Cedar Rapids airport to offer travel booking on Web site

Booking your flight, hotel room and rental car on The Eastern Iowa Airport's Web site should be possible by the end of the month.

The Cedar Rapids Airport Commission on Monday approved signing an agreement with Traveline Travel Services, a Cleveland, Ohio, travel agency, to provide a customized online travel booking service. The airport will get roughly a third of the booking fee , but the anticipated annual revenue of about $2,000 was not what motivated the deal.

"We are enhancing our customer service," said Airport Director Tim Bradshaw. "We had this available on our web page when I was in Lousville and I felt we should pursue it here."

Bradshaw previously was deputy executive director and chief operating officer for the Louisville Regional Airport Authority.

Commissioner Josh Schamberger, president of the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the ability to book air travel, hotels and rental cars will hopefully drive more traffic to the airport's website.

"By going there and using that as their pattern to book air travel, travelers also will learn about other opportunities that we might be able to communicate through The Eastern Iowa Airport's website," Schamberger said. "

Pam Hinman, airport marketing director, told the commission that Corridor travel agencies were invited to bid on the contract. Hinman said local travel agencies could not meet a requirement for 24-hour customer service.

Traveline Travel Services, a 40-year-old business, provides online travel booking services to airports Akron-Canton, Ohio; Blountville, Tenn.; Wichita, Kan..;  Allentown, Pa.; Bentonville, Ark.; Binghamton, N.Y.; Gillette, Wyo.;   Riverton, Wyo.; Louisville, Ky. and South Bend, Ind.

Traveline Travel Services is licensed in all states where it does business. The agency has agreed to obtain the necessary documents required by the State of Iowa and the City of Cedar Rapids.

Visitors using the airport's web site, www.eiairport.org, will have access to flight and fare information from all the competitive websites, including Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline. Travelers also will be able to access airlines that sell their online fares directly, such as Jet Blue, Southwest and Allegiant.

The airport will pay a one-time setup fee of $2,000 when its customized website is completed and the service goes "live." Hinman said the airport and the agency are still working out final details, including what the booking service will be labeled on www.eiairport.com

In many of the markets served by Traveline Travel Services, the name incorporates "Fly" and the name of the city, such as

www.FlyLouisville.com and

www.FlyRiverton.com.