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.
