bradley’s passenger traffic and even its international flight options.
“I just think there’s some tremendous opportunity at Bradley,” said Schultes, who lured both AirTran and JetBlue to Portland and saw his airport’s passenger count climb 300,000 in the last two years.
Schultes said Bradley may be in a position to help fill surging demand created by annoying congestion at New York City’s three major airports. And the Open Skies agreement, a pact between the United States and the European Union that went into effect in March, has added more routes for airlines to fly between European and American cities. That could mean more international options for Bradley, which currently offers direct flights to Cancun, Mexico, and Amsterdam.
Â
Open Skies
But Robert W. Mann, an airline industry analyst from Port Washington, N.Y., cautioned that in the current climate with the soaring cost of fuel, it will be a challenge to add flights to any airport’s roster — especially international flights. Still, he agrees with Schultes that the Open Skies agreement could serve non-traditional markets like Bradley well.
“I think Hartford’s really lucky to have the Amsterdam flight,” said Mann. It’s not a traditional gateway, like New York or Boston, both of which already offer flights their own flights to Amsterdam’s Schiphol.
Bradley also could start to identify and capitalize on the passenger traffic that is bypassing Hartford for Boston and New York, like residents of Fairfield County who choose to drive south to New York rather than north to Hartford, Mann said.
“There’s all kinds of leakage…that literally drives right by Hartford,” he added.
Mann also said specialized carriers, like PrivatAir, could represent another opportunity for Bradley. The international business aviation group caters to celebrities, successful business people, public officials and private jet owners. Because of Hartford’s prominent financial and insurance businesses, that might be a profitable option, Mann suggested.
Identifying the spending power of local corporations will be a vital part of the new administrator’s success, Mann said.
That’s exactly what Schultes said he is planning do to do. “I want to listen to what the needs are of the business community…and use that as a strategy to move forward,” Schultes said.
Schultes’ hiring was the result of an eight-month nationwide search conducted by the governor’s office. Gov. M. Jodi Rell was looking for a visionary leader, one who could enhance Bradley’s reputation for marketing and customer service.
“This airport has become one of the key drivers of Connecticut’s economy,” Rell said in a press release. “Mr. Schultes is someone who understands the intricacies and challenges of delivering the best in service for the thousands of customers who travel through Bradley every day.”
Schultes brings a strong track record to Hartford. He worked for the Portland International Jetport for 16 years. Prior to that, he managed all of FedEx’s airport property in the Northeast and parts of Canada. That included 22 airports.
“I think my experience is really going to help out with Bradley,” Schultes said.
While he was at Portland, the airport was almost entirely rebuilt. It erected two new parking garages, several additions to the terminal and rebuilt and expanded the main runway. The airport just hired an architect to design another 125,000-square-foot addition to the terminal building.
After his team brought in AirTran and Jet Blue, passenger counts soared 17 percent last year. Volume is up 12 percent this year.
That has brought the cost of flying down for businesses and consumers, and it’s something he’s aiming for at Bradley.
Â
Defense Industry
Bradley is already involved in plans for expansion, Schultes said. “Things don’t happen overnight,” he said. “It takes years to make things happen.”
Another asset that Schultes may try to exploit is Connecticut’s defense industry.
“Connecticut thrived on the Cold War, and Bradley thrived on serving that,” said Arthur Wright, an emeritis professor of economics at the University of Connecticut.
Companies like United Technologies Corp. are scoring massive contracts to serve the fight in the Middle East. And foreign companies are getting a big bang for their buck thanks to a weak dollar. That has boosted Bradley’s share of freight traffic.
“Bradley’s got a pretty good location,” Wright said. “It’s attracted its share or better of freight traffic.”
