First nonstop flight from New York arrives in Tucson

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - The first nonstop flight from JFK airport arrived at Tucson International at 7:20 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6.

Visit Tucson told Tucson News Now they have been marketing in New York and the Tri-state area for over a month now.

They have also partnered with various businesses and organizations to really promote Tucson as a destination and bring all types of travelers here.

"New York is the number one market in terms of visitor spending in Tucson," said Allison Cooper, VP of Sales and Marketing at Visit Tucson. "So having service which is nonstop will just open the gates for us and create new business opportunities. Whether it's business, travel, business travel, sports tourism or film production."

The first nonstop flight from JFK arrived with 104 passengers. They were greeted by Visit Tucson, Tucson fashion week, El Charro, and a mariachi band.

Lindsey Fugett was one of the passengers on the flight. She lives in New York but came to visit her sister.

"It's great now that I can fly nonstop and I get to see her more often. Because it's kind of a pain when you have to stop places. It's not as convenient," Fugett said.

Bess Glorioso, a New York resident, also said the nonstop flights will make it so much more convenient to visit her parents who live in Tucson.

"It's my parents 50th anniversary so I wanted to surprise them and not be able to tell them that I was coming so. So with the direct flight, I knew it started October 6th so I booked it right away," Glorioso said.

The first flight from Tucson International Airport to JFK takes off at 8 a.m. Friday.