Raleigh-Durham International Airport and the Regional Transportation Alliance Partner to Support Recruitment of International Air Service

RDU AIRPORT, N.C. – The Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority and the Regional Transportation Alliance today announced a new initiative to support the

recruitment of additional international air service. The program mobilizes regional business support through the Air Service Advancement Project (ASAP),

which is a three year, $500,000 effort to mobilize and highlight support for the recruitment and promotion of nonstop service to international gateways.
“On behalf of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority, I would like to thank the business community for coming together to form this initiative,” said Michael

Landguth, Airport Authority president and CEO. “This program sends a strong message to airlines that our business community is engaged in air service

recruitment and is committed to strengthening nonstop international service from RDU.”
“The regional business community appreciates the $1.4 billion impact that a single international flight can have on our growing market over time,” said Ed

Paradise, RTA chair and RTP site executive for Cisco Systems, Inc. “The RTA is launching the ASAP to demonstrate our commitment to strengthening

international air service at RDU.”
The objectives of ASAP are to:

· Sustain and increase nonstop service to Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East.

· Maximize regional competitiveness with worldwide markets via international flight options.

· Spur and retain a multi-million dollar annual economic impact created by each international flight.

· Support the ability to attract business growth and top talent to the Research Triangle Region.

Tactics will include regional marketing strategies to highlight air service opportunities, the advertising of RDU and the Research Triangle Region through

traditional and new media, promotion of the region and RDU at key industry events and support of RDU as an international gateway.
According to numbers released today by RTA, the project has received $58,000 in cash pledges from companies and organizations and $168,000 in-kind commitments from partners. The list of current commitments to the project can be found at www.letsgetmoving.org/ASAP.
The project’s investment fund supplements the Airport Authority’s $500,000 commitment toward marketing international air service.
International Travel from RDU
Each year, approximately 1.5 million passengers travel between RDU and international destinations. Half of this traffic travels to and from Europe.

American Airlines’ daily service to London Heathrow serves the international market nonstop but can only carry a fraction of the total international traffic.

The Airport Authority’s analysis of the international market shows that there is sufficient demand for additional nonstop transatlantic service to serve both Europe and connecting travel to Asia and the Middle East.
Economic Impact of One International Flight at RDU
The addition of one international flight would have a major economic impact on the Research Triangle Region. Over a 25-year period, the regional GDP will grow by $1.4B. In addition, 14,000 new jobs will be created and $272 million in new public money will be generated.

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