Article originally posted by The (Elizabethtown) News-Enterprise directed to: http://www.thenewsenterprise.com/content/forum-touts-carrier-service

 

 

Forum touts carrier service

By John Friedlein

 

Sunday, June 28, 2009 at 7:00 pm

By JOHN FRIEDLEIN

jfriedlein@thenewsenterprise.com

ELIZABETHTOWN — Local officials and businesspeople on Monday attended a public forum to learn more about a push for commuter flights out of Elizabethtown Regional Airport.

Project boosters are getting the word out about an initiative that would guarantee income for the first carrier that commits to serving the airport. Those who participate in the Partnership for Central Kentucky Airline Service Travel Bank are pledging money toward the service — if it happens — and will be reimbursed as they travel.

Airport Board consultant Luke B. Schmidt said the travel bank could raise $2 million. His group has received a number of written pledges, but he would not disclose the specific amount. He said he would like to have the subscriptions in by late summer or early fall and have an airline commitment by the end of the year.

Airport Board Chairman Joe Yates said officials hope flights will start sometime between a year and 18 months from now.

“We think this is going to be a go,” Yates said during the forum at the airport.

Schmidt said despite factors such as the recession, airlines are looking to expand where they find growth opportunities; he mentioned new services in Kansas and New Mexico.

Companies associated with three major carriers are interested in possibly establishing flights here. Jets would fly to a major hub, such as Chicago or Atlanta, with a minimum of three departures a day.

Growth expected with the Fort Knox realignment and possible electric vehicle battery plant in Glendale are seen as incentives to lure in an airline. Establishing a service here in 2010 would roughly coincide with those two initiatives.

Yates said the carriers are aware of these developments.

Such a service would help protect existing jobs and connect central Kentucky to the global economy, Schmidt said.

This effort to land a carrier is the first official joint venture of the area’s three chambers of commerce, which have formed a group called Regional Chambers United.

Radcliff Chamber President Mary Jo King said members stand to benefit from a commuter service. She said it is the chambers’ job to let them know about the opportunities.

Several employees of Fort Knox Federal Credit Union attended. President Bill Rissel said they are “very interested” in the development of a regional service. It would be convenient for businesses and good for the entire area. He also said he is interested in the travel bank.

Schmidt said: “From our point of view, it’s all about jobs; it’s all about the future of the region.”

Although there were commuter fights at the airport during the ’80s, there are no buildings there designed to function as a passenger terminal.

Once a carrier commits, construction of a terminal will begin; it will take about a year. The proposed structure is environmentally friendly and will be structure enclosed in glass. There will be free parking.

State and federal funding sources have been identified for the terminal project, Yates said.

John Friedlein can be

reached at (270) 505-1746