St. Leibowitz
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- Aug 19, 2002
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Louisville woos Republic Airline
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By Chris Poynter
[email protected]
The Courier-Journal
New regional jet carrier would bring about 300 jobs to the area. The airline plans flights to and from major airlines'' hub airports.
Louisville is one of several cities competing for the corporate and maintenance headquarters of Republic Airline, a new regional jet carrier that plans flights to and from major airlines'' hub airports.
State economic development officials, along with the Regional Airport Authority board, have been secretly negotiating with the company for several months, discussing financial incentives in an attempt to lure the business to Louisville.
Republic Airline would be a subsidiary of Indianapolisbased Republic Airways, which also operates Chautauqua Airlines. Chautauqua provides service from smaller cities into hubs operated by American and Delta airlines, among others.
Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson, in an interview with The Courier-Journal, yesterday declined to name the airline, but said the carrier would bring about 300 ''''good paying'''' jobs to the city -- and eventually could lead to expanded flights between Louisville and other cities.
''''Right now it''s in the hands of the state,'''' Abramson said.
The Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development does not comment on potential deals, spokeswoman Terri Bradshaw said.
The cabinet''s finance authority board, which must approve incentives the state offers to companies, will meet at 10 a.m. tomorrow in Frankfort. The agenda is not made public until the meeting starts, Bradshaw said, because of the sensitivity of economic development deals.
A spokesman for Republic Airways Holdings, the parent company of Republic Airline, declined to comment yesterday.
Regional jets -- which usually seat 50 to 70 people -- are increasingly replacing major jets, especially in small and medium-sized cities such as Louisville, according to the Regional Airline Association in Washington D.C.
Last November, for example, US Airways pulled its largest jets out of Louisville, replacing them with regional jets and turboprop aircraft.
David Castelveter, spokesman for the Arlington, Va., airline, said at the time that economic reasons led to the phasing out of the Boeing 737-300s that US Airways used on its Louisville flights to Charlotte and Pittsburgh. (Other destinations from Louisville already are served by the smaller aircraft.)
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the airline retired many of its larger planes as passenger loads dropped, Castelveter said.
Debby McElroy of the Regional Airline Association said 15 companies nationwide operate regional jets. McElroy said she is aware of Republic starting another airline but said she didn''t know which cities it was considering as a headquarters.
J. Michael Brown, airport board chairman, said Louisville is among ''''three or four cities'''' vying to become the airline''s headquarters and maintenance base. He didn''t know what other cities were in the running.
Abramson said he did know which cities were courting the airline, but he declined to name them.
He said the potential new regional airline would be headquartered at Louisville International, with planes flying to there from other cities for maintenance.
Abramson said he expects that having the corporate and maintenance headquarters here would lead to increased passenger flights -- both to cities that Louisville currently serves and perhaps others that it doesn''t.
''''It''s a win-win,'''' he said.
The jobs created by the airline would be a mix of white-collar corporate positions and blue-collar maintenance workers, the mayor said.
Abramson said he was briefed about the development last November, as part of his merger transition. As mayor, he now sits on the airport authority board and attended the January meeting, where the board discussed the issue behind closed doors.
Airport General Manager Jim DeLong declined to comment yesterday.
Brown said he couldn''t comment in depth about the negotiations because they are being handled by the state.
The state''s involvement is vital to landing any airline headquarters, Brown said, because the state -- and not the airport itself -- can offer financial incentives, such as tax breaks.
As part of its ongoing terminal renovation, the airport is spending $7.5 million to add six gates for regional jets.
Brown said they are being added because more airlines are relying on smaller regional jets to shuttle passengers to major hubs. He also noted that having the gates in place could help attract a regional airline company.
People who currently fly regional jets to and from Louisville have to step out of the terminal to board the planes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Chris Poynter
[email protected]
The Courier-Journal
New regional jet carrier would bring about 300 jobs to the area. The airline plans flights to and from major airlines'' hub airports.
Louisville is one of several cities competing for the corporate and maintenance headquarters of Republic Airline, a new regional jet carrier that plans flights to and from major airlines'' hub airports.
State economic development officials, along with the Regional Airport Authority board, have been secretly negotiating with the company for several months, discussing financial incentives in an attempt to lure the business to Louisville.
Republic Airline would be a subsidiary of Indianapolisbased Republic Airways, which also operates Chautauqua Airlines. Chautauqua provides service from smaller cities into hubs operated by American and Delta airlines, among others.
Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson, in an interview with The Courier-Journal, yesterday declined to name the airline, but said the carrier would bring about 300 ''''good paying'''' jobs to the city -- and eventually could lead to expanded flights between Louisville and other cities.
''''Right now it''s in the hands of the state,'''' Abramson said.
The Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development does not comment on potential deals, spokeswoman Terri Bradshaw said.
The cabinet''s finance authority board, which must approve incentives the state offers to companies, will meet at 10 a.m. tomorrow in Frankfort. The agenda is not made public until the meeting starts, Bradshaw said, because of the sensitivity of economic development deals.
A spokesman for Republic Airways Holdings, the parent company of Republic Airline, declined to comment yesterday.
Regional jets -- which usually seat 50 to 70 people -- are increasingly replacing major jets, especially in small and medium-sized cities such as Louisville, according to the Regional Airline Association in Washington D.C.
Last November, for example, US Airways pulled its largest jets out of Louisville, replacing them with regional jets and turboprop aircraft.
David Castelveter, spokesman for the Arlington, Va., airline, said at the time that economic reasons led to the phasing out of the Boeing 737-300s that US Airways used on its Louisville flights to Charlotte and Pittsburgh. (Other destinations from Louisville already are served by the smaller aircraft.)
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the airline retired many of its larger planes as passenger loads dropped, Castelveter said.
Debby McElroy of the Regional Airline Association said 15 companies nationwide operate regional jets. McElroy said she is aware of Republic starting another airline but said she didn''t know which cities it was considering as a headquarters.
J. Michael Brown, airport board chairman, said Louisville is among ''''three or four cities'''' vying to become the airline''s headquarters and maintenance base. He didn''t know what other cities were in the running.
Abramson said he did know which cities were courting the airline, but he declined to name them.
He said the potential new regional airline would be headquartered at Louisville International, with planes flying to there from other cities for maintenance.
Abramson said he expects that having the corporate and maintenance headquarters here would lead to increased passenger flights -- both to cities that Louisville currently serves and perhaps others that it doesn''t.
''''It''s a win-win,'''' he said.
The jobs created by the airline would be a mix of white-collar corporate positions and blue-collar maintenance workers, the mayor said.
Abramson said he was briefed about the development last November, as part of his merger transition. As mayor, he now sits on the airport authority board and attended the January meeting, where the board discussed the issue behind closed doors.
Airport General Manager Jim DeLong declined to comment yesterday.
Brown said he couldn''t comment in depth about the negotiations because they are being handled by the state.
The state''s involvement is vital to landing any airline headquarters, Brown said, because the state -- and not the airport itself -- can offer financial incentives, such as tax breaks.
As part of its ongoing terminal renovation, the airport is spending $7.5 million to add six gates for regional jets.
Brown said they are being added because more airlines are relying on smaller regional jets to shuttle passengers to major hubs. He also noted that having the gates in place could help attract a regional airline company.
People who currently fly regional jets to and from Louisville have to step out of the terminal to board the planes.
