Executive: AirTran is established at Milwaukee MILWAUKEE (AP) =97 AirTran Airways has flown more than 200,000 passengers=20 through General Mitchell International Airport in its first year of=20 business there, and a company executive says the airline has now=20 established itself in Milwaukee. AirTran held a press conference at=20 Mitchell Wednesday to discuss its nonstop service between Milwaukee and=20 Baltimore, which began this month. Airline officials also discussed their=20 first year of business in Milwaukee, which it marked this week. AirTran has= =20 flown more than 200,000 passengers through Milwaukee in the past 12 months,= =20 said Barry Bateman, airport executive director. The airline spent about $750,000 in advertising in its first year in=20 Milwaukee, including ads in northern Illinois, Madison and the Fox Valley.= =20 That level of spending is fairly typical for a new market and will decrease= =20 now that AirTran is better established here, said Tad Hutcheson, AirTran=20 marketing director. About half of the airline's passengers have been=20 business travelers, Hutcheson said. "It has been a perfect mix for us,=20 especially given that we weren't sure what to expect," he said. Much of=20 AirTran's overall business comes from leisure travelers, who book the=20 cheapest fares well in advance of their trips. About 20 percent of=20 AirTran's Milwaukee passengers have come from northern Illinois, a market=20 other airlines here have been trying to tap. "Typically, these people work= =20 for a Chicago company and live in the northern suburbs," Hutcheson said.=20 "They once considered Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports to be their only= =20 flight options, but now they are driving to Mitchell." *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.carib-link.net/naparima/naps.html TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************