Chattanooga Airport President Terry Hart said the airport will seek a U.S. Department of Transportation small community air service development grant to attract commercial air service to Denver, opening pathways to the West from Chattanooga.
“I think we have a good story,” Mr. Hart said.
The airport is working with the city and the county to garner support letters from local high-growth CEOs and government leaders, including a matching funds strategy, to show the large scale of community support for Denver as a non stop destination.
Mr. Hart said he has $370,000 in commitments so far.
“I feel very good about that,” he said.
Ellis Smith, director of special projects at the city of Chattanooga, said Mayor Tim Kelly is committed to a partnership with local businesses to push private fundraising in support of the DOT grant. The alliance was discussed in a recent Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce presentation, he said.
Mr. Ellis said Charles Wood, interim president and CEO at the Chamber, has agreed that funds may flow through the Chattanooga Chamber Foundation.
“People are really excited,” Mr. Smith said.
The application deadline for the grant is May 12, Mr. Hart said.
In addition to Denver, airport officials continue to push for service to Dallas/Fort Worth, and for American Airlines to expand its summer service to Miami to year-round service. Mr. Hart said South Florida is a top Chattanooga market.
Delta Air Lines will retire its 50-seat planes May 1, meaning flights to Atlanta will use bigger planes and have greater capacity.
Nonstop flights from Chattanooga to LaGuardia Airport in New York City will return when the large airports recover from equipment shortages and pilot shortages brought on by the pandemic, Mr. Hart said.
“I’m confident we will see that back at some point,” he said. Industry leaders are predicting that major strides will be made in 2023 with big results in 2024, he said.
In general, airlines are beginning to favor larger planes with higher seat capacity, Mr. Hart said. A relaxing of federal guidelines this summer will allow the airports to scale up capacity with fewer, larger planes, while holding that airspace for future routes.
Chairman James Hall gave his prediction that “airspace is the issue of the future,” and it may not rely on pilot shortages with introduction of drones, which Mr. Hall dubbed the “air taxi of the future.”
J&J Contractors is on day 305 of 760 planned days of the terminal expansion project. In May the main TSA checkpoint will be renovated and a temporary checkpoint set up.
New terrazzo flooring is being installed this week, and existing concourse tile is being demolished for matching terrazzo flooring throughout.
The exterior portion of the renovation is 90 percent complete, Mr. Hart said, including roofing, air conditioning units and windows.
Enplanements, landings, operations and cargo continue to rise per month from 2022 numbers. First quarter numbers from March 2023 enplanements are up 17.5 percent from 2022.
Seat capacity continues to rise and is projected to continue to rise through July, Mr. Hart said.
West Star Aviation's Hangar 27 is nearly complete and will bring 100 jobs to the airport. Final concrete will be poured Wednesday. The project is scheduled to be complete in June. West Star is already planning Hangar 26.
The board approved $1.8 million for Tally Construction to build a connector roadway to the new Hangar 27 to relieve plane traffic congestion.
The airport is moving its general aviation section to the west side of the airfield. Allen & Hoshell is designing two new general aviation hangars of 20,000 square feet each in the new section.
The board approved $283,643 to purchase, install and maintain two 18- by 13-foot LED screens inside the rotunda entrance for advertising, marketing and airport messages, from Revel Media Group.
The board approved $144,000 for Jake Marshall to replace two, 30-ton air conditioning units from 2008.