Hasaan Azam, Manager of Air Service Development and Cargo Business Development for Reno-Tahoe International Airport, will be a guest speaker at this year’s Annual Tourism Forum: Responsible Tourism.

Information on other Keynote speakers and tickets for the Tourism Forum can be found here.

His Air Service Development session will explore the airport’s recent growth over the last few years and their continued Air Service Strategy.

Azam has more than 11 years of Air Service Development experience. Since his start at RTIA, the airport has seen a significant growth in passenger traffic, hitting a four million passenger mark in 2017. In addition, Hasaan played a significant role in bringing Volaris, JetBlue Airways, Frontier Airlines and California Pacific Airline Airlines at RTIA. Hasaan works with all of the members of Regional Air Service Corporation (RASC) very closely to promote and increase air lift at RTIA. RASC members include all Conventions and Visitors Bureaus in the Northern Nevada region, most ski resorts at Lake Tahoe, major casino/hotels in Washoe County, Chambers of Commerce, Travel Nevada, Economic Development and other business entities in the region.

Catch up with the latest news from Reno-Tahoe International Airport in the below article written by Jason Hidalgo in the Reno Gazette Journal. 

Boston? DC? Europe? What new nonstop routes would you like to see at Reno airport?

The Reno-Tahoe International Airport has Boston on its mind. And Washington, D.C. And Vancouver. And Europe.

Those are some of the destinations that the airport is pushing for in talks with airlines about new destinations it would like to add to its growing list of routes.

The airport’s increased confidence is being fueled by the greater Reno-Sparks metro area’s strong growth. In addition to increased leisure travel, the region is also seeing more business travel as companies such as Apple, Tesla and Switch expand into Northern Nevada.

The airport recently celebrated 45 consecutive months of passenger growth following its recovery from the last economic downturn. It also saw an increase of nearly 1 million passengers in the last four years. The Reno airport ended 2018 with more than 4.2 million passengers served, up from 3.3 million in 2014. It is the 63rd busiest airport in the country.

The numbers are a marked improvement from the recession, when passenger counts saw a steep drop as airlines reduced flights or eliminated routes from the market.

“The numbers are certainly going in the right direction,” said Marily Mora, president and CEO of the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority, during the April meeting of the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority.

More Midwest, East Coast options needed

With airlines following demand, the airport authority is hoping it could check off even more destinations on its want list should growth in the Biggest Little City maintain its solid pace.

The airport scored some victories on that front with the addition of nonstop flights over the years to New York City, Atlanta and Chicago — markets that airport authority previously eyed as top priorities. The airport also secured an international nonstop flight to Guadalajara, Mexico, courtesy of Volaris.

With those markets in play, the airport is looking at other destinations it could add to its plate. Despite its recent successes, increasing the routes served by Reno-Tahoe International Airport remains a high priority, especially as area hotels and the local convention and visitors bureau seek to boost Reno-Tahoe’s viability as an event destination.

Lack of flight options, for example, was cited by Safari Club International as a key reason when it pulled out of Reno for five years. The Safari Club convention returned to Reno this year for a three-year stint, followed by a return to Las Vegas in 2021. Any chance that Reno has at securing the 2022 show is contingent on its air service situation as well as increase in convention space, the organization said.

“The more flights we have to the Midwest and the East Coast, the more it’s going to be a benefit for us,” said Bob Lucey, chairman of the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority’s board of directors.

Boston, D.C. and Hawaii are top priorities

As part of its efforts to expand air service to Reno, the airport authority identified several destinations as priorities for the domestic market.

With JetBlue’s New York City flights doing well since being introduced in 2015, the airport is working hard to convince the carrier to add a nonstop flight to Boston as well, according to Mora.

Hawaii is another priority, especially after Southwest’s decision to start flights to the destination this year. The airport is trying to pitch twice-a-week service with Hawaiian Airlines or a Saturday-only flight with Southwest.

Mora also would like to get nonstop flights to Austin, Texas, once more. Reno-Tahoe International briefly saw nonstop flights to Austin via Frontier last year but the airline has since stopped offering them. Mora listed Spirit, Southwest and Allegiant as potential options.

One East Coast route that the Reno airport would really like to get is a nonstop to the nation’s capital.

“Washington, D.C., is one of our top unserved markets,” Mora said.

Expanding the airport’s international options is another priority. There could be opportunities to get Mexico City on the nonstop list through Volaris or Aeromexico, as well as Panama City via Copa Airlines.

Canada is another target, with Vancouver “at the top of the list,” Mora said.

Europe continues to be a goal for the Reno airport, especially after the missed opportunity with Thomas Cook Airlines. The airline originally announced a nonstop flight between Reno and London starting Dec. 19, 2015, but pulled out due to issues with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Despite an increase in customs staff at the Reno airport, going through customs at Reno-Tahoe International would still take up to three hours when using an Airbus A330 wide-body jet with more than 300 passengers, Thomas Cook said at the time.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection currently operates between Monday to Friday at the Reno airport. It also welcomed a new port director, who expressed a desire to increase international travel through Reno.

One thing the airport authority is looking into is expanding its concourses, which are about half the width of current standards. Reno-Tahoe International’s federal inspection service facility, for example, can only process 200 passengers an hour, which means it can’t accommodate wide-body aircraft, Mora said.

Mora is eyeing four to six years for the airport to have its next new concourse.

“Our concourses are over 40 years old and it’s time to really replace them,” Mora said. “They’re very narrow by today’s standards.”