To go international, RDU adds incentives
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People watch an Aer Lingus plane at Heathrow Airport in London. Photo: Maja Smiejkowska/PA Images via Getty Images
Raleigh-Durham International Airport is increasingly living up to the "international" part of its name since the pandemic — now servicing a record 15 international locations.
Why it matters: A big influence behind that growth has been the N.C. General Assembly's decision to provide financial backing for two key international flights, as well as RDU's own internal incentives.
- Local leaders see an airport with robust international offerings as a powerful tool in recruiting both people and companies to the region.
Driving the news: The recent luring of a direct flight between RDU and Dublin on Aer Lingus, for example, wouldn't have happened without a $1.5 million incentive package authorized by the General Assembly and $300,000 in contributions from the local business community.
- That was authorized last week in a mini-spending bill, and now heads to Gov. Josh Stein's desk.
- That flight begins in April, and Aer Lingus must make at least 360 flights on the route to secure the full subsidy.
Zoom in: The Aer Lingus win followed a similar playbook that RDU, the country's 37th largest airport by passenger traffic, used in 2023.
- To win a direct route to Frankfurt, Germany, on the Lufthansa airline, state lawmakers added a $3 million incentive.
- And prior to that, Raleigh and Durham, as well as Wake and Durham counties, provided $550,000 to kickstart a direct flight between RDU and Paris on Delta Air Lines in 2016, according to an airport spokesperson.
Between the lines: RDU, which started its first international flight in 1987, says it has to incentivize some of its routes because of the intense competition for destinations like Dublin or Frankfurt.
- After the pandemic, it began offering its own incentives as well, in the form of waiving airport landing fees for 12 months to convince the return of flights to London, Paris, Montreal and Toronto that had been suspended during the pandemic.
- That program was also used to help land an Icelandair flight.
What they're saying: "Recruiting new international air service is a highly competitive process, with airlines evaluating multiple airports before selecting a new destination," a spokesperson for the airport said in a statement.
- "Communities that demonstrate their commitment to an airline's success—often through financial support—gain a critical advantage in this process.
Michael Haley, the executive director of Wake County Economic Development, added that his organization supports new flights at RDU because a strong airport can lead to more business opportunities and create a better quality of life for the area.
- The Frankfurt flight, he noted, is already being used extensively by many of the European companies with operations in the Triangle.