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Commercial Air Service From Pikeville to Nashville Officially Takes Flight WEKU-FM (Eastern Kentucky University NPR Radio)

Article originally posted to the WEKU-FM web site http://weku.fm/post/commercial-air-service-pikeville-nashville-officially-takes-flight

By Stu Johnson WEKU News

New Commercial Airline Service in Pikeville Could Bring Economic Benefits

The official launch of Appalachian Air occurred earlier this week in eastern Kentucky.  Officials are hopeful new daily commercial air travel between Pikeville and Nashville will allow for new economic development in the region.  Luke Schmidt is a Project Consultant for Pikeville Air.  “It will now become easier for people who want to travel to Pikeville and eastern Kentucky from other business centers around the country, including people who might be representing companies that are interested in investing in the region, maybe building a factory, creating new jobs,” said Schmidt.

Schmidt says present day economic development is all about access and travelling from corporate headquarters to remote operations. Schmidt says a person travelling from Pikeville could make it to Los Angeles before noon Pacific Time.  “You can get on the plane at Pikeville at 6:30 in the morning, arrive in Nashville about 7:00 a.m. with the time change and Central Time. And then you can connect with 50 some odd cities from Nashville,” added Schmidt.

Listen to the interview by clicking on the following link:

http://weku.fm/post/commercial-air-service-pikeville-nashville-officially-takes-flight

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Appalachian Air Takes Off WOWK-TV (Charleston/Huntington)

Article originally posted to the WOWK-TV web site http://www.wowktv.com/story/27060556/appalachian-air-takes-off

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Appalachian Air is celebrating its first round-trip commercial flight.

WYMT-TV reports the airline flew from Pikeville, Kentucky, to Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday and returned about 12 hours later.

The maiden flight had fewer than 10 aboard, but Appalachian Air officials say they think seats will fill up as more people learn about the service. The Jetstream J32 turboprop aircraft holds 19 passengers.

Appalachian Air spokesman Luke Schmidt says officials hope that bringing commercial air service to eastern Kentucky will help the economy.

The flight came about six months later than originally planned because airport officials had to wait to get the proper certifications.

The service will offer daily flights from Pikeville to Nashville.

Information from: Appalachian News-Express, http://www.news-expressky.com

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Appalachian Air takes off from Pikeville to Nashville Lexington Herald-Leader

Article originally posted to the Lexington Herald-Leader web site http://www.kentucky.com/2014/10/28/3505445/appalachian-air-takes-off.html

PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Appalachian Air is celebrating its first round-trip commercial flight.

WYMT-TV reports the airline flew from Pikeville, Kentucky, to Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday and returned about 12 hours later.

The maiden flight had fewer than 10 aboard, but Appalachian Air officials say they think seats will fill up as more people learn about the service. The Jetstream J32 turboprop aircraft holds 19 passengers.

Appalachian Air spokesman Luke Schmidt says officials hope that bringing commercial air service to eastern Kentucky will help the economy.

“We think that by connecting Pikeville and Eastern Kentucky to the global air system, it will help create jobs,” Schmidt said. “It will help people interested in investing in the region to get here and find out what a great community it is and what is available here.”

The flight came about six months later than originally planned because airport officials had to wait to get the proper certifications.

Skip Holmes with the Southeast Kentucky Chamber of Commerce was aboard the flight and said landing close to home was the best part.

“Being able to come here, get in my car, be in my easy chair in 15 minutes, that’s perfect,” Holmes said.

The service will offer daily flights from Pikeville to Nashville.

Meanwhile, the Appalachian News-Express reports that officials are still working with the Transportation Safety Administration in an effort to get screeners at the airport.

Pikeville City Manager Donovan Blackburn called the start of air service in Pikeville a “great day.”

“The development of commercial air service in Pikeville has been a community goal going all the way back to 1968,” he said in a statement. “The City of Pikeville appreciates the commitment and the investment that both Corporate Flight Management and Public Charters have made to the city. Now we want anyone who is planning a trip by air to first consider flying Appalachian Air, no matter where you are going. Chances are you will be able to fly right out of Pikeville and avoid the six hour roundtrip drive to Lexington.”

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Appalachian Air completes first commercial flight from Pikeville to Nashville WYMT-TV (Hazard)

Article originally posted to the WYMT-TV web site http://www.wkyt.com/yourtown/locations/pike/headlines/Appalachian-Air-takes-trial-flight-from-Pikeville-to-Nashville–245305681.html

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WYMT) Update: 10/27/14

Monday marked the beginning of a new era in transportation in Eastern Kentucky with the first round trip commercial flight between Pikeville and Nashville.

The plane left Pikeville/Pike County Regional Airport at 6:30 a.m. Monday and returned about 12 hours later.

“The community has had a long-held goal to bring commercial air service to the mountains and today was the day we made it happen, so it’s a big day,” Appalachian Air spokesman Luke Schmidt said.

“We think that by connecting Pikeville and Eastern Kentucky to the global air system, it will help create jobs,” Schmidt said. “It will help people interested in investing in the region to get here and find out what a great community it is and what is available here.”

Fewer than 10 people were aboard Monday’s flight, but Appalachian Air officials are optimistic seats will start filling up as more people hear about the service.

Skip Holmes with the Southeast Kentucky Chamber of Commerce made the round trip Monday. He said the best part is being close to his home in Floyd County when the plane lands instead of having to drive back from the airports in Lexington or Louisville.

“Being able to come here, get in my car, be in my easy chair in 15 minutes, that’s perfect,” Holmes said.

Right now, one round trip flight per day is scheduled to leave Pikeville every morning at 6:30.

To book a flight and look up ticket costs, visit AppalachianAir.com.

To watch the television news story, please click on the following link:

http://www.wkyt.com/yourtown/locations/pike/headlines/Appalachian-Air-takes-trial-flight-from-Pikeville-to-Nashville–245305681.html

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Appalachian Air to launch first flight from Pikeville on Monday The Lane Report

Article originally posted to The Lane Report web site http://www.lanereport.com/40567/2014/10/appalachian-air-to-launch-first-flight-from-pikeville-on-monday/

Inaugural flight will go to Nashville

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (Oct. 24, 2014) — Appalachian Air is ready to launch its inaugural first flight from Pikeville. The first flight, from Pikeville to Nashville International Airport, is scheduled for leave Kentucky at 6:55 a.m. on Oct. 27. Flight time will be a little more than one hour. The new service is operated by Public Charters Inc. of Avoca, Pa,. and Corporate Flight Management of Smyrna, Tenn.

“After nearly four years of planning, recruiting, meetings, teleconferences, addressing regulatory hurdles, etc., on the part of our community and air service partners, we are ready to launch the very first commercial air flight from Pikeville and Eastern Kentucky,” said Luke B. Schmidt, President of L.B. Schmidt & Associates, LLC, the Louisville-based consulting firm that has been facilitating the development of air service in Pikeville for the City of Pikeville, the Pikeville – Pike County Airport Board, and the Southeast Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. “Everything is set and we are ready to welcome our first passengers on board the Jetstream J32.”

Appalachian Air will launch the service with one daily roundtrip (the return flight departs BNA at 4:30 PM CDT and arrives back in Pikeville at 6:55 PM EDT).  The Appalachian Air aircraft will overnight each night at the Pikeville – Pike County Regional Airport.

“This is a great day for the City of Pikeville,” said Donovan Blackburn, Pikeville City Manager. “The development of commercial air service in Pikeville has been a community goal going all the way back to 1968.”

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Appalachian Air sets date for takeoff WYMT-TV (Hazard)

Originally posted to the WYMT-TV web site on September 19, 2014 http://www.wkyt.com/wymt/home/headlines/Appalachian-Air-sets-date-for-takeoff-275658861.html

(Click on the above link to see the video news report)

Pikeville, Ky. (WYMT))– Appalachian Air has set a date for its first flight to Nashville.

That first daily flight is set to depart Pikeville on October 27 at about 6:30 in the morning.

“The real benefit, I believe, that the service is going to provide is it’s going to link Pikeville and Pike County to the global air system via the Nashville airport,” said Luke Schmidt, a consultant who has worked on getting commercial flights in Pikeville.

He believes this will be a viable operation because research indicated a number of travelers in Eastern Kentucky who went to other airports farther away than Pikeville for air service.

“We know the market exists because we did a very extensive market profile,” said Schmidt.

Tammy Riley, who serves as campus director for National College in Pikeville believes the service will make for more efficient operations for her school.

“Being attached to a multi-campus university, we find that there are individuals at regional and national level that need to travel to all of those campuses, one being my campus in Pikeville,” said Riley.

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Third time charmed? Appalachian Air sets new takeoff date; web site goes live (Pikeville) Appalachian News-Express

Third time charmed?

Article was originally posted on September 19, 2014 to the (Pikeville) Appalachian News-Express web site http://news-expressky.com/edition/

Appalachian Air sets new takeoff date; web site goes live

Appalachian Air may soon be ready to fly.

Officials announced Thursday that the long languishing commercial air service project is set to take off on Monday, Oct. 27, and begin daily round-trip commercial operation to Nashville from the Pikeville-Pike County Regional Airport. It was also announced that the Appalachian Air website is now live and bookings for flights will begin in October.

The new launch date is the third date set by organizers of the project since the project was announced, but during Thursday’s announcement event, officials said they are now ready for Appalachian Air’s wheels to leave the ground. The new date comes after months of delays officials have blamed on government regulations and processes.

One of those officials was Consultant Luke Schmidt, who has worked on the commercial air service project since its inception. He said the service will launch on the new date.

“No more delays,” Schmidt said. “You’re not going to hear us two weeks from now say, ‘Uh oh, we can’t do it.’ We’re here, the plane’s coming and so we better be ready, and we will be.”

Schmidt said the first revenue flight will depart from Pikeville on the morning of Oct. 27 and the first inbound flight will arrive in Pikeville that evening. The plane, he said, will overnight in Pikeville for the next morning’s flight.

However, one of the major selling points of the service — “sterile” baggage service from Pikeville to the customer’s ultimate destination — may not be available on the launch date. Schmidt said the plans for baggage screening by the Transportation Safety Administration have been submitted to the TSA’s office in Louisville and they are reviewing the plans. They have not yet been approved, however, and the organizers of Appalachian Air are still waiting on that approval. Schmidt added, though, that the process is progressing.

“They are working that issue through right now and they’re well aware of our start date and I’m told they are working to try to and accommodate us for that,” he said. “The other part is the airport security plan, which we drafted … we submitted that back about the first of the year (and) that’s been accepted.

“So, half of it’s done, the other half is almost done,” he said.

David Lucas, the president of consulting firm DL Group, said Public Charters, for whom his company performing consultation work, is committed to launching the service on the new launch date.

“Oct. 27th; we mean it, we’re ready to go,” he said.

Lucas said delays in the project have made the public skeptical to promises the service is ready to take off. He added, however, that planned promotions — including a limited time 50 percent off promotion which will be active upon the service’s launch — will help in letting the public know the service is ready to go.

“It’s been a long time in coming,” Lucas said. “You’ve been hearing about it … We want to show you and we have a number of promotional programs that we’re going to roll out one right after the other.”

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Appalachian Air takes trial flight from Pikeville to Nashville WYMT-TV (Hazard)

Article and video news report by Hillary Thornton originally posted to the WYMT-TV web site http://www.wkyt.com/wymt/home/headlines/Appalachian-Air-takes-trial-flight-from-Pikeville-to-Nashville–245305681.html

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WYMT) Get ready for take off. In November, state and local leaders announced a new commercial air service coming to Eastern Kentucky. On Wednesday, many local leaders were on board for the trial flight.  WYMT also flew along as they toured the facilities in Nashville.

More than a dozen people boarded the plane and took part in the hour long flight.

Project leaders have been busy preparing for the launch of Appalachian Air.

Luke Schmidt says, “We are daling with things like improving infrastructure at airport and dealing with creating TSA screening and security plan…we are in the middle of that right now.”

Officials say Wednesday’s trip is another step to getting the service up and running…touring the operating company, Cooperate Flight Management’s maintenance facilities.

CFM Chief Executive Allen Howell says, ” I think the community leaders have a real vision for what air service does for a community from the economic development stand point. The community understands this is an infrastructure issue, just like having a good highway system.”

Wednesday’s passengers, also getting a first hand look at Nashville International Airport, which officials say will be a huge gateway to Eastern Kentucky.

Passengers on Appalachian Air will fly in and out of Terminal C, which is in the main hub of the Nashville airport….with 70% of the airport’s business taking place in that terminal.

Once in Nashville, passengers will not have to go back through security, making for easy connections and quick travel.

Schmidt says, “The Nashville airport is growing and it has a lot of service but it is not Atlanta and it is not Chicago, which on any scale are huge, complex, and can be cumbersome.”

Officials  hope to get Appalachian Air officially off the ground on April 14th, with ticket sales starting on February 24th.

That start date is a little later than officials had anticipated, due to some delays they could not control like the time it took to get proper certifications…which they say was slowed down due to the government shutdown.

Schmidt says, “Everyone involved in this project, whether they are in Pikeville or one of our providers, we are all comitted to doing this thing 100% – – first class all the way. We don’t want anything to slip through, so that’s why we did that.”

Officials say a new website should be operating soon and will feature a trip calculator to help folks compare prices from other airports, while taking into account driving time and expenses.

 

 

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Officials announce commercial air service in Eastern Kentucky WYMT-TV (Hazard)

Article originally posted to the WYMT-TV (Hazard) web site on November 6, 2013 http://www.wkyt.com/wymt/home/headlines/Officials-announce-commercial-air-service-in-Eastern-Kentucky-230907141.html

(Click on the link above to view video news report)

 Officials announce commercial air service in Eastern Kentucky

By: Whitney Burks – Email

Posted: Wed 7:16 PM, Nov 06, 2013 

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WYMT) – Wednesday was described as a monumental day for Pikeville and our region as officials announced the first passenger airline to serve Eastern Kentucky.

For years it has been a dream for many leaders in Pike County and the commonwealth.

“Commercial air service is terribly important in linking up particularly the business community with the rest of the world,” said Congressman Hal Rogers.

On Wednesday those leaders made the official announcement that the first passenger air service, Appalachian Air, to serve Eastern Kentucky is landing here at the Pikeville-Pike County Regional Airport, beginning with daily roundtrip flights to Nashville International Airport in March.

“As leaders of the great people of the Appalachian region we must stop living in the dreams of yesterday, wake up and understand the reality of today and find smart ways of making a better and brighter tomorrow,” said Pikeville City Manager Donovan Blackburn.

Governor Steve Beshear and Congressman Hal Rogers, both deemed instrumental in getting commercial air service here, say it is another step in moving the region forward and making it more accessible.

They say it is a great beginning to something they announced recently called Shaping Our Appalachian Region, or SOAR.

“Everybody took a lot of risk to get us to where we are today. That’s what it’s going to take to move our region ahead. We can do it. This is proof we can do it. It’s a vital part of moving our region ahead,” said Gov. Steve Beshear.

And they are hoping the air service will help business and tourism in the mountains take off.