The inaugural JetBlue flight from Long Beach to Reno touched down at about 11:30, Monday morning. It is the airline's second flight to come to Reno since is began daily flights to and from New York, more than a year ago. Thomas Berg is the Western Regional Manager for JetBlue Airways and says the success of that flight was a catalyst for the Long Beach flight.
"Reno is just a special place," Berg said. "It's a special place that I've wanted to come to for years. We've talked about this for a long time and to actually see it happen is just absolutely thrilling."
"It's one thing when an airline starts with one flight, but they're doing well and they're interested in us for the second flight," Marily Mora, President and CEO of the Reno-Tahoe International Airport said.
The daily flight adds another option to get to and from the LA market. Many of Reno's visitors come from southern California.
"It's the LA basin. It's large. It's huge. It's got the biggest concentration of populous. So, it just gives us another added stream into Reno," Rick Murdock, Chairman of the Board for the Airport Authority said.
Reno-Tahoe International Airport has added 11 new flights in the last 14 months, and officials say their momentum is growing, but not quite at pre-recession levels.
"We haven't totally caught up," Mora said. "We lost about a third of our activity and our passengers here, but in our last 12 months, we grew in passengers by about 8 percent. So, we're going in the right direction."
Mora says that is partly because the community has gotten onboard with the new service. The Long Beach flight offers another option for nonstop service, but that airport also serves as the west coast hub for JetBlue, which offers a number of connecting flights to other cities.
"We're definitely continuing to grow and I think you'll see us continue to grow on the west coast, too," Berg said. "I think we'll have more surprises coming in the future."
The economic growth in northern Nevada is also changing. Murdock says the increase in the technology sector, more businesses, and the tourism industry are creating more demand for flights into Reno.
"What we're finding is Reno used to be a tourism market where it was just tourist seats," Murdock said. "Now, it's business and tourism, and airlines pay attention."
Since the diversity of Nevada's economy appears to be improving, Mora says improving air service is also important. She says a healthy economy requires a healthy airport.
"I think we're an economic engine of the community and not only for tourism but certainly for business," Mora said.
The new flights range in price, but JetBlue is offering an introductory rate of $19 until Wednesday.
Berg says the airline doesn't have plans to add a third flight into Reno, but it hasn't ruled it out either. The Long Beach flight will rely on customer demand, meaning if they do not use the flight, they will lose it.
