Airlines jostle for New York fliers as consumers cut back

NEW YORK -- Competition in the nation's busiest air travel market is the fiercest in decades.

Airlines are slashing fares, stamping their names on local institutions and aggressively courting corporate fliers in a bid to capture passengers — particularly lucrative business travelers — at a time the number of paying passengers flying in and out of the New York area is down by double digits.

•British Airways plans all-business-class service between London City Airport and John F. Kennedy this year.

"The goal right now is make it through these tough times," says Terry Trippler, founder of TerryTrippler.com, a travel information website, about the efforts being taken in the New York market. "But they want to be in the position to grow when the economy makes its big turn."

More than 100 million passengers a year flow through the New York area's three major airports, LaGuardia, JFK and Newark Liberty. That's more traffic than in any other U.S. market and a volume second only to London in the world.

Additionally, New York's status as an epicenter of the world's financial industry has long made it a key battleground for airlines coveting the high-spending, frequent-flying business traveler.

But the New York market has not been immune to an economic downturn that has dried up corporate travel budgets and salaries and resulted in fewer people flying for business or pleasure.