By Anna Olcese
In recent years, Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV) has undergone substantial renovations, added flights and carriers and expanded the services it offers travelers. But they’re not done yet. Airport management continues to work on behalf of area businesses to make travel to and from Gainesville easier, better and more rewarding. There are two unique initiatives focused on growth. The Ultimate Road Warrior Club helps build a loyal passenger base while a new program, the Travel Bank, is aimed at luring airline service.
Ultimate Road Warrior Club
This Ultimate Road Warrior Club is designed to reward frequent travelers to and from Gainesville. Membership is free and open to all. Benefits include monthly award drawings, a private lounge and access to select airport information.
“The Road Warrior program has allowed GNV to build stronger relationships with our frequent travelers,” says Laura Aguiar, manager of public relations and governmental affairs at the airport. “I often share news on our air service development efforts or renovation projects through monthly emails.”
Currently, Aguiar sends weekly Low Fare Alerts to about 8,000 opt-in email subscribers. Plus more than 1,000 Road Warriors get a monthly newsletter, a number that is sure to expand now that companies with out-of-state headquarters, such as Mobiquity and Mindtree, have opened satellite offices in Gainesville. Moreover, local companies such as Grooveshark and SumTotal Systems — in addition to various biotech firms — are continuing to expand, requiring more of their employees to travel.
In addition to the latest airport news, Road Warriors are eligible for a steady stream of prizes from sponsors such as the Hippodrome Theatre, the Florida Museum of Natural History, the UF Performing Arts Center and Silver Airways. The Warrior with the most roundtrip flights each month automatically wins a prize, but the airport also conducts random drawings to reward locals who log at least one trip a month.
“The Road Warriors are already highmileage travelers with our airlines,” Aguiar says. “The perks from the airport’s program are extra rewards they net when they fly local.”
Travel Bank
When an airport, community or business solicits an airline to add a popular route to its schedule, the airline wants to mitigate the risk as much as possible. In order to attract new service to New York City, GNV is starting a Travel Bank. A Travel Bank is a list of pledges from the local entities that plan on taking advantage of the new route. The pledges reflect how much each company or individual will spend annually on the new air service.
“Many of our high-tech companies are global businesses, even if they have only a few employees,” says Ian Fletcher, chairman of the Gainesville Alachua County Regional Airport Authority.
Currently, Gainesville is hoping to add service to New York City, specifically, LaGuardia Airport (LGA), the secondmost- frequented destination for travelers leaving from Gainesville.
“Convincing an airline to offer our community access to New York City, one of the top business centers in the world, is vital to our continued economic growth,” Fletcher says.
Without a direct flight to New York City, many travelers currently are opting to fly from nearby airports instead.
“We really need to find those businesses with employees that are currently traveling to New York, but are opting to drive to Jacksonville, Tampa or Orlando for a direct flight,” says Gainesville Regional Airport CEO, Allan Penksa. “These are the travelers who are going to help us attract direct service with the promise of additional passengers between GNV and LGA.”
Companies of every size are being asked to contribute pledges to the Travel Bank so Gainesville will have enough guarantees of potential travel to solicit airlines such as Jet Blue to come here — or to convince airlines currently servicing Gainesville, such as Delta, to add a route.
Penska believes it will be a challenge to net a direct New York City route because gate space in New York is limited and Gainesville will have to be able to fill larger planes to make the route economically viable. Moreover, he cautions that we are looking to do this at a time when the airline industry is consolidating and many airports — including some similar in size to GNV — are actually losing service.
Fortunately, our area is thriving and large corporations are opening satellite offices here, while local companies are growing and expanding to other markets. Fletcher emphasizes how important access to air service is if the city plans on continuing to court new businesses.
But, ultimately, the power lies with the companies who need the service.
“The community will need to stand behind a pledge that those flights will be used within the two years that it takes for a new flight to become established,” Penska says. “The Travel Bank can make non-stop service a viable opportunity for the airline.”