To be successful, airports need to attract airlines to their tarmacs. Obtaining the right mix to service the market and create competition (lower-cost flights) is essential, if people are going to utilize the airport. Consequently, just like cities and states, many airports give incentives to attract airlines.

"The practice is nothing new," said Jay Donoghue, editorial director of Air Transit World, a monthly trade magazine that covers the global airline and commercial air transport manufacturing industries. "But the inducements are now more widely offered."

The reason is obvious. The economic impact airports have is impressive.

In addition to passenger service, JFK International in New York City is a major world-class cargo facility. This year, JFK completed two major cargo facilities at a cost of $161 million, the largest cargo facility project in the airport's 54-year history.

Although it is largely invisible to the typical traveler, the air cargo industry is a major economic force in the New York region, generating 85,000 jobs, $3 billion in annual wages and $9 billion in economic activity each year, said Charles A. Gargano, vice chairman of the New York/New Jersey Port Authority.

Many communities look at airport Origin and Destination (O&D) figures to argue their case for economic development.

"In 2002, we served more than 8 million passengers," said Tommy Lee Jones, director of business development for Nashville (Tenn.) International Airport. "Of those, 6.3 million or 78 percent were O&D passengers and 22 percent were connecting passengers."

Those O&D numbers are very important to the Nashville metro.

According to an economic impact study compiled by PA Consulting, an independent firm in Washington, D.C., the Nashville airport affected nearly 57,000 jobs, either directly or indirectly, in the area.

"In 1999, these jobs helped to generate more than $1.3 billion in wages and $3.6 billion in sales per year,” Jones said.

Nashville is home to the Saturn car manufacturing plant, which has created new demands on Nashville's air, rail and truck cargo services. In 2001, Dell Computer established its first headquarters outside of Texas in Nashville, located directly across from the airport.

"High-tech companies such as this utilize just-in-time manufacturing, which creates demand for low inventories that can be enhanced by air service," Jones said.

Add to this, Quanta Inc., which operates several large manufacturing facilities in the Shanghai, China, region, recently selected Nashville as the location for its North American headquarters.

"This company will be utilizing Nashville International for the transportation of materials and product to and from the Asian market," Jones said.

Executives at telecom equipment supplier ADTRAN Inc., based in Huntsville, Ala., use Huntsville International Airport for logistics, as well as travel. Part of running ADTRAN successfully is its logistics effort since the company imports raw materials and components in China and Pacific Rim nations, and exports its finished goods.

The company operates three manufacturing sites: Guangdong, China; Chihuahua, Mexico; and Huntsville.

"We ship sourced components to all three manufacturing locations,” said Greg Andrews, manager of Global Logistics and Transportation for ADTRAN. “But all finished goods come directly to our facility in Huntsville."

A major plus for ADTRAN is its location close to Huntsville International, an airport that offers a unique combination of air cargo and intermodal rail service. The fact Huntsville International also serves as an inland seaport makes it possible for ADTRAN's inbound shipments to arrive in Huntsville via ocean to lower the costs per unit.

"These are pipelined, so we have repetitive containers hitting Huntsville and restocking," Andrews said. "We run lean inventory. In fact, our inventory is the container, the airplane or the tarmac at the airport."

During the past year, Don Palmer, director of Flight Operations for Huntsville International, has actively pursued service between Huntsville and Asia.

"I have been making major presentations showing the cost savings and efficiencies an Asian carrier can achieve by utilizing [the airport]," he said.

For one, Huntsville International enjoys an excellent location in the Southeast United States. Within a 600-radius one can access consumers and manufacturers in Chicago, Texas, Washington, D.C., and the Ohio Valley area.

"And unlike many other airports, carriers can operate here in a less congested and time-definite environment," Palmer said.

Besides its many advantages, Huntsville International also offers Jetplex Industrial Park, which compliments the airport. Plans are underway to add to its existing 1,700 acres in Jetplex for a total of about 4,000 acres.

But the airlines themselves have their own list of site selection criteria, and it is this list that airport executives concentrate on most.

AirTran Airways, for one looks at the community and airport facilities, talks with tourism and civic officials, then considers factors such as undeserved, overcharged markets.

"We want a very analytical presentation," said Tad Hutcheson, marketing director for AirTran. "We often suggest they hire a consultant."

Airlines do not have time to do city research themselves, and often recommend consultants with whom they prefer to work. AirTran, itself, is looking to increase it presence in the Northwest.

Norfolk International Airport was an airport that was largely undeserved and overpriced for years. Economic development officials in the community saw this as an impediment to selling their city. But all changed when Southwest Airline added service there last year.

"We have seen Southwest stimulate traffic and introduce competitive fares, inducing other airlines to do the same," said Chris W. Braden, a spokesman for Norfolk International.

Those in the industry refer to this as the "Southwest Effect", meaning that airports experience a dramatic increase passenger traffic after Southwest begins serving that market.

Christine Turneabe-Connelly, a spokeswoman for Southwest, said the airline chose to introduce service to Norfolk because the airport was "first and foremost ripe for the picking."

"Norfolk met all of Southwest's criteria,” Turneabe-Connelly said. “It was overpriced, yet underserved, thereby creating a tremendous opportunity for Southwest to bring low fares to travelers."

Now, neighboring Newport News with its Newport News Williamsburg International Airport is pitching for increased service from AirTran.

The airlines already had four daily flights to Atlanta when airport officials pitched AirTran for service to Orlando and New York.

"We thought the numbers couldn't justify this service, but they convinced us it would work," AirTran's Hutcheson said.

With a revenue guarantee, AirTran entered the market with assurances. But flights have been so booked that the carrier has added a third LaGuardia flight.

Karen E. Thuermer is a freelance business writer based in Alexandria, Va.