August/September Business View Magazine

134 135 ITHACA TOMPKINS REGIONAL AIRPORT airlines here because of Cornell University and also Ithaca College,” says Hall. “The movies moved away, the aircraft industry moved away, Cornell moved away from the aeronautical lab, in part, because of the political changes that took place in the ‘50s and ‘60s,with a desire to distance itself from the defense industry, and we’re left with a very nice airfield with, I like to say, 7,000 feet of runway. It’s actually 6,996.Why they couldn’t have put four more feet on the end of it is beyond me. But that’s more than O’Hare (International Airport) and that’s more than JohnWayne (Airport) in Southern Califor- nia, so we’ve got an adequate runway.” Hall says the Airport is rather unique because of its “second-segment travel” that connects it to airports in Newark, Philadelphia, and Detroit.“As ‘O & D’ (Origin and Destination) destinations, those don’t really pan out,”he explains.“First of all, you can drive to Newark prettymuch as fast as you can fly. Philly’s a little bit farther and Detroit is farther yet. The bottom line is that our travelers go from Detroit to Tokyo,Newark to Shanghai, and Philly to Seoul and Frankfurt. So it’s that second leg that makes this market appealing to airlines.” Ithaca Tompkins is also unique in upstate New York because half the region’s commercial air traffic flies into the airport, adds Hall.“We have, needless to say, in upstate NewYork, a very large leisure mar- ket built around other cities,where people leave to go to escape sixmonths of winter and when they’ve spent their money, they come back home,” he says. “But here, they come to invest in the community and the high tech industry that’s out by Cornell University.” Hall adds that the Airport is self-sustaining and that all businesses on its property are aviation-re- lated. However, Ithaca Tompkins is surrounded by property still owned by Cornell, including the university’s Cornell Business and Technology Park. That facility abuts the Airport and it is home to a variety of high-tech businesses. The Airport’s proximity to Cornell, a global brand, along with Ithaca College, help to make Ithaca Tompkins a key cog in upstate New York’s economy, Hall reports. “That’s the reason we’re growing by three percent a year and everybody else in upstate New York is shrinking by three percent a year,” he notes. “We have about 2,000 charter operations here during the course of the year. It’s even common to see a China-registered airplane. So, our plans include adding a customs facility so our guests to the community can fly here directly and not have to stop someplace to clear (customs) as they come in from their inter- national origins.” In fact, the future is already unfolding at Ithaca Tompkins,with the recent addition of new,modern seating in the 25-year-old terminal. Plans call for the terminal to be expanded by one third over the next year to accommodate burgeoning demand. “We’re growing in double digits after a fairly AT A GLANCE ITHACA TOMPKINS REGIONAL AIRPORT WHAT: A public-use airport that supports com- mercial and general aviation WHERE: Upstate, New York WEBSITE: www.flyithaca.com