Bradley International Airport officials hope a new program of incentives will convince the airlines to add seats and reverse a trend that's cut into passenger levels.
"In some cases we can give airlines two years' free use of the facility in return for some strategic service enhancements," said Kevin Dillon, director at the airport authority since last July.
As a result, American Airlines is starting nonstop flights to Los Angeles August 27, JetBlue is adding nonstops to Tampa, Florida and Fort Myers, Florida in October, and Southwest will start running three nonstops to Atlanta in November.
"It's all a matter of trying to get additional seats to sell," said Dillon. "Right now the flights at Bradley are relatively full so we want to increase the available seats that we have to sell."
He said local businesses interested in international travel tell him they spend $40 million a year on it, a market Dillon hopes airlines will want a piece of by restoring transatlantic flights to Bradley.
Also, when the "deteriorated" terminal closed for years is demolished beginning August 2014, work might also begin on a new parking garage. All the car rental companies would be in the new garage, connected to the terminal, Dillon said.
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