"Think Ithaca first" the next time you make travel plans, stress Cornell and airport officials. Especially now that direct flights to Washington, D.C., are set to begin in several months, and the cost of flying in and out of Ithaca is increasingly competitive.

Non-stop service to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport via US Airways is pending the approval of the U.S. Departments of Justice and of Transportation, say officials at Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport.

"It will be a big plus for Cornell," said airport manager Bob Nicholas. "It will make flying to and from Ithaca even more cost-effective and convenient. For a lot of the Ithaca community, having a direct access, non-stop flight not just to Washington but to Washington National -- right downtown -- is pretty big."

The newest destination is one of several ways the airport is expanding services and offerings. Officials are planning an ongoing program to give away $500 travel vouchers at random to those who participate in a short survey at the airline's Web site, http://www.flyithaca.com. Customers can sign up for free e-mail updates on fare cuts, special rates and new flights. And the revamped site compares the usually lower cost of Ithaca flights to generally higher priced flights from competing airports in Binghamton, Syracuse and Elmira.

Ithaca fares have decreased significantly in the past year, Nicholas said, thanks to competition among the airport's three airlines: Continental Airlines, Delta/Northwest Airlines and US Airways, Nicholas said. Ithaca had the lowest fares for 75 percent of the most popular destinations when compared to those offered by Syracuse, Elmira and Binghamton airports, according to the airport's latest data.

Travelers seem to be paying attention. For the first six months of 2009, the number of people boarding planes in Ithaca was up by 23 percent compared with the same period in 2008, Nicholas said. However, about 40 percent of Tompkins County travelers still fly out of Syracuse, Ithaca's main competitor, he said. "That's territory we can pursue."

In addition to convenience and low price, the Cornell community has a vested interest in "thinking Ithaca first" when making travel plans, said Richard McDaniel, the recently retired Cornell vice president for risk management and public safety. "A viable, local airport is crucial for recruitment, retention and the savings in time and resources from not having to travel an hour-and-a-half to another airport," said McDaniel, who represents the university on the airport's Air Services Board. "We have an out-of-pocket interest in this matter."

The airport's board, Cornell, the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce, Tompkins County Area Development, the county legislature and other community groups are working with a marketing company to increase passenger traffic for the airport's three airlines.

Their goal? To attract the attention of permanent residents as well as students, Nicholas said. "Part of the challenge is that you've got this turnover every four years. For some students, it takes four years to figure out that we've even got an airport here, and that they can get to where they want to go at a reasonable price."

Ithaca passengers currently have non-stop service to Newark, LaGuardia Airport, Philadelphia and Detroit, as well as one-stop flights to more than 200 cities worldwide.