Manhattan airport soars in sales
7:05 p.m. Tuesday, July 1, 2008
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Manhattan — With a zip of her suitcase, Patsy Turner is ready to head home.
Turner is one of hundreds who pass through Manhattan Regional Airport each day.
But on this trip to see her son at Fort Riley, she decided to avoid the shuttle from Kansas City and fly instead.
“Several times I’ve taken the shuttle and they’re stopping every time. I’m already tired. I want to get here,” says Patsy Turner, who has flown through the Manhattan Regional Airport three times in the past year.
Though some airports are in a slump, Manhattan’s airport is soaring, at least with customers like Turner, who prefer a 30-minute flight compared to a 3-hour drive from Kansas City.
Manhattan Regional Airport has served the community at terminals like this one. They’re hoping to change things up, however, on July 7. That’s when they’ll add a seventh flight to the daily schedule.
“The greatest number of enplanements that we’ve had in quite some time, and I’m talking probably since before 9-11 occurred,” says Peter VanKuren, director of Manhattan Regional Airport.
VanKuren says the airport's success is due to increase flights through it's new carrier, Great Lakes Airlines.
More than 1,150 passengers flew through Manhattan in May, with some even commuting to the Little Apple for big savings. Some flights are as low as $59.
And for Turner, the lower ticket prices aren’t the only appeal.
“For me, it’s nicer than larger airports,” Turner says. “In larger airports, it’s like you’re a number, get ‘em out.”
Like the larger airports, however, VanKuren says Manhattan aims to expand to support the growing community.
For those interested to learn about Manhattan Regional Airport, it will have an open house from 4:30-6:30 p.m., July 17 at the airport, just three miles west of Manhattan.
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