Melbourne airport officials want American to launch daily nonstop flights to Washington, D.C.
Melbourne Orlando International Airport officials are launching a community campaign aimed at sending a message to American Airlines: Start offering daily flights between the Space Coast and Washington, D.C.
Today, American offers three daily nonstop flights at the Melbourne airport. All travel to and from the airline's hub in Charlotte, North Carolina.
American did offer seasonal nonstop Washington, D.C., weekend flights from mid-February through early May between Reagan National Airport and Melbourne. However, those Saturday-Sunday flights did not perform well because they did not cater to business travelers, said Greg Donovan, executive director of the Melbourne airport.
"Our business travelers have a continual, high demand for weekday service and we know that a daily weekday flight would be an enormous hit," Donovan said in an email.
"Based upon our communications with the local business community, there are travel needs associated with the many Department of Defense programs and federal government related work being performed by Brevard based companies. Same goes with DC based officials that need to interact, in person, with engineering programs or production sites located here," the email said.
"The common factor with all is that the air service has to be convenient to the extent that a traveler can make a one or two day trip. Not many business-related missions carry over the weekend unless it is a longer-term assignment," the email said.
In the coming months, Donovan said airport officials will reach out to Brevard companies via Chambers of Commerce to gauge customer demand for daily nonstop air service to the nation's capital. This data will be compiled to forecast American's potential revenue.
The MLB campaign is planned as American increases its service on the Space Coast. Daily flights to and from Charlotte will increase from three to four flights on Nov. 5, said Mark Busalacchi, airport director of business development and marketing.
Also, in the next several years, Busalacchi said American will phase out its Bombardier CRJ-900 regional jets that fly to Melbourne. More-modern Embraer E175 aircraft will likely replace them, he said. Both planes have about 76 seats, but the E175 has better range.
Airport officials met with American Airlines officials on June 11 to discuss adding daily Washington, D.C., flights, Donovan said.
"Competition is very fierce. So we may be thinking we're only competing against the airport up the street for air service. But we're really competing against all airports across the country for that valuable asset — which is an aircraft," David Dague, a Boston-based aviation consultant and principal with Arthur D. Little, told the Melbourne Airport Authority during its June 26 meeting.
Dague delivered a presentation that stated Melbourne's nonstop flight service produced $280.7 million in annual economic output in 2023 to the local economy, generated $109.6 million in annual wage earnings, and produced $13.2 million in annual local tax revenue.
Delta Air Lines and its flights to Atlanta led the pack last year with 285,530 passengers and $117.8 million in economic output, per the study. American generated $68.6 million (151,000 passengers), while TUI generated $45.6 million (230,455 passengers) and Allegiant Air $35.7 million (71,000 passengers). The study's statistics included Avelo Airlines' ill-fated bid to establish service in Melbourne, which drew 10,390 passengers and $5.7 million in economic output in 2023.
Regarding American and Washington, D.C., Donovan told the MAA board that adding community involvement to the airport's sales pitch will "adjust our angle of attack" in seeking daily flights.
"Every community in the United States wants to get to D.C. Every state capital wants to get there, every university location, every major business center," Donovan said.
"And we’ve just got to demonstrate the demand is better here than the lowest-performing route that’s currently being flown. And I think we can do it," he said.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at [email protected]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Melbourne airport to American: Start daily flights to Washington, D.C.
