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Dekkers flair president ceo { November 26 2000 }

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   http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg11782.html

http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg11782.html

"Florida's Marathon airport gets new service"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday, November 26, 2000

Marathon airport gets new service
Flair plans eight direct daily flights
BY JENNIFER BABSON
The Miami (FL) Herald


KEY LARGO -- After more than six months without regularly scheduled
commercial service, Marathon's airport is slated next year to begin offering
daily flights to several cities in Florida, including Fort Lauderdale and
Fort Myers.

Sarasota-based Florida Air, or Flair, plans to begin service in mid- to late
January from the Middle Keys city, pending approval from the state
Department of Transportation.

The Federal Aviation Administration signed off on the plan Wednesday and
tickets are expected to go on sale late next month.

``We are the milk-run route,'' joked Rudi Dekkers, Flair's president and
CEO. ``It's going to be a no-nonsense commuter airline.''

Translation: no peanuts, no pillows, no cocktails, no grub.

What the airline does promise to offer is eight direct flights a day at
Marathon to and from Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers on its 19-passenger
Jetstream planes, with connections to Sarasota. From there, Flair will fly
to Orlando, Jacksonville and Tallahassee.

Flights from Marathon to Fort Lauderdale will begin at 8 a.m. and cost about
$89 one-way, though Dekkers says he's planning to offer a discount for
round-trip bookings.

Originally, he said he wanted Flair to fly from Key West, but he says he was
told that the airport -- which is expected to reach its current maximum
capacity in a few years -- was too crowded during peak hours.

So Dekkers decided to take a chance on Florida Keys Marathon Airport
instead.

Six airplanes -- four scheduled for daily runs, two on standby as backups --
will be dispatched for the new service.

Dekkers, along with partner Wally Hilliards, operates several air charter
companies in Florida, including the Venice-based Hoffman Aviation.

``I know for a fact that if we are going to be successful in Marathon, other
airlines are going to follow us,'' Dekkers predicts.

As part of their deal with Flair, Monroe County is initially waiving landing
and facility fees and has promised to aggressively promote the airline's
Marathon service.

``We're sitting down with the Tourist Development Council and we are going
to create a marketing plan,'' said Theresa Cook, Marathon's airport manager.

Marathon boasts a 5,000-foot runway -- longer, Cook says, than the one used
by booming Key West International Airport. You might not know that, though,
judging from the level of commercial service the airport has offered
recently.

After a decade in Marathon, American Eagle pulled out of the airport last
spring -- leaving it with only a handful of charter companies and a steady
stream of general aviation traffic.

A tentative deal with Gulfstream International Airlines to provide daily
Marathon-Miami service quietly fell apart a few months ago when the company
got cold feet.

Meanwhile, airport vendors have all but deserted the facility, citing an
inability to make a profit at an airport devoid of passengers.

That doesn't bother Dekkers, who says Marathon airport is perfect for
smaller commuter airlines that have begun to specialize in quick, cheaply
priced hops that many larger airlines now eschew.

Said Cook: ``I think if we market these guys and get them healthy in
Marathon, this will attract other airlines. They don't like to create their
own demand, they like to see if there's already demand there.''

Post your opinion on this story in the CAA Discussion Forum
http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID8




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