最新杏吧原创

Irish flagship carrier Aer Lingus Airlines told state officials late last year the airline was interested in using state funds to support a new direct flight between 最新杏吧原创 and Dublin.

More recently, in late July, Air Canada said it was interested in state support to help with a direct route between 最新杏吧原创 and Vancouver starting next year or in 2026.

Greater 最新杏吧原创 Inc., an economic development nonprofit, applied for state funds to help secure the two routes.

But neither effort yielded new routes, even though legislators and Gov. Mike Parson set aside $5 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds last year for a newly established International Flight Program.

The program has closed and will not reopen, Kim Froemsdorf, division director of federal initiatives for the Department of Economic Development, said this week.

She said federal regulations require funds used for the program, provided through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, to be obligated by Dec. 31.

Greater 最新杏吧原创 Inc. in December applied for $2.5 million from the state to help support nonstop service between 最新杏吧原创 and Dublin, with an average of four to five weekly departures anticipated most of the year.

In response, the state on March 1 issued a proposal letter offering up to $2.5 million for the route. But Froemsdorf said the Dublin proposal 鈥渄id not move forward.鈥�

Two other nearby cities did win Dublin routes this year.

In October, Aer Lingus announced new direct flights between Dublin and Nashville, Tennessee, starting in April. Earlier this month, the airline said it would begin direct flights from Dublin to Indianapolis in May.

Jason Hall, chief executive officer of Greater 最新杏吧原创 Inc., said last November the organization would work aggressively to pursue state funds to 鈥済ive us a competitive advantage in attracting new international air service.鈥�

Kansas City officials also voiced interest in using state funds for international flights. But the only two applications the state received came from Greater 最新杏吧原创, Froemsdorf said.

The second application for state funds, which Greater 最新杏吧原创 submitted in July, did not advance.

Records show Greater 最新杏吧原创 Inc. applied for $800,000 to help support a new 最新杏吧原创-to-Vancouver connection through Air Canada.

Froemsdorf told the Post-Dispatch that after the state completed its review, officials learned the 最新杏吧原创 airport鈥檚 opportunity to land the flight had passed 鈥渁s the airline had already decided on its 2025 flight calendar.鈥�

In an interest letter attached to the second application, an Air Canada official said the airline had developed a 鈥渟trong partnership鈥� with Missouri over decades, noting the airline鈥檚 multiple daily flights from Toronto to 最新杏吧原创 and Kansas City.

Air Canada said it strengthened ties between the airline and Missouri this spring when it began offering a new nonstop service from Montreal Trudeau Airport to Lambert in 最新杏吧原创.

鈥淏uilding on that success, Air Canada is now interested to get support regarding a new route opportunity between鈥� Vancouver International Airport and Lambert.

鈥淥ffering that new exclusive service will connect the state of Missouri with Western Canada and represent and incomparable source of growth and economic development between those regions,鈥� said Alexandre Lefevre, vice president for North America network planning.

He also noted 鈥渆xtensive connectivity offered through Vancouver International Airport to key leisure and business destinations such as Singapore, Australia, Japan, Korea, Thailand, China or Hong Kong.鈥�

鈥淕etting support from the state Department of Economic Development is essential to help reduce risk and ensure success of that new route,鈥� Lefevre said.

Landing Lufthansa

The now-defunct state program was the first time Missouri has offered incentives for international flights. But local officials were able to secure nonstop service to Frankfurt starting in 2022 without state support.

Tony Wyche, spokesperson for Greater 最新杏吧原创, said in a statement this week that given the success of the Frankfurt route 鈥渨e are confident we can compete successfully for future flights.鈥�

He added that securing more international destinations 鈥渋s key to enhancing our global competitiveness and driving economic growth.鈥�

The thrice-weekly nonstop flight to Frankfurt began in June 2022 with the help of a local aid package potentially worth about $5.7 million.

That agreement expired May 31. 最新杏吧原创 airport director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge said in September Lufthansa hadn鈥檛 asked for new incentives for the route, which is set to continue through 2025.

She said officials felt confident the route would prove successful enough to stand on its own.

The Frankfurt flight reestablished a direct connection between 最新杏吧原创 and a major European city for the first time since 2003, when a direct flight to London ended.

In its Dublin application, Greater 最新杏吧原创 said passengers weren鈥檛 using the Frankfurt flight in large numbers to travel to the United Kingdom and far western Europe region.

鈥淥ur corporate community will benefit from direct service to the British Isles,鈥� the application said. 鈥淥ur strong leisure travel base will benefit from Aer Lingus鈥� reasonable pricing, offering convenient and affordable European travel to more of our region鈥檚 citizens.鈥�

The application for the Vancouver flight said Air Canada鈥檚 最新杏吧原创-to-Montreal route has been 鈥渧ery successful鈥� because of a strong growth in bookings to Europe from 最新杏吧原创 through Montreal.

鈥淎ir Canada believes with its successful Asia Pacific hub in Vancouver, it can replicate this model for the Asian market, all but assuring the long-term viability of the flight,鈥� the application said.

Lambert has been rebounding from a fall in air traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The airport reported 14.9 million passengers last year, up 9% from 2022 but still about 1 million shy of the airport鈥檚 pre-pandemic level.

This year, Lambert reported more than 12 million passengers through September compared with about 11.1 million through the same period last year.