American Airlines brought the London flight to RDU almost exactly 21 years ago.
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Lauren K. Ohnesorge
Staff Writer- Triangle Business Journal
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When American Airlines (NYSE: AAL) decided to take a bet on a nonstop flight from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to London decades ago, it was because of one company: Glaxo – now called GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK).
The British drug maker is still a frequent flyer, despite its recent headcount reductions in Research Triangle Park. While American Airlines wouldn’t say whether the cuts had impacted passenger vacancy numbers, local execs who frequent the flight say it’s still heavily traveled, providing a gateway to operations in Europe and beyond. Not only are executives vocal about their need to keep the flight, they’re also increasingly speaking out about the need for other flights, to destinations such as Paris and Frankfurt.
Read: Why the next international flight probably won’t come from American Airlines
The Regional Transportation Alliance is even trying to match an already pledged $500,000 by the RDU Transportation Authority with business contributions to entice a flight. And experts say it’s likely carriers will need something enticing to choose on RDU, as recent figures suggest it won’t be easy to make another flight across the Atlantic profitable.
To get an idea of what needs to happen to get another flight, Triangle Business Journal interviewed one of the people who made that London flight possible: Venture capitalist and former Glaxo CEO Bob Ingram.
Then
Almost exactly 21 years ago, a 172-seat Boeing 757 took off on an eight-hour flight for London from Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
It was the debut of American Airlines’ London flight, which started at about $800, round trip.
Then, it was the second international route across the Atlantic, after the now-discontinued American flight to Paris, which had its first takeoff in 1988.
Ingram says it was needed.
“We were flying private airplanes back and forth every day from London to Raleigh-Durham,” he recalls, an expensive endeavor, even for such a giant pharma company. So Ingram boarded another plane, to meet then-CEO of American Airlines Bob Crandall. “We agreed that, with some incentives from Glaxo, they would put that flight in. … It turned into, obviously, a win-win.”
While he can’t recall the number of tickets per year Glaxo committed to, media reports at the time indicate that Glaxo regularly booked more than 100 flights per month to the United Kingdom. And efforts were underway to increase North Carolina’s visibility abroad.
Then-Gov. Jim Hunt announced a $5 million tourism campaign to encourage Europeans to pick North Carolina as a vacation destination.
Now
Today, Ingram says, the flight is no longer dependent on GSK. GSK’s recent layoff wave primarily impacts research and development, Ingram says, adding that, as former chairman, he couldn’t really comment on the pink slips.
“While that will have some effect on ridership, the fact that this will become more the U.S. commercial headquarters, I think, will offset that in time,” he says.
Ingram, a regular user of the London flight, took it earlier this week, he says, adding that it was a full plane.
While American Airlines wouldn’t say how many people use the flight, they have pledged new investments in the London flight. American Airlines’ route to London-Heathrow will be served by a larger plane, a Boeing 777, starting June 4, which means travelers will be able to fly first class. The move is temporary, while the company refurbishes the Boeing 767 that currently serves the route. An American spokesperson, reached Friday, said the route wasn’t going to change any time soon.
By the numbers: A new flight
According to a study by N.C. State University professor Michael Walden, a new international flight would raise the GDP by 1.4 billion over a 25-year period, creating 14,000 new jobs and $272 million in new public money. It would also increase access to connecting flights. For example, should a route from RDU to Paris happen, that would give RDU fliers access to 51 European flights currently not available from London. Should a nonstop flight to Frankfurt emerge, it would give travelers access to 44 flights in Europe, one flight to the Middle East and one flight to the near east, none of which are currently available from Heathrow.
It’s those connecting flight options that would be most impactful, says another Triangle leader and frequent London flyer, Jay Parker, who leads the RTP-based enterprise division at Chinese electronics maker Lenovo.
“It could save time and money,” he says, adding that a connecting flight can mean costly hotel stays.
Lenovo has people flying in and out of RDU from all over the world on a daily basis, he says.
Lauren Ohnesorge covers information technology and entrepreneurship.
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