About The Pledge
FLY PALM SPRINGS FIRST: PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Palm Springs International Airport (PSP) is an essential economic driver for the Coachella Valley, as it serves a region of more than one million people. Currently, 12 airlines fly non-stop from Palm Springs to 32 destinations, connecting to more than 500 destinations around the world.
Since 2009, PSP origination and destination passengers has increased by 33%. Increased 12-month air access can support efforts to increase both the visitor and corporate base of the Greater Palm Springs economy.
When Coachella Valley residents choose not to fly out of PSP, the money that could have been spent locally is lost and creates a cascading effect on our economy. There is less reason for new airlines to pursue Greater Palm Springs as a destination, and there are fewer reasons for airlines that already serve Palm Springs to expand their Palm Springs routes to new destinations, funneling potential future consumers to other destinations. Those lost routes also represent lost jobs, jobs that ultimately get created elsewhere.
The Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce believes that it’s time for all regional businesses to rally around a “Fly PSP First” pledge. If all of us do so, we believe that Palm Springs’ existing airlines will respond by adding new flights to existing routes and/or expanding routes to new destinations. In addition, airlines that currently don’t serve Greater Palm Springs would begin to look at PSP as a destination with the opportunity for successful growth.
PSP is ready to meet the higher demand that a successful “Fly PSP First” pledge could create, as it already has the capacity and facilities to expand existing services, as well as to recruit new flights.
Thus, the “Fly PSP First” pledge puts the words of regional employers, community leaders and local government officials into action, as it implements travel policies that will promote the use of air service via PSP.