Nobody should consider Buffalo’s efforts as folly, according William A. Fife, a nationally recognized airport consultant and former deputy general manager of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

“It’s not silly at all,” he said. “Buffalo is well-situated because it’s used by so many Canadians.”

Airports such as Buffalo seek transatlantic flights because of the economic and promotional benefits that follow, he said.

“It’s healthy for the economy, it reminds folks that they don’t have a backwater airport and Buffalo never has been, and it’s another way to get to Europe,” he said. “It makes ultimate sense.”

It all depends on whether international carriers feel they will gain enough return on their investment, he added.

“It works with the right market and right leadership,” he said, pointing to the NFTA’s reputation as a “thought leader” in the airport business.

Vanecek emphasized the efforts take time. When the NFTA first approached Southwest Airlines back in 2000, its executives doubted Canadians would cross the border to fly out of Buffalo. But Southwest has become a success story in the area, with 116 monthly flights to seven destinations around the country.