Published Tuesday, May 28, 2002, in the San Jose Mercury News Monterey seeks more airline flights MONTEREY - A band of airport officials, city officials and others are hoping to make Monterey skies friendlier for air travel. The Monterey Peninsula Airport, which has long been campaigning to get expanded air service, is having another go at it with an extended campaign in an attempt to lure more airline carriers, including Delta Air Lines, Continental Airlines and Horizon Air. The campaign, which the airport launched last month, is backed by city officials in Monterey and Salinas, the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, the Salinas Chamber of Commerce, the Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Carmel Business Association. The campaign is being spearheaded by airport General Manager Denis R. Horn and Helen Schlientz, the airport's development manager. It began quietly about a year ago, but it was thrown off by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Delta Air Lines had been scheduled to move in to the airport last November, but the airline backed out after air travel took a tailspin following the attacks. This time around, airlines that already serve Monterey -- American Airlines, America West and United Airlines -- are being courted to expand their schedules. Officials involved in the process say luring Delta Air Lines looks like the most promising prospect. If it commits, it most likely would share a counter with United Airlines. ``Within the next year we will see it (Delta) at the counter,'' Schlientz said. She said Delta will give the airport three months notice before it arrives. No one at Delta could be reached to confirm that. The campaign works like this: To help demonstrate the demand for additional service, airport and city officials, as well as local organizations, have been contacting companies that have rich travel budgets and travel needs and putting them in touch with potential carriers. So far, 25 companies have expressed interest. Those companies -- which say they need or want more service and routes, and lower fares -- approach the airlines with a ``soft money commitment.'' Kathleen Eckerson, chairwoman of the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce's board of directors, said what makes this campaign unique is that it focuses on the ``bottom line.'' ``It's a dollars-and-cents argument and a non-emotional argument, which is to say, 'Listen, folks, you can make a profit here. It makes business sense for you,''' said Eckerson. ``The brilliance of the strategy'' lies in the timing -- airlines are still hurting in post-Sept. 11, she said. The response from potential carriers has been positive, Eckerson said. Some carriers said Monterey has never been on their radar screen and that they would be happy to consider it. Others have said they're interested but are waiting for the right time. ``We keep giving them reasons to come in,'' Schlientz said. Monterey and Salinas city officials said that more carriers would not only give the local economy a boost with more tourists, higher hotel occupancy, and more tax revenue, but it may also entice companies to move here. The companies already here have said they need more travel routes, Schlientz said. In response to that, the airport is eyeing carriers that can offer routes to the hub cities of Salt Lake City and Denver, which offer connections to numerous destinations. From Monterey, United Airlines flies to Los Angeles and San Francisco. American Airlines flies to Los Angeles, and America West goes to Phoenix. Only 37 percent of passengers buying tickets in Monterey depart from the Monterey airport, according to a study by the airport. Instead, they fly out of San Jose or San Francisco.