Hey Canada: ‘It’s cheaper to fly out of Buffalo’

For the better part of the past decade, Southern Ontario residents have been among the largest base of passengers flying out of Buffalo Niagara International Airport.

Those from Toronto, St. Catharines, Hamilton and other Southern Ontario municipalities make up nearly 40 percent of the 5 million passengers who annually use the Buffalo airport.

The rate is even higher at Niagara Falls International Airport, where Canadian travelers make up more than 80 percent of those using the limited flights from that facility.

Still, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is taking nothing for granted when it comes to its healthy base of Canadian passengers.

A confluence of factors including new taxes at Toronto's Pearson International Airport and other surcharges there is prompting the NFTA to undertake one of its most extensive and targeted Canadian-based marketing campaign in recent years.

Between now and the end of the year, the NFTA is investing $100,000 to have six billboards along the busy Gardiner Expressway promoting its two area airports, plus a slew of radio, magazine and TV ads in the Toronto market. It is also paying Google to direct any Canadian looking for airfare prices out of Toronto towards the NFTA's website and stories about lower airfares from Buffalo and Niagara Falls.

"We've done promotions in Canada before. but never have we had this kind of blitz," said Pascal Cohen, NFTA senior manager of aviation business development. "Let's face it, it would be hard to stand in the middle of Yonge Street (in Toronto) and shout that you can save time and money by flying out of Buffalo."

James Fink covers real estate, commercial development and government