By Marisa Iati, Staff Writer
As Streamline Air’s recently established commercial flights out of Trenton Mercer Airport take off, jobs in the Princeton area could do the same.
Streamline Air LLC is an independent, private enterprise born in December 2010. Its flights between Trenton Mercer Airport and Hanscom Field in Bedford, Mass., began April 4.
Mark Cestari, managing director for Streamline Air, said it currently employs one city manager at Trenton Mercer but will increase its staff as services expand.
Eventually, there will be approximately 15 Streamline employees at Trenton Mercer, said Peter Crowley, president and CEO of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Streamline offers two weekday flights in each direction. Flights depart Trenton Mercer at 6:40 a.m. and 4:10 p.m.
Mr. Cestari said ticket prices range from $99 to $299, depending on how far in advance passengers purchase tickets.
In comparison, American Airlines’ prices start at $49 and Continental Airlines’ prices start at $59 for flights from Newark Liberty International Airport to Boston Logan International Airport. An American Airlines flight from Philadelphia International Airport to Boston Logan with a stop in Washington, D.C., costs $55 or more.
Mr. Cestari said Streamline’s flights are flown by Charter Air Transport of Cleveland. Their more than 30 pilots are from regional or military backgrounds. Streamline uses a Brazilian-made Embraer 120 aircraft that has a 30-seat capacity and has recently been averaging 10 to 15 passengers per flight.
”It has three-across leather seating, a restroom (and a) flight attendant, and we offer complimentary beverages on board, including cocktails, wine and beer,” he said. “All our flights also offer a complimentary snack.”
Mr. Cestari said Streamline’s flights are nonstop and have open seating, the plane is loaded and unloaded quickly and Streamline does not charge luggage or change fees. He also said passengers can check in 30 minutes before flight time because both airports have free, uncongested parking lots.
”For the first two months, we have completed 100 percent of our flights, zero cancellations and we’re running 96 percent on time, which is quite amazing for the Northeast. We have a perfect safety record.”
Streamline uses U.S. General Services Administration screening to ensure that passengers are not on the No-Fly List, said Mr. Cestari. Passengers also undergo security screening at the airports before boarding the plane.
Mr. Crowley said Streamline has provided an easy alternative for travel to the Boston area.
”The convenience of flying Streamline is unprecedented in this region,” he said.
Mr. Cestari said the Cleveland-based firm flies out of Trenton Mercer because of the high quality of the facility.
”The terminal is roomy, there are 700 parking spaces, the parking is free, it’s right off of I-95, it’s central to the whole Central Jersey region and North Philly (and) it’s uncongested,” he said.
Streamline set up a counter, check-in facility and gate area in the main terminals of both airports at its own expense, said Mr. Cestari.
Mr. Cestari also said Streamline chose to fly between Trenton Mercer and Hanscom because of the relationship between the nearby cities of Philadelphia and Boston.
”There’s a good community of interest between the two cities: the pharmaceutical industry (and) the financial industry,” he said. “Getting between the cities by the big airports is a four to five hour trip if you fly (and) a five hour trip if you drive or take the train. We do the trip door to door in about two hours. We really have a good time-saving value proposition, especially for the business traveler.”
Shuttle America flew between Trenton Mercer and Hanscom from 1999 to 2004, and Pan Am Express served the route from 2003 to 2008, said Mr. Cestari. This is the first time a commercial airline has flown this route since then.
Mr. Cestari said Streamline has gotten a lot of publicity in the media.
”We also have a paid advertising program,” he said. “We’ve advertised on the radio (and) we do a lot of online marketing and advertising as well.”
Streamline hopes to expand to locations such as Cleveland, Washington and the Carolinas, said Mr. Cestari.
”We’re evaluating a lot of markets to serve, and we’ve received a lot of requests for leisure destinations like Florida and Myrtle Beach. We don’t have any specific plans to announce at this point.”
For more information about Streamline, visit http://www.iflystreamline.com/ or call 1-855-FLYSTRM.
