GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – While the NFL Draft is set to bring in hundreds of thousands of football fans to the Green Bay area, northeast Wisconsinites looking to escape the sea of sports enthusiasts can do just that with additional flights at Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport and Appleton International Airport.
“There’s always people that want to avoid large events, and this is about as large as events get,” said Jesse Funk, Appleton International Airport air service and business development manager. “Whether you just want to get out of town, whether you’re renting out your home and want to look for a place to go, there’s all different reasons to take a vacation around the draft time.”
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In Green Bay, Delta Air Lines added a flight south to Orlando, and that is expected to fill up fast.
“[Delta has] a nonstop to Orlando, which leaves Green Bay the day before the draft and returns the day after the draft,” said Marty Piette, airport director at Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport. “Everybody likes the nonstop flights. Of course, in Orlando in April, you can’t beat it, so I think they’re going to be very popular. We’re already seeing bookings on all of these flights. I anticipate they’ll be full before long.”
Based on digital analytics, Piette said the Orlando flight will be in demand.
“A lot of activity on our online resources where we’re advertising this. A lot of people are clicking through, a lot of people are shopping,” Piette said. “I’m sure there’s a certain segment of the population that wants to avoid the draft. I anticipate all of our outbound flights will be full. They’re full during the regular season, so I anticipate everything is going to be booked. We’ll be busy, but we’ll see the terminal building full. But also, don’t forget about the corporate traffic—we’ll see a lot of general aviation and private aircraft, so we’re working on the planning for that as well.”
Appleton International Airport plans to be even busier, with more inbound and outbound flights each day during draft week. Wednesday is expected to be the busiest day, according to Funk.
“Between 18 and 23 flights come into the Appleton airport every day, and then those same 18 to 23 go out of the Appleton airport every day,” he said. “We are anticipating the Wednesday before the draft to see 30, so a pretty big increase in outbound flights.”
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Officials say adjusting travel by a day can make a big difference in price. Purchasing tickets early will keep demand steady, add more flights, and keep the overall cost of tickets lower.
“Really, it’s based on demand, so if people start booking some of the existing flights that we have, I would anticipate seeing more added,” Piette said. “The airlines are challenged right now with aircraft availability, but there’s a lot of demand, and if Green Bay demonstrates the demand, they’ll definitely add flights.”
