Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority President and CEO April Cameron and the board of commissioners were all smiles at the board meeting Monday as they debriefed on winning a U.S. Department of Transportation grant, hosting a successful airline carrier summit, and cleaning up a "picture perfect” crash landing, all the first week of October.
Also, the terminal expansion project is ahead of schedule and could open as early as February, Ms. Cameron said.
All this good news supports one goal: to bring nonstop air service to Denver.
The Chattanooga Airport announced Oct. 2 that it had won a $750,000 Small Community Air Service Development Program grant to recruit air service. The community, businesses and local government have raised another $375,000, totaling $1.1 million for the purpose.
Ms. Cameron said a letter of support from United Airlines, which operates in Chattanooga and has a Denver hub, clinched the grant deal.
“We would love to see United fly that,” Ms. Cameron said. “United would definitely be the target.”
Grants make cities look like sound investments to airlines, she said. After Denver is won she said she will pursue Houston, and Board Chairman Jim Hall said he would go after New York City’s LaGuardia Airport again.
“We have traffic for LaGuardia,” he said.
The airport hosted a summit Oct. 4-6 to re-market and re-sell itself to its current air carriers: United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Allegiant Air.
“My mama was always saying, ‘Don’t be reaching across the table until you take care of what’s on your plate,’” said Mr. Hall.
“If we could just get the airlines to come here, the city would sell itself, and it did,” Ms. Cameron said.
Ms. Cameron has said she is prioritizing more destinations and more seat capacity in her first few months as president and CEO.
She said as airlines recover from pandemic setbacks and switch to fewer, larger planes, midsize markets like Chattanooga can attract those smaller, 175-seat aircraft left behind.
“We’re very hopeful that we’ll be able to see some of the results of that,” she said.
Subsequent airport summits will entertain new carriers, she said.
The next summit could coincide with a tentative February grand opening of the terminal expansion project, which was originally set to be complete in June 2024.
“The airline representatives were absolutely amazed,” Ms. Cameron said of the summit. She said they repeatedly commented on local leaders’ community engagement.
Board member Santosh Sankar told the board his dinner partner, a United representative, had said the same.
“He was just shocked that everybody was willing to show up and push in the same direction,” he said.
The delegation attended an outdoor evening meal at Rock City and toured the Volkswagen plant, where Chattanooga Operations CEO Chris Glover spoke regarding the company’s plans and needs.
City of Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly spent a whole day with the delegation. Featured speakers included Chattanooga Tourism Co. President and CEO Barry White, Urban Story Ventures President and CEO Jimmy White, Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Charles Wood, Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp and others.
The Westin hotel provided venue space and overnight accommodation. Other businesses donated welcome billboards and welcome gift baskets.
The summit included a forum that allowed airline representatives and local CEOs to exchange questions and needs.
“This, you know, is a first step,” said Mr. Hall. He said the airport will be a “keystone” in the city’s economic development.