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TRANSPORTATION
- September 2001 by Claude Hammond A Change in the Atmosphere
Barkley Regional
Airport, Paducah Other good news for those flying from Barkley is that the Memphis (Tenn.) International Airport was named the “2000 Most On-Time Airport” in the country by the FAA. Less than 0.1 percent of flights were delayed for more than 15 minutes at Memphis during 2000. About half of the flights from Barkley go to Memphis International. Blue Grass
Airport, Lexington On May 20, US Airways Express began its new nonstop twice-daily service from Blue Grass Airport to Philadelphia International Airport, operated by US Airways’ wholly owned subsidiary PSA Airlines. Also, in early August, US Airways Express announced it would begin another new non-stop air service between Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). The new flights begin Oct. 22. US Airways Express carrier Piedmont Airlines will operate the new flight. Significantly, US Airways’ upgraded service between Lexington and Charlotte begins Oct. 15. The airline will increase service from three departures to five daily flights – a 90 percent increase in the number of seats offered in the market. Beginning Sept. 1, Northwest Airlines and its Northwest Airlink affiliate, Mesaba Airlines, increased non-stop service between Lexington and its Detroit hub from five to six daily flights. Northwest Airlines currently offers six daily departures to Detroit and three daily departures to Memphis from Blue Grass Airport. Continental Express, the regional airline subsidiary of Continental Airlines, announced it begins twice-daily nonstop service between Lexington and its Houston hub on Oct. 1. “We are grateful to the community of Lexington for its tremendous support of this service,” said Jim Ream, president of Continental Express. “At our Houston hub, customers from Lexington will be able to make convenient connections to cities throughout the South, the West, Latin America and Asia.” Bowman Field,
Louisville Gov. Patton noted, “Bowman Field is critical to the state’s aviation infrastructure, both as a reliever airport for Louisville International and as a general aviation training center.” “The Commonwealth’s investment in Bowman Field is quickly returned in the economic impact it generates,” Patton mentioned. A 1999 economic impact study conducted by U of L’s Urban Studies Institute reported that Bowman Field annually generated a total of 720 jobs with a payroll of $16 million and payments of over $2 million in state and local taxes. In addition, Bowman generated $45 million in business expenditures and sales. The Bowman Field Administration Building is considered a classic example of Works Progress Administration (WPA) architecture and was featured in an exhibit of WPA architecture. Bowman is the oldest continually operating public airport in the U.S. Cincinnati/Northern
Kentucky Also, for the 11th time in seven years, CVG was recognized nationally for its high level of customer satisfaction. J.D. Power and Associates
ranked CVG third best in the U.S. for overall passenger
satisfaction. Last year, the International Air Transport
Association named CVG the number one U.S. gateway and
seventh worldwide, based on its annual passenger survey.
Also in 2000 CVG was rated one of the world’s top
five airports by OAG Worldwide, the world’s leading
publisher of travel information. Claude Hammond is
editorial director for The Lane Report. |
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Copyright 1996-2001, by Kentucky Business Online. All rights reserved. Editorial
content is copyright 2001, Lane Communications Group The Lane Report is a trademark of Lane Communications Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |
For the
most part, administrators of Kentucky’s regional and
international airports have not let the economy slow down
their plans for expanding and improving services. While
the economy has caused a decrease in passenger numbers,
economic development officials still concede the
importance of a good airport to business.