The Broome County aviation commissioner believes the proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit airlines may potentially be good news for the Greater Binghamton Airport.

Mark Heefner said while some may look at the merger and say "there's one less airline," he views the situation "as more of an opportunity."

In an interview with WNBF News, Heefner said "it allows me to talk to an airline that's just merged and is going to look to increase their footprint."

The aviation commissioner said he views it "as an opportunity for us." He noted "somebody's got to feed the larger airlines." He said there are some smaller airlines that are moving forward with additional daily service in the United States.

Airlines have been dealing with big challenges over the past couple of years because of the Covid-19 pandemic that resulted in many pilots and other support workers leaving their jobs.

The industry is working to recover from a period of reduced travel as demand for flights has increased dramatically in recent months. Airlines also are facing additional headaches in dealing with the higher cost of fuel.

Heefner said industry executives are anticipating a "full recovery in 2024." He said if the Binghamton airport can attract service from a smaller airline soon, it could help bolster the chances for additional daily service from a larger airline when industry conditions get back to normal.

Heefner said for now, if the airport can't get more daily flights, the goal is to convince Delta Air LInes to serve Binghamton with larger planes. He said Delta now is using 50-passenger planes for its one daily flight to Detroit. Delta has been phasing out those smaller planes.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

LOOK: Stunning vintage photos capture the beauty of America's national parks

Today these parks are located throughout the country in 25 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The land encompassing them was either purchased or donated, though much of it had been inhabited by native people for thousands of years before the founding of the United States. These areas are protected and revered as educational resources about the natural world, and as spaces for exploration.

Keep scrolling for 50 vintage photos that show the beauty of America's national parks.

LET'S GO: The most popular historic sites in America

 

More From 99.1 The Whale