Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport’s growth plan took a step forward Tuesday.
GSP officials announced American Airlines will add three daily nonstop flights to Chicago’s O’Hare International beginning July 5.
The flights will depart from the Upstate at 8:10 a.m., 10:05 a.m., and 6:20 p.m., according to GSP spokeswoman Rosylin Weston.
American Airlines spokeswoman Leslie Scott said the company will use 50-seat ERJ-145 aircraft for the flights.
“American is the world’s largest airline and these flights will connect passengers from GSP to more than 500 daily flights from Chicago that reach more than 120 destinations,” Scott said.
Weston said the expansion of American Airlines’ service comes as welcome news to GSP, which saw its passenger traffic reach an all-time high of 2,018,319 flyers in 2016.
GSP hit that mark despite low-cost carrier Southwest Airline’s decision to scale back its service and only fly to Atlanta.
The airport is nearing completion of its $125 million main terminal renovation, Project WINGSPAN. The project will increase GSP’s total capacity to 4 million passengers per year, according to Weston.
“For those whose final destination is Chicago, this gives them three more options for getting there,” Weston said. “Equally as important, it opens up American’s network — potentially hundreds of flights to Chicago and beyond — to those flying out of GSP. It adds 150 seats to the market. And opens up travel to destinations around the world.”
Weston said cities like London, Madrid, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Seattle are just a few of the potential places American passengers will be able to reach from Chicago O’Hare.
“You can grow by attracting new airlines, or by existing airlines choosing to expand their service,” Weston said. “The record passenger numbers and this announcement by American Airlines clearly demonstrate that there is demand and the measures taken to improve air service out of GSP are having a positive effect.”
GSP’s president and CEO Dave Edwards is scheduled to speak at the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce’s FYI Friday event, which will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at the Spartanburg Marriott. Edwards is expected to discuss the airport’s new projects, developments, and aviation services.
Top: Photo by Bert Kaufmann from Roermond, Netherlands (Chicago) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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