The New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority has approved million in grant subsidies for airlines to help attract new carriers to the little-used Atlantic City International Airport. And the airport may get busier as Caesars Atlantic City has launched charter flights from Montreal
The funds will be available through a risk-abatement program, allowing airlines to compete for grant funding.
CRDA officials said that the state agency isn’t bound by Federal Aviation Administration guidelines dictating how subsidies be can used and how much an airline can receive.
The grants are designed to reduce the monetary risk for an airline adding routes to Atlantic City. The authority would essentially agree to “buy” a certain number of unfilled seats on flights
Atlantic City Mayor Donald Guardian said the approval comes after multiple airlines expressed interest in the airport. Officials have been looking to increase air service to the resort in hopes of attracting more national conventions.
United Airlines has already launched daily flights from Chicago and Houston to Atlantic City for the summer starting this month. The airline has signed a separate agreement for incentives with the South Jersey Transportation Authority, which owns the airport.
The transportation authority will give the airline discounts on landing, fuel and service fees and also provide $60,000 in marketing support for its new flights.
Officials said CRDA expects to solicit proposals for its incentives from airlines in trade publications. If the program proves successful, more funds could be authorized, officials said.
Meanwhile, Caesars Entertainment—which owns four Atlantic City casinos—will try to up the resort’s air tourism by offering special charter flight/room packages in the Montreal market.
The charter flights would run from Plattsburgh N.Y. to Atlantic City International Airport. The flights are scheduled to begin April 23 and run through August. The flights will be operated by Republic Airways, which handles air charters for Caesars’ casino hotels across the country.
Garry Douglas, president of the North Country Chamber of Commerce in Plattsburgh, told the Press of Atlantic City that the flights will extend Caesars’ reach into the Montreal metropolitan market consisting of 3.5 million people.
“We are Montreal’s U.S. airport,” Douglas said of Plattsburgh International Airport. “We’re only a one-hour drive from downtown Montreal.”
Though Canada and upstate New York have several casinos, Caesars officials hope their resort-style properties in Atlantic City will prove a draw to gamblers. Atlantic City has been trying to promote its non-gaming amenities—restaurants, shows, the beach and Boardwalk—to distinguish itself form its East Coast competitors.
“In this extremely competitive marketplace, it is essential that we as an entertainment and hospitality company align ourselves with outstanding partners such as the Plattsburgh International Airport,” Scott Barber, regional president of Caesars Entertainment’s Mid-South Division, said in a press release.
Flights on the Plattsburgh-Atlantic City route can be booked through Caesars’ Total Rewards customer-loyalty program at 1-800-468-1950.
