Bigger aircraft and more seats to Charlotte, and an added flight to Chicago, may be on the horizon for Chattanooga Airport fliers.
JANUARY TRAFFIC
Chattanooga Airport passenger boardings are jetting ahead. Below are January boardings over the past five years and percent change over prior year: * 2015 - 28,201, up 16.2 percent * 2014 - 24,260, up 14.2 percent * 2013 - 21,233, down 5.5 percent * 2012 - 22,468, up 8.2 percent * 2011 - 20,761, up 6.8 percent Source: Chattanooga Airport
But don't expect to see Southwest Airlines enter Chattanooga anytime soon.
Chattanooga Airport chief Terry Hart said the surge in passenger traffic at Lovell Field -- it hit a new record last year -- is drawing the attention of airline planners who schedule service.
"It's kind of bucking the trend," he said, noting Chattanooga Airport's boardings were 14 percent higher in 2014 over the prior year. "Most airports are not seeing growth like that."
Hart said the new American Airlines, which merged with US Airways in December 2013, may increase the size of aircraft on its nonstops between Chattanooga and Charlotte from 50-seaters to 70- and 90-seat planes.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport is a key connecting point for Scenic City travelers. The airline currently has six nonstop flights a day between Chattanooga and Charlotte and offers the second most daily flights out of Chattanooga after Delta Airlines' service to Atlanta, Hart said.
In addition, he said, an added nonstop on American between Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Chattanooga this year would replace one that was dropped last year.
The airport CEO, who attended a meeting with airline planners a few weeks ago in Denver, said he's also continuing to work on a nonstop between Chattanooga and the New York area.
He said 53 passengers daily fly out of Chattanooga to New York or nearby Newark, N.J.
"That's something I have to keep telling planners," Hart said told Airport Authority members earlier this month.
Authority member Mike Mallen quipped that he didn't want to make a motion for gaining Southwest Airlines service, but wondered how talks progressed with that carrier.
Luke Sparks watches planes at the Chattanooga Airport while waiting for his girlfriend to arrive. The Chattanooga Airport set a passenger record in 2014. Hart said he's encouraged that Southwest did meet with him, but there's no expectation of any service soon.
He said Southwest is finishing its merger with AirTran, which will leave it as the No. 2 carrier at Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson International Airport behind Delta Airlines. Hart said that if Southwest goes to less than daily service at airports, Chattanooga could benefit.
He added that air fares out of Atlanta are increasing on Delta and Southwest. That helps make flying out of Chattanooga more attractive, giving travelers less reason to drive to Atlanta to fly, Hart said.
He said he's also pushing for nonstops from Chattanooga to Houston, in part, to help gain more connections to Mexico for companies such as Volkswagen, which has a lot of suppliers in that country.
Hart also said he's pushing for boosting the size of aircraft flying the Detroit nonstop on Delta.
"They think [the] Detroit [flights] will continue to grow as the auto business grows in this area," he said.
In addition, Hart said he expects Delta to keep flying its bigger mainline jets between Chattanooga and Atlanta. Currently, Delta is flying three or four planes a day between the cities.
"They'll continue that," he said.
Dan Jacobson, the Airport Authority's chairman, said he likes the direction of passenger boardings in Chattanooga. The number of passengers boarding flights in Chattanooga in December were 12.5 percent above a year ago and January boardings were up 16.2 percent above year-ago volumes.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.