Sacramento International Airport officials want to lure airline to start European service

Sacramento International Airport officials are hoping to lure an airline to offer nonstop service to Europe.

The new initiative, which began last month, is focusing on service from Sacramento to an unspecified city in Germany, said Stephen Clark, Sacramento International’s deputy director of airport commercial development.

“It’s a global hub,” Clark said of Germany.

He said international companies with facilities in Sacramento and Germany should be able to help support a route with business travelers.

He cited as an example the April 2023 announcement that Robert Bosch GmbH, a multinational company headquartered in Gerlingen, Germany, would be investing $1.5 billion to transform an existing semiconductor factory into its North American hub.

The facility is scheduled to open by 2026.

Clark said another German company, with a large presence in Sacramento is Siemens Mobility, which employs more than 2,500 persons in its train and light rail vehicle manufacturing plant.

Chip maker Intel, which has a large presence in Rancho Cordova and in Germany could also feed business to the route, he said.

Clark said the service would also attract leisure travelers.

But travelers awaiting the start of European service shouldn’t expect that they will be boarding a plane from Sacramento to Germany anytime soon.

Clark estimates that it will take three to five years to convince an airline to start service.

He said the process involves repeated meetings with airlines to show justification for the routes.

“Airlines want to know they can fill seats,” he said.

Sacramento International has always been primarily an airport serving other U.S. cities, but it does offer several international routes. Its latest non-U.S. service began in June when Air Canada started service to Toronto.

Other international designations are Vancouver and four destinations in Mexico: Cabo San Luis, Mexico City, Guadalajara and Leon.

Building a case for SMF to Germany flights

This is not the first time Sacramento International Airport has tried to land a European route.

What’s different this time is a coordinated approach with the business community, Clark said.

He said, for example, airport officials will be joined by Sacramento business leaders in meeting with officials of international airlines during a trip to Germany in February.

Clark said meetings will also be set up with numerous German businesses in an effort to sell the Sacramento region as a place to locate and do business.

The Greater Sacramento Economic Council is sponsoring that trade mission.

Barry Broome, the council president and CEO, said the group is gathering data from local companies on how frequently their workers travel to Europe and other places internationally.

“We want to show airlines that there is demand for European service,” he said.

Broome said the Sacramento business community is becoming more international. He said 50% of the companies looking to locate an office in the Sacramento area are companies based out of the U.S.

He said the European service from Sacramento would not only make it easier for area business travelers but would also help clinch deals for foreign companies to locate facilities here.

Clark said the Sacramento airport would be willing to offer incentives like reduced landing fees and money for marketing for an airline willing to offer a European route.

He said the airport currently offers those incentives for airlines launching new domestic flights.

Clark said another strategy being explored is having local companies guarantee they would buy a certain number of first-class or business-class tickets for a set period, say two years, for the European service.

First-class and business-class seats tend to be the most profitable for airlines.

Broome said currently most travelers headed to Europe from the Sacramento region travel to San Francisco International Airport or take a flight from Sacramento to Los Angeles, where they connect to their European flight.

Ultimately, Broome said, the airport needs an airline willing to take a chance on Sacramento, given that launching a European route can be a multi-million investment.

“You have to get someone to bite on the apple,” he said.