Fla. Firm Looks To Resurrect Maine Airport

ST. PETERSBURG - Bangor International Airport in Maine has a fine terminal, a 2-mile-long runway and a locale that puts it near Acadia National Park, a popular attraction for Florida vacationers escaping the summer heat.

But airlines have cut flights there, saving money as they trim service from small airports nationwide. Passenger departures have fallen 10 percent from a year ago. And airport officials can only watch in horror as 30 percent of its local travelers opt to drive two hours south to larger airports with far cheaper fares.

That's a scary scenario for Bangor officials, but it's not as drastic as the plot in the "The Langoliers", the novel by hometown horror author Stephen King. In the book and the movie version, which was shot at Bangor International, a few surviving passengers huddle after most of the other passengers on their plane disappeared.

Now the real passengers at Bangor International are vanishing, but they may not be lost forever.

A St. Petersburg and Naples consulting firm is stepping in to help try to chase the airport's gremlins away. Paradise Advertising & Marketing beat out a dozen New England companies to help resurrect the fortunes of an airport that's one of the Bangor region's most important economic assets.

Paradise advertising executives respond by saying they are aware of the issues facing the airport and are well-versed in mitigating difficult public perceptions. Their contract with Bangor International could be worth as much $100,000 for each of three years.

Why a Florida firm should beat out local consultants for a contract that would have kept tax dollars in Maine is the first question the Bangor City Council asked of Cedar Hames, president of Paradise.

"My response was they should keep the contract local, all things being equal," Hames said. "But they are not equal. We are highly qualified with our previous work with airports."

That's the edge that encouraged a third party to alert Paradise to Bangor's request for proposal. Bermuda International Airport was a Paradise client when it attracted JetBlue to serve the Atlantic resort, and Fort Myers' Southwest Florida International Airport is a current client.

"Marketing an airport is different from destination marketing, and Paradise had airport experience," said Risteen Masters, Bangor International's marketing manager. "It is helpful to have someone who understands the challenges airports have today."

Most airport managers would agree that the key to lowering airfares is recruiting low-cost carriers to increase airline competition, not an easy task in a metropolitan area like Bangor with only about 150,000 people.

The regional population is less than half of what might interest Southwest Airlines to start service there, Masters said. But she said Bangor continues discussions with JetBlue, whose Tampa flights provide connections to upstate New York and Vermont destinations and Portland, Maine.

Plus low-cost carrier Allegiant Air has enjoyed enough success on its twice-weekly inaugural nonstop flights between Bangor and Orlando Sanford International Airport this month that it will add an additional seasonal flight in March.

"We don't have immediate plans for a route between Bangor and St. Pete, but it is an option for the future," Allegiant spokeswoman Tyri Squyres said.

While recruiting airlines generally is the responsibility of airport staff, Hames said Paradise is prepared to provide support, while working in the community to entice more travelers to use Bangor International.

It's the nature of the ad agency to seek out airport clients that might be in unfamiliar places, Paradise vice president and creative director Dave DiMaggio said.

"We roll up our sleeves and go in with a clean slate," he said as the company prepares to create a strategy for Bangor. "Once we do, all bets are off."