SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) -
Where did all the low-cost airlines go?
Savannah's leaders may be asking the question, but they have their sights set on a big airline to fill the void. Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport lost Allegiant and Vision Airlines in the last two months.
However, local tourism and economic experts are pulling out all the stops to nab JetBlue.
Allegiant Airlines arrived last year, and even a maiden voyage of water works and a rainbow could not extend the low-cost airline's stay in Savannah.
"When there is not a market, you cannot make a market," Patrick Graham, executive director of the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport, told WTOC.
Graham watched both Allegiant, and a much shorter stay from Vision Airlines, come and go.
"We sort of knew from the beginning Vision was not going to work. You know, you can't sell a destination to a destination. You got to do it one way or do it another," Graham said. "We spent extra funding trying to help the Fort Lauderdale thing (Allegiant) and it just didn't work out."
What they hope will work out is a possible deal with JetBlue. Airline prices have gone back up at Delta and U.S. Airways. More competition could bring them back down.
"JetBlue will help that out. We know that. We've known that. We've been working on this for a long time," Graham said. "Visit Savannah helped us a lot. Hilton Head helped us a lot."
"JetBlue is completely different. It will really connect us to the Northeast and the Washington, DC market and people who travel through that market," Joe Marinelli, of Visit Savannah, told WTOC.
Marinelli traveled to New York City to meet with JetBlue executives a few months ago to sell them on Savannah, which has been a long-term effort, especially locally.
"We worked with hotels and restaurants to put packages together that Jet Blue can offer to customers, to their employees, to help boost Savannah in their awareness," Marinelli said.
"We put everything we have on the table and the rest will be determined by the market," Graham said.
Competition from other cities is fierce for JetBlue, but Savannah is on their radar. Graham says Jet Blue representatives have been in Savannah recently, asking questions and putting out feelers.
"They are researching it. I still feel positive about it, but won't know until they say so," Graham said.
Airport officials hope to have a final decision from JetBlue by September.
In the meantime, new hope for working with Southwest Airlines came with the buyout of AirTran by Southwest. The door, which many thought was closed, may reopen after the merger is finalized.
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Patrick Graham, executive director of Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport
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