ROANOKE, Va. – At the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport, things are looking up.
Officials just returned from a conference where they met with carriers like United and Southwest in an effort to add more service routes.
"Having one on one conversations with the carriers, letting them know how our market is performing. Our traffic is up two straight years and we're up 5 percent year-to-date right now," said Brad Boettcher, director of marketing and air service development.
Stops like Dallas, Denver and Newark are high on the priority list. While the conference was the beginning of a conversation, Boettcher said the airport still has more to prove to attract major carriers and convince them to add more routes. He said so far, the community support has been impressive, and he's hoping for more.
"As we continue to have this passenger growth, it gets the attention of the carriers. The more passengers we can put through the facility the more passengers they can carry and the more money they can make," said Boettcher.
Ronnie Flinchum is a Salem resident headed to Seattle. He's excited at the possibility of more routes because he thinks it could help the Roanoke Valley prosper.
"You would get much more downtown action going on, so it would definitely help Roanoke big time," said Flinchum.
And would Flinchum fly to places like Denver and Dallas?
"Oh it wouldn't even be a choice. I'd be there," said Flinchum.
There isn't really a specific timeline for routes to be added, but most everyone at the airport agrees, the sooner the better.