Cornell MBA graduate helps county task force lure added air carrier

Charles Hamilton, MBA '04, takes in the view from the control tower at the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport last month. In a Cornell-funded special projects post supporting Tompkins County Air Service Task Force, Hamilton did the groundwork to help the group bring flights from a second air carrier to the airport. Nicola Kountoupes/University Photography

By Linda Myers

One of the people cheering the news this week that Northwest Airlines will soon be serving Tompkins Regional Airport is Charles Hamilton, a 2004 MBA graduate of Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management.

Hamilton himself deserves a few cheers for playing a seminal role in bringing in a second air carrier to the airport, which also is served by U.S. Airways.

U.S. Airways now is successfully emerging from financial difficulties and is continuing to provide the county with air service, but last year, when the airline filed to reorganize and cut back flights to its hub city of Pittsburgh, the need for a second, complementary air carrier -- a goal for years -- suddenly became much more urgent. It impelled Cornell, along with Ithaca College, both members of the Tompkins County Air Service Task Force, to come up with funding for a special projects position. The 20-member task force, which has representatives from area businesses, colleges and government, approved, and Hamilton was hired for the job soon after he completed his MBA.

"Thanks to Cornell and its general support for a staff person, the air services committee has made great strides, culminating in the agreement reached with Northwest Airlines," said Mike Hall '68, co-chair of the committee and a former Air Force pilot who is now co-owner of PFA Consulting, a local leadership services firm. "Some people in the community like to ask, 'What has Cornell done for us lately?' Here is an example of Cornell's making a huge impact on a communitywide issue."

"There's no lone ranger here," said task force member Richard McDaniel, associate vice president for campus and business services at Cornell, who recruited Hamilton for the job. "The project has pulled people in the county together -- everyone has played a part. There's been tremendous collegiality, teamwork and effectiveness. Charles has been in the middle of all that. He's bright, has excellent analytic skills, is results oriented, and he brings a confidence mixed with a certain humility that is particularly effective in working with the community in a big effort like this."

Hamilton and the task force did research and discovered the unhappy fact that 68 percent of the flights booked by area residents were for flights into and out of airports other than Tompkins County's. Part of the reason for what the task force called "leakage" was that the perceived value of flying from Ithaca -- the combination of price and convenience of connecting times and plane comfort -- was low.

More bad news: The legacies -- the six largest U.S. airlines -- which had relied on the hub and spoke system to make a profit, were losing business to innovative startups and a diminished market and were cutting back services to small cities like Ithaca.

But there was good news too: The task force's market analysis, led by Hamilton, showed that Ithaca was unique, with a mobile population, including students, faculty and many international residents who often traveled overseas. Even though the trends seemed against it, Hamilton and the task force believed that the right airline might be found that would be interested in providing air service complementing what was already being offered.

A former a Roy H. Park Leadership Service Fellow at the Johnson School, Hamilton consulted an earlier plan by two past Park fellows to bring more air service to the area, which provided useful background information.

Then, through Cornell's remarkable alumni network, Hamilton and the task force linked up with Stuart Oran '71, a former senior executive with United Airlines, who volunteered to be an adviser. In addition to providing strategic direction and senior level industry connections, Oran recommended a firm that specialized in doing independent market analyses for airlines, which helped predict how successful the task force's hoped-for airline routes would be.

A handful of airlines were identified that were likely candidates to pitch, and Hamilton and the task force's negotiating team had serious talks with them. One in particular, Minneapolis-based Northwest, seemed especially attractive because one of its hub cities, Detroit, would provide the gateway to the western United States and the Far East that the task force members were seeking.

Another Cornell alumnus, Bernard Han '86, M.E.E. '87, turned out to be the chief financial officer at Northwest, and he was present in October 2004 when Hamilton and the task force negotiating team presented their case to the airline. It also helped that the airline already had a vested interest in central New York, with service in several other places.

Still, the outcome was anything but certain, so when Northwest came back with a potential offer, "everyone was really pleased," Hamilton said. "The whole effort wouldn't have worked without many people pulling together. Everyone played a part -- I'm lucky to have been able to work with so many great people."

Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, Hamilton also has a vested interest in the Tompkins County area. He met his wife, Linnie, at Cornell when they were both undergraduates. He majored in natural resources in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, earning a B.S. in 1995, the same year Linnie got her B.A. as a dual major in the College of Arts and Sciences. After graduation they moved to Seattle, where he joined Americorps/Vista, worked for nonprofits, then for Microsoft Corp. and other high-tech firms.

Soon after the pair married in 1997, they conducted a search for the right place to live that was nearly as thorough as the hunt for the right airline to serve Tompkins County. "We decided that Ithaca was an unparalleled place to raise children," Hamilton said. They moved back here in 2002 with the intention of staying after he was accepted at the Johnson School. They now have two daughters, Clio, 4, and Dorothy, 1.

For more details on the Northwest deal, see this Tompkins County Web site: http://www.tompkins-co.org.

CU applauds effort by the community for Northwest Airlines agreement

"Cornell University is excited by this new commuter arrangement with Northwest Airlines, which will expand travel options for the region," said Tommy Bruce, vice president for communications and media relations. "This is a boon to the community because it can lead to further expansion of travel options in the future. We are proud to have been part of a local partnership of academic institutions and businesses providing revenue guarantees to ensure the success of this endeavor. In addition, Cornell staff members have been actively involved in the coordination of efforts and the negotiations with Northwest Airlines since this process began."

Added Richard McDaniel, Cornell associate vice president for campus and business service, who is a longtime member of the Tompkins County Air Service Task Force: "I have never seen such a fine collaborative effort. Each partner has contributed what they could. This has been a distinctive and positive experience."