EDITORIAL: Why This Airport Announcement Is Significantly Different

EDITORIAL: Why This Airport Announcement Is Significantly Different

On Wednesday, Iftikhar Ahmad, the CEO of the Rhode Airport Corporation, stepped up to the podium to make what seemed like another announcement about the expansion of service at the airport.

It was not the normal press conference, however. 

Under a new agreement, over the next five years, Breeze Airways will offer a total of 35 underserved or unserved nonstop routes, among them seven routes to destinations west of the Mississippi and up to 12 locally-based aircraft flying 200 flights per week.

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Additionally, at least three of the 35 Breeze destinations within the next five years will be international destinations.

This new development is more about the transformation of the Rhode Island economy than a just new routes.

Ahmad and board chairman Jonathan Savage have made a lot of announcements since the two took over the leadership of the airport in 2016.

Previously, T.F. Green had been a moribund regional airport with just 17 direct flights to less-than-dynamic locations like Pittsburgh.

Before this week's announcement, the number of non-stop flights had already ballooned to 37, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, San Juan, and on and on.

After Ahmad, stepping up to the podium was one of the most successful CEOs in global air flight.

David Neeleman, the CEO of Breeze Airways, is all in on PVD as a business partner. Neeleman has launched five airlines — Morris Air, WestJet, JetBlue Airways, Azul Brazilian Airlines, and Breeze Airways. Breeze is just three years old and is exploding across the U.S. and is expected to head to Europe.

Rhode Island’s economy is the big winner, realizing the following:

- 400 employees

- 12 planes based at Rhode Island International — commercial airline pilots earn from $190,000 to more than $500,000

And, the expansion will bring an estimated 1,000,000 passengers through Rhode Island just on Breeze flights.

It is hard to think of a company that is located in Rhode Island and has grown from ZERO to 400 faster.

This could be just the beginning.

Ahmad and Savage have teamed up to help drive an economic engine from being stalled in first gear to becoming a job growth industry.

Let’s enjoy this ride.

Can they build bridges, too?