Private Ties
January 26, 2009 – 7:43 pmAn interesting tidbit from an article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch on the new private airport in Branson, Mo:
Because the Branson airport does not receive federal grants, it can offer something to prospective airlines that other airports cannot: exclusive rights to serve Branson from a specific city.
In the case of AirTran, no other airline can fly between Branson and Atlanta for an agreed-upon period of time. That gives AirTran and any other airline that wants to serve Branson some time to establish service without competition.
Branson airport officials declined to provide such specifics about the AirTran agreement.
“If that wasn’t on the table, it would be very difficult for us … to take a risk on something like Branson,” said John Kirby, senior director of strategic planning and scheduling for AirTran.
Exclusive service rights. Sounds like the days of regulation and exactly the enviromnet primed for an Allegiant entrance.
