Nashville's airfare ad is fair, says spokeswoman, and will air again By CYNTHIA YELDELL, yeldellc@xxxxxxxxx June 20, 2003 Nashville International Airport officials say an advertisement running in Knoxville to encourage travelers to fly from Nashville was not meant to slam McGhee Tyson Airport. Nashville International Airport spokeswoman Allison McAfee said the $54,000 campaign launched June 2 in Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Jackson and southern Kentucky simply aimed to promote Nashville. The campaign includes two billboards on Interstate 40 in Knoxville and a radio spot in which travelers are told that Nashville has the lowest average fares in the Southeast. McAfee said the original radio ad said Nashville's airport "takes security seriously," but that phrase was removed when a competing airport objected. "It was meant to reassure people that it's safe to fly," she said, not to imply other airports were unsafe. The Nashville radio campaign will end this week but run again beginning in mid-July. During its regular board meeting Wednesday, McGhee Tyson Airport officials voted to spend about $104,000 to launch a campaign in the Knoxville area. Dave Conklin, McGhee Tyson's marketing director, said Knoxville's campaign is not just a response to Nashville. "We have our own story to tell." The Knoxville ads are expected to begin running in July and will stress the convenience of flying from Knoxville and the cost savings for customers who book flights in advance. Danni Varlan, coordinator of East Tennesseans for Airfare Competition, the group formed to bring a low-fare carrier to Knoxville, said despite the deletion of the security reference, Nashville's ads still aren't in the best interest of the state's economy because they introduce regional competition. "It's inappropriate for them to come into our market or any other market in the state," she said. "It's bad for the economy." McAfee said events that have affected the airline industry over the last several years such as Sept. 11, 2001, war in Iraq and the SARS scare have forced airports to re-evaluate the way they do business. "We will continue to evaluate the Knoxville market and the air service we will be able to provide that market, and if we feel we have a competitive advantage, we will continue to try and drive traffic to Nashville," McAfee said. An April survey of Nashville International's parking lot found between 150 and 200 cars with Knox County tags, McAfee said. An October 2002 survey of the lot found 429 Knox County tags. An ETAC survey estimates that Knoxville loses about 500 passengers a day to Nashville. Passenger travel at McGhee Tyson rose 19 percent in May compared to April but fell 3 percent from May 2002. Passenger travel at Nashville International rose 13 percent in May compared to April, but is down 2 percent from May 2002. *************************************************** 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 *********************************************************