A new service announced recently by Breeze Airways means that passengers from Erie will be able to remain in their seats in Tampa before continuing on to Fort Lauderdale.
But that announcement, which takes effect Nov. 18, hints at a larger change.
With a boost from the Fly Erie Fund, the forecast seems to be improving for Erie International Airport.
Erie airport was hurt by pilot shortage and high costs
A low point might have come in June of 2023 when United Airlines discontinued four daily departures for Chicago, leaving Erie with just two daily departures for Charlotte, North Carolina.
Just three years before that, Delta Airlines had ended daily service between Detroit and Erie.
Two major problems contributed to Erie’s inability to keep air service.
Nationally, there was a shortage of pilots and other crew.
Locally, the fixed costs at the local airport — money paid by the airlines — was too high. While the national average CPE, or cost per enplaned passenger, averages about $10, the cost in Erie topped $27 as recently as 2023.
The Fly Erie Fund, launched by the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership and funded by local businesses and government, was an attempt to raise money and use it strategically to lower costs for airlines.
Lost air service is coming back
It appears to be working.
“I would say so far we are accomplishing everything we set out to do with the Fly Erie Fund,” said Brandon Mendoza, CEO of the Erie Regional Chamber.
“Before the fund, we were at over $27 per enplaned passenger. That was one of the worst in the country,” he said. “Right now we are at $10 and there’s a good shot at the end of year we could be under $8.”
More than $1 million has been raised for the fund, Mendoza said.
“This is not set up to subsidize every flight,” he said. “What we were able to do is use the fund to catalyze participation. These are a key part of what has enabled them to lower CPE.”
In turn, that’s made Erie a more attractive place for airlines to do business.
Since the departure of United Airlines in 2023, American Airlines has added another daily flight to Charlotte and Breeze Airways has added flights to Orlando and Tampa. In addition, both United and American have announced plans to resume service to Chicago, combining to offer four daily departures.
And more flights could be coming.
Derek Martin, executive director of the airport, said he’s pleased with the progress made over the past couple of years.
At this point, he said, “We have more seats than we had in 2020 before the pandemic.”
Martin said the airport leadership has met with executives at Breeze and talked about adding Las Vegas and Fort Myers, Florida as new destinations.
There’s a case to be made for each, he said.
“Vegas is a big destination,” he said. “People are always going to Vegas.”
He said that among cities without direct flights to Fort Myers, Erie has the largest number of residents in the nation who own second homes in Fort Myers.
At the moment, plans to add Fort Myers as a destination are limited by the amount of gate space at the Florida airport.
“We would like to go there and Breeze would like to fly there,” he said.
Efforts to add flights won’t mean much if people in the region don’t choose to fly out of Erie, Mendoza said.
“We really need to make sure people are utilizing our flights,” he said.
Even after lowering fixed costs for airlines, tickets to fly from Erie are likely to cost a bit more.
Mendoza said he encourages travelers to factor in other benefits of using the local airport.
“You have to put the other math in there, the two-hour commutes with $4 gas, the parking prices and the wear and tear on your body,” he said. “You have to put your own hourly rates in there to see that flying out of Erie makes so much more economic sense and common sense.”
