ACI-NA’s 2017 JumpStart Conference Brings Airports and Airlines Together in Providence

June 8, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2017

 

PROVIDENCE, RI – Airports Council International –North America (ACI-NA) this week concluded its 2017 JumpStart® Air Service Development Conference in Providence, RI, hosted by the Rhode Island Airport Corporation.  Often referred to as “speed dating” for airport and airlines, this annual conference brings airports and airlines together to discuss new air service options for passengers.  ACI-NA also announced the 2018 JumpStart® Air Service Development Conference will be hosted by Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland, OH.

“North American airports and their local communities continue to feel the long-lasting pressures of airline consolidation,” said ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke. “The great success of ACI-NA’s JumpStart® Air Service Development Conference shows its growing recognition among the U.S. and Canadian air carriers as a way to begin or continue important conversations with North American airports.  We thank the Rhode Island Airport Corporation for their support of this conference and we look forward to next year’s conference in Cleveland.”

ACI-NA’s JumpStart® Air Service Development Conference is North America’s premier air service development conference.  This year’s event attracted more than 450 attendees from 30 airlines and 200 airports for 1,300 one-on-one meetings to explore new service options or review existing routes.  These meetings help position airports to attract new air service to their communities.

“Airports work around the clock to bring in more carriers and routes to serve their communities,” Burke said.  “JumpStart® provides airports with a high concentration of airline industry network planners to make the pitch directly.”

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport will host the 2018 JumpStart® Air Service Development Conference June 4 – 6, 2018 in Cleveland, OH.

“We are thrilled to be able to work with ACI-NA to bring this prestigious event to Cleveland,” said Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Director Robert Kennedy.  “It’s an honor to host the top airline network planners, airport professionals and guests in our wonderful city and show them the hospitality Cleveland has to offer.”

Background

How JumpStart Works

Each year, airports request a private, 20-minute meeting with up to 12 airlines. The airlines also make their own wish lists of communities they would like to meet. ACI-NA staff crafts a meeting schedule for each airport with airlines that want to meet them.

A complete list of ACI-NA conferences is available here on the ACI-NA website.

 

About ACI-NA

Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) represents local, regional, and state governing bodies that own and operate commercial airports in the United States and Canada. ACI-NA member airports enplane more than 95 percent of the domestic and virtually all the international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America. Approximately 380 aviation-related businesses are also members of ACI-NA, providing goods and services to airports. Collectively, U.S. airports support more than 11.5 million jobs and account for $1.4 trillion in economic activity – or more than seven percent of the total U.S. GDP. Canadian airports support 405,000 jobs and contribute C$35 billion to Canada’s GDP. Learn more at www.airportscouncil.org.