"This is their success story," he said.

Clinton County Legislature Chair Jimmy Langley then introduced deLeeuw.

"We don't only expect you will be successful, we know you will be," he said.

Later, Langley said the important thing is that the Delta Connection flights are here.

"If people want to see more flights, they have to use it," he said.

Langley said Wednesday's flights are just the beginning, as Allegiant Air is scheduled to make its initial flight to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Nov. 16.

He said that airline would announce an additional Florida destination a couple of weeks after that, and noted the county recently striped out 320 spaces for long-term parking at the airport.

"We didn't do that just for fun," Langley said.

Robert Heins, chair of the Clinton County Legislature's Airport Committee, said this is the start of Plattsburgh becoming an international airport. It eliminates the need to get up in the middle of the night, ride the ferry and pay for parking at Burlington International, he said.

Heins said the Big Sky flights pull up to a Delta gate at Logan International Airport in Boston. By contrast, Continental Connection flights used to arrive at a sub-gate, which necessitated a transfer by bus to the departure gate for a connecting flight.

"That's a big plus a lot of people don't realize," he said.

The new service is a big boon for business travelers, who can now connect with more than 140 Delta flights daily to 40 cities in the United States and Europe.

"This establishes an efficient, easy way to get around the country, around the world," Heins said.

dheath@pressrepublican.com