The Downtown, Aviation, Economy and Innovation Subcommittee unanimously passed a motion on Wednesday to approve two contracts to improve travel accommodations and services at Sky Harbor International Airport (Sky Harbor).

Aviation director Jim Bennett requested the subcommittee to enter into an agreement with two air service development firms, Campbell-Hill Aviation Group, LLC and InterVISTAS, in an amount not to exceed $750,000 per year.

Both firms have expertise translating aviation travel data and trends that Bennett believes will be beneficial to improving services offered at Sky Harbor.

“In terms of data, these air service development companies that we work with have access to all kinds of data and they crunch a lot of information about flights and trends that passengers portray.” Bennett said.

Bennett’s panel decided to seek assistance from both firms due to their expertise and appeal in the European and Asian markets.

Councilwoman Thelda Williams noted that Sky Harbor is looking to expand its services in Europe and is looking to get its first route to Asia.

“I understand the need for this expertise,” said Williams, “[Airlines] ask about data and want to know about our expertise in the airline industry as a whole. The consultants play a key role not only preparing us to go in, but can answer any of the difficult questions.”

Bennett emphasized the importance of understanding the airline market in Phoenix and being able to accommodate both passengers and airlines.

“When we go out to compete with hundreds of other airports for their business, they expect us to know not only aviation but they expect us to know about Phoenix; our demographics, our economy, who’s flying in and out of Phoenix.” Councilman Daniel Valenzuela said.

All members of the subcommittee were in favor of the motion.

Editor’s Note: My Local News has not independently verified facts.