Campaign underway to jump-start ticket sales for United Airlines nonstops from Chattanooga

A sign like this one will be placed in the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport ticketing area promoting the United Airlines service. It also shows the 'Iheartnonstop' marketing.
A sign like this one will be placed in the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport ticketing area promoting the United Airlines service. It also shows the 'Iheartnonstop' marketing.
photo People wait in the lobby at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport. Officials are hopeful of high usage of new United Airlines services starting in September.

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For more, go online to iheartnonstop.com.

Chattanooga marketing company executive Brian May said everyone loves a nonstop flight.

With new United Airlines nonstops between Chattanooga and the New York City area and Chicago in mind, a campaign is underway to jump-start ticket sales for the air service that begins Sept. 7.

Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport has hired May's firm, Maycreate, which has fashioned a marketing effort that includes advertising in newspapers, magazines, and on billboards, along with an internet site and social media presence.

May said a key piece of the campaign is a logo that features a heart "with just a little bit of motion," as if a jet flew past it. The heart can be repurposed to also, for example, market the airport, he said.

"The thing I love about this idea is it's very versatile," May said.

Terry Hart, the airport's chief executive, said 70 percent of Chattanooga Airport's traffic is business related, and officials want to make sure the message is out about the new nonstops.

"We're trying to target our audience and do it in a simple way," he said. "United loves it. They're interested in spreading the word."

United, reentering the Chattanooga market after many years, is starting two-a-day flights into Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey to service nearby New York City. Also, the airline is flying twice daily between Chattanooga and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

New York City is the No. 1 destination for Chattanooga Airport fliers, despite there being no current nonstop flights, according to officials.

The campaign stresses that people "shouldn't have to change planes to change cities," May said.

In addition to ads, Maycreate is undertaking a variety of "on the street" activities to help drive buzz about the United service, he said.

May said plans are to create marketing to spur airport activity beyond just the United service and help build the airport's brand.

"We view the airport as one piston in the engine that drives our economic progress," he said.

Hart said the airport is spending $60,000 to $70,000 for marketing United along with another $140,000 for Maycreate's services on the campaign and thereafter.

He said the airport will tout its ease of use from parking to stepping on an airplane.

Airport spokesman Albert Waterhouse also cited competitive ticket prices at Lovell Field compared to other airports, such as in Atlanta and Knoxville.

Hart said United hopes to not just attract Delta Air Lines or American Airlines users but those Chattanooga travelers now driving to another airport to fly.

"We're in the Southeast. We recognize this is Delta country," Hart said. But, he said, United sees opportunity in Chattanooga.

The airport chief said officials planned to seek a federal grant for marketing dollars to woo United, but the airline decided to come to Chattanooga even before the money could be sought.

If the United service is successful, Hart said the carrier also has hubs in Houston and Denver.

"United sees good things on the horizon," he said.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.

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