New York area red-eye a cautious start

The flight, a Saturday night red-eye from Reno to Newark, doesn't offer much for business travelers.

Executives of Reno/Tahoe International Airport believe, however, that Continental Airlines' decision to offer the Saturday night nonstop between Reno and the New York area may open the door to more businessfriendly service.

And they support their belief with the story of the growth of Continental service from Houston to Reno.

Like it did with the Newark service announced last week, the airline in 1998 moved cautiously, says Thomas Medland, director of marketing and air service development for the Airport Authority of Washoe County.

The airline began that service with a single Saturday-night flight during the ski season.

As Continental discovered demand on the Reno-Houston route, it added larger aircraft.

Then more flights.

Today, the airline flies two nonstops a day from Reno to Houston.

It's possible, Medland says, that the development of service to Newark will follow the same course.

"We think this is a huge first step, the first step in the door, for our New York market," he says.

"This is the way that Continental does business.

They'll start by focusing seasonally.

That works for them."

The Saturday-only service between Reno and Newark will run from Dec.

18 through April 2.

Continental will fly a 124-passenger 737-700 aircraft from Newark at 7 p.m., arriving in Reno at 10:38 p.m.

The return flight leaves Reno at 11:30 p.m.

and arrives in Newark at 6:58 a.m.

Opening the New York market to nonstop flights from Reno is a priority for Medland and other airport executives.

Currently, nonstop service is available no farther east than Chicago or Minneapolis.

Airport statistics show, however, that about 250,000 passengers a year travel between Reno and the New York area a figure that translates into about 685 passengers a day.

"The opportunity for New York nonstop service is huge for us," Medland says.

The Continental service is all the more important because the airline is the dominant carrier at Newark, using the New Jersey airport as hub for traffic it generates throughout the Northeast.

That potential of the New York market and all of the Northeast, for that matter accounts in large measure for the effort that airport and regional tourism officials are making to ensure the weekly flight is a success.

Tourism groups such as Ski Lake Tahoe and the Regional Marketing Committee, for instance, are developing ski-related promotional packages and will host travel writers on tours to grow familiar with the northern Nevada ski industry.

John Wagnon of Ski Lake Tahoe said the region already has strong name recognition among Northeast skiers.

As those efforts build awareness of the Reno-Tahoe market among East Coast consumers, they'll help to build traffic on the route, Medland says.

And not just the Saturday-night route.

If Continental flyers decide they'd rather travel to Reno on Tuesday through Houston, the airline still will see the potential of increased flights to Reno.

In announcing the nonstop service last week, the airport's executive director encouraged northern Nevada consumers to use the flight.

"As a region, we have a great opportunity to fill these flights and demonstrate that our wonderful community deserves daily, rather than just weekly, nonstop service to New York and beyond," said Krys Bart.