The new and improved Plattsburgh International Airport will be the main focus of attention at the upcoming Montreal National Home Show. I’m not a huge fan of this type of promotion, but some still swear by traditional methods. The results of a voluntary survey of attendees will be “directly used by the chamber in its continuing air service development efforts.” It’s not just marketing science, but an added bonus, as those “inquiries” could also be used in a fancy tourism CPI formula!
The one page website put up for the airport seems a bit weak considering almost $200,000 in “community support” has been collected to promote this venture. What we really need is for the spokesperson of the home show to let us use her picture on the site. Of course, that might be false advertising.
Travelers heading to or from the Adirondacks or Champlain Valley may find that Plattsburgh is a viable choice – someday. Till then, the best airport choices remain Burlington – VT (BTV), Albany – NY (ALB), or Montreal – QC (YUL). The notable exception, for the moment, is the Adirondack Regional Airport. Last I checked, Continental was still offering $78 Round-trip fares between Albany and Saranac Lake. That is an awesome deal!
Plattsburgh International Airport to be promoted in Montreal
The new passenger terminal is set to be opened on April 27, 2007, positioning Plattsburgh International as both a secondary airport for the 3.5 million people in Montreal and for Lake Placid and northern N.Y. An extensive new bi-lingual website will also be up by April 27th at http://www.plattsburghinternationalairport.com. As for the Home Show, we secured more than 1,000 surveys, providing strong confirmation of the readiness of Montrealers to use future air services out of Plattsburgh. Stay tuned as new air services are secured over the next 2 years.
Hi Garry! Thanks for dropping by.
I can’t wait to add Plattsburgh International as the gateway airport into the Adirondacks. Convenient air transport from Plattsburgh will be a boon for both regional tourism and quality of life for locals.
Unlike Burlington and Montreal, Plattsburgh has plenty of room for growth. Properly managed, the sky really is limit.
One of my concerns is controlling vehicular traffic. This is one of the primary bicycle routes into and out of the city. It already enjoys fairly heavy traffic at times. In addition to accessing the airport from the city, coming from Exit 36 is no better. traversing the section around Exit 36 is already extremely hazardous. I can see that entrance to the airport becoming another hazard, especially during “drive-time”.
I propose reengineering South Catherine St to make it bicycle friendly, traffic light or roundabout at the south end. An “offramp” for traffic entering the airport from the south, turning lane for those coming from the city. Traffic lights should control the intersections on both sides of Exit 36, including Archie Bordeau and Irish Settlement.
Wonder if the improvements to the airport will bring more people to Plattsburgh. I share TourPro’s concerns about traffic, though I’m more concerned with speeding tickets and other problems that might bring people to the Plattsburgh Town Court.
Hi Town Court!
The new airport certainly won’t be an obstacle to visitation.
We are fortunate that there is plenty of space there to expand. While I don’t think we will be seeing any huge traffic increases in the near-term, it is useful to plan ahead. Frankly, I hadn’t even thought of the impact of increased moving violations on the court system. Maybe lowering the speed limit from Exit 36 to the city limit would help. Say 40 mph?
State Police presence could also be increased with a mini-barracks at the airport.