United Airlines has T-Bay on the radar

United Airlines will touch down in Thunder Bay next year.

Chicago will be on the departures and arrivals board at Thunder Bay Airport starting Feb. 14, 2013.

The carrier will offer one daily return flight straight into the air carrier’s hub at O'Hare International Airport aboard 50-seat Canadair CRJ regional jet aircraft.

Airport president Scott McFadden has been courting United for years, but heightened the pursuit when Delta Airlines dropped service between Thunder Bay and Minneapolis in 2010.

McFadden said United and Chicago make for a good fit for the city.

“We have demand for direct trans-border connections, so it’s the logical destination.”

Outbound flights will depart at 6 a.m. with arrival at O’Hare at 6:30 a.m. (CST) to connect with United’s global network of 150 destinations.

“You’ll be able to make, pretty much, every connection that exists with the United network,” said McFadden. “If you’re going to pick the best time to arrive at a place like O’Hare, that would be it.”

Return flights will depart Chicago at 6 p.m. and arrive at 8:40 p.m.

McFadden couldn’t make any initial guarantees to United on ridership numbers but the airport authority conducted business surveys and gathered data from previous pitches to Delta and Northwest Airlines (which merged with Delta).

“We searched the community (for companies) that were doing business in the U.S., directly with Chicago, asking what type of business they were, and how many passengers they figured would fly in and out on a monthly basis.”

The airport authority discovered many local travellers are catching U.S. connections via Toronto, Winnipeg or other points west. Others were driving three hours south to fly out of Duluth, Minn., a loss of 30,000 to 40,000 travellers annually.

“We promised (to United) that our data was as comprehensive as could be found, and we would assist in marketing and promotional activities to get the service off the ground.”

Whether the service expands to more daily flights depends on local consumers.

“If the market says we value the service into Thunder Bay, then United is ready to add frequencies.”

McFadden said the city’s growing economy requires strong air connections.

“We spend a lot of time trying to make the airport an economic generator by being involved in the development of the community. One of those enablers is air transportation. The direct link to the U.S., particularly for the health sciences sector and mining sector, is key. That’s why we pulled out all the stops to try and make it happen.”

McFadden said airport administration is also working on improving service to Western Canada and would like to see more regional activity.

“We hate to see people flying to Winnipeg and then to Red Lake and Kenora. In our minds, Thunder Bay is a better connection for those destinations.”

www.tbairport.on.ca