US smaller airport using incentives to attract new LCC services

Small to mid-size airports in the US have used a range of tactics to attract and sustain service during the past decade as market forces have changed, due to consolidation.

Waiving certain fees or using minimum revenue guarantees seem to be the most dominant forms of attracting new air service, and those methods offer mixed results, depending on an airport's geographical location and a city's economic climate.

As the three large US global network airlines (United, Delta and American) work to maximise high yielding connections at their hubs, small to medium sized airports may need to continue courting low cost airlines to secure direct service to destinations at the top of their respective wish lists.