Commercial jet flights from Elizabethtown to major airline hubs could feed off job growth at Fort Knox and provide a gateway to other local opportunities, according to a consultant appearing before the Hodgenville Rotary Club.
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LaRue could benefit from E’town’s commuter service
Airport consultant addresses Hodgenville Rotary Club meeting
By Ben Sheroan
Commercial jet flights from Elizabethtown to major airline hubs could feed off job growth at Fort Knox and provide a gateway to other local opportunities, according to a consultant appearing before the Hodgenville Rotary Club.
Luke B. Schmidt, who grew up in Hardin County, has been hired to help the airport board develop and market its plan for a return to commuter service.
“From our point of view, it’s all about jobs and the future of the region,” Schmidt said Thursday.
He said providing convenience for business clients will protect jobs in the region. The service also will connect the area to the global economy and better serve Fort Knox, which is Kentucky’s largest airline user. The post’s flight needs are expected to grow in 2010 when the Human Resource Command relocates in the new complex under construction.
Instead of the noisy prop planes that served Addington Field briefly a couple decades ago, the airport is negotiating with three companies that service major carriers in hopes of landing daily jet connections.
A key element of the deal is demonstrating a commitment to the airlines. Schmidt’s current emphasis is explaining the value of a Travel Bank. He is collecting monetary pledges from potential travelers, which would serve as an initial revenue guarantee for the airline.
Once an airline is secured, the airport would send invoices for the pledges and the money would show a commitment to the airline.
It is not a cash contribution. Customers would recover their money as they use the flights out of Elizabethtown. The individual or business would be reimbursed by the local airport board for the full cost of any travel originating or terminating at EKX, the travel designation for the Elizabethtown Regional Airport.
Schmidt called it the “last big push” in an effort to secure the flights.
In previously promoting this effort, the airport collected 72 formal resolutions of support from city and county governments and business associations such as Chambers of Commerce. If commuter service is secured, the airport expects to draw from a 24-county area, Schmidt said.
In anticipation of securing three daily flights, Schmidt said several steps are under way. The airport board is working with the Transportation Security Administration to deal with clearance and safety issues. It has received approval to upgrade its current instrument landing information to an ILS glide support system. Improvements planned at the field include another four to five inches of pavement to support heavier jets, development of an access road from a nearby fire station to the runway and some necessary fencing.
The airport board is committed to allow free parking, which Schmidt predicts will be a major attraction to flying from Elizabethtown instead of catching a commuter flight in Louisville or Nashville.
At the Rotary meeting, Schmidt displayed a 3-D illustration of the proposed 25,000-square-foot, glass-enclosed terminal to be constructed once an airline is secured. He said the building, which will take 13 months to erect, will include a business center and restaurant as well as baggage handling and ticket stations.
Schmidt also said the airport board has “a funding source identified” to finance the building, but he did not provide specifics.