House Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Brian Kennedy got to the point Monday as the Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC) announced Sun Country Airlines would double their nonstop routes from two to four with the addition of service to Las Vegas and New Orleans. The nonstop destinations will begin in September with promotional rates as low as $89.

Kennedy, who stood in for the House leadership and – as it turned out for Senate Majority Leader Sen. Michael McCaffrey who had to be in court – applauded the added routes as giving Rhode Islanders more travel options.

Then, having completed his formal remarks, Kennedy turned to a map of the Sun Country routes – they now offer service to Nashville and Minneapolis/St. Paul – and pointed to Las Vegas.

“I hope to see one more dot right to the West Coast,” he said, pointing to Los Angeles.

Direct service to the West Coast has been talked about ever since RIAC proposed lengthening Runway 5/23 decades ago. Nonstop transcontinental flights became justification for a longer runway, but even with the longer runway, service to the West Coast has remained elusive although there is regularly scheduled service to Ireland and there has been service to Scotland and Norway.

Remarks from Mayor Joseph Solomon; RI Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor; Iftikhar Ahmad, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation; and Jessica Wheeler, Senior Director of Communications followed the announcement. Sun Country Airlines was doubtful the airlines would be offering nonstop service from Green to Los Angeles. While Wheeler said the Boeing 737-800s that Sun Country flies could make the flight they would be pushing it. She noted, however, Sun Country offers easy connections to LA from Nashville and Minneapolis/St. Paul.

As he has done at the many announcements of new carrier and service to Green, which he has made his trademark, Ahmad reminded people to “use the service or lose it.” He also spoke of the community effort that goes into making the airport a success.

“Collectively, we’re moving the Rhode Island economy. It will take community to lift this airport up, and that’s what we’re doing,” he said.

Mayor Solomon spoke of the importance of attracting traffic to the state. With the loss of the jewelry industry, which he called devastating, Solomon said Las Vegas residents will find gambling here and “it is always Mardi Gras in Rhode Island.” His point is that tourism and new industries are now the foundation of the state’s economy and that the state should take hold of resources and expand on them.

While not a part of the Sun Country announcement, Ahmad said that Norwegian Air has resumed flights from Green to Dublin. Norwegian was flying the Boeing Max-8 from Green. When the Max-8 was grounded, following two accidents where all the passengers lost their lives, Norwegian suspended service here and bused passengers to Stewart, N.Y. for flights. They are now resuming Green flights with another aircraft.

Although airline passenger traffic at Green has slumped in recent months, Ahmad remains intent on attracting new carriers to Rhode Island and expanding service. His goal now is to fill airline seats and, with New Orleans and Las Vegas as destinations in September, he sees Green as only being that much more attractive as the airport of choice.