The upper Midwest's largest player in the field of leisure charters is interested in flying from Gary/Chicago International Airport to vacation destinations.
Sun Country Airlines is investigating starting up leisure charter departures from small regional airports like Gary. Officials discussed it with airport officials at an aviation conference in Florida in February, said Tony Loeks, director of schedule planning for the Minneapolis-based airline.
"We are trying to change the business model and help the smaller airports," Loeks said.
Sun Country was mentioned as one in the field of leisure charters Thursday, as officials at the Build Indiana Summit in Hobart unveiled a new strategic business plan for the airport.
The strategic business plan developed for the airport by aviation consultant Landrum & Brown at a cost of $449,732 pinpoints the landing of more leisure charters at Gary as a gateway to making the airport financially viable.
Data included in the report shows such airlines flew 169,243 passengers into and out of O'Hare and Midway airports in 2008. Four years before that, passenger traffic on such airlines at the two airports reached 449,600.
The business plan states some of those airlines could probably be lured to Gary as a low-cost alternative to the Chicago airports.
On Thursday, Landrum & Brown Managing Director Dan Muscatello confirmed there were discussions on the topic with Chicago Commissioner of Aviation Rosemarie Andolino during the business plan's development.
She was comfortable with the strategy, because it can provide real benefit to Gary while at the same time creating additional capacity at the Chicago airports, Muscatello said.
Hosting such charters would be nothing new for the Gary airport. Gaming companies such as Harrah's have chartered flights out of Gary to casinos in Las Vegas and other locales for years, according to airport director Chris Curry.
In 2009, 1,673 people flew out of Gary on the charter flights, according to airport figures.
Right now, the airport charges $7 per day for parking while people are gone on their vacations. The report recommends providing free auto storage at the airport for those taking charter flights.
Sun Country's existing business model is typical of leisure charter airlines. It flies from its Minneapolis hub to cities as geographically diverse as Anchorage, Alaska; Mazatlan, Mexico; Montego Bay, Jamaica and London. The public can get a seat on such flights by logging onto the airline's website and making a reservation just like with major airlines.
The flights also pop up on searches of travel websites such as Travelocity and Orbitz.
Many of the tickets are bought as part of pre-packaged tours that include a seat on the flight as well as hotel, transportation and amenities.
The airline flies Boeing 737s that are configured for 129 or 162 seats.
The business model contemplated for cities like Gary is a little different, Loeks said.
He gave as an example a deal being finalized with Lansing's Capital Region International Airport in Michigan. A plane departing Minneapolis for Orlando would return to Lansing and then make another Orlando run before returning to Minneapolis at night.
Sun Country would not ask for the multimillion-dollar seat guarantees that major and regional airlines require when they come to undeveloped airports like Gary, Loeks said.
As incentives, the airline is looking for two things. First it wants some fee waivers from host airports, Loeks said. Then, it wants a travel agency, casino or resort hotel to guarantee the purchase of 50 or so seats.
