Chattanooga Airport boardings take off, setting new record

Staff file photo by Dan Henry / Terry Hart, Chattanooga Airport CEO, marks the inaugural nonstop flight from United Airlines connecting Chattanooga to the New York area.

Terry Hart, president and CEO of Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport

Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport blew past its old passenger traffic mark in 2016, spurring officials to craft a new master plan that will look at more gates, parking and air service.

The airport broke the 400,000 passenger barrier for the first time ever last year as boardings climbed 6.8 percent over 2015 to come in at 419,059.

Terry Hart, the airport's chief executive, said boardings are up 38 percent in the past five years. He said Lovell Field is benefiting from a growing economy and keeping more travelers from driving to other cities to fly with new service such as non-stop routes to the New York City area on United Airlines.

A study over a year ago showed that more than half of all air travelers from the area drove to another airport to fly, such as in Atlanta or Nashville.

"We're excited about all that economic development taking place. We're the recipient of that growth," Hart said, adding that both Delta Air Lines and American Airlines are flying bigger jets in the market with planes offering "two-class service."

He said competitive fares and added convenience at the airport helped lift boardings to a new high.

"We're trying to make customer experience a good one," Hart said.

Renee McLaughlin of Chattanooga said Tuesday she flies 40 to 50 times a year and does so from Lovell Field. She likes the convenience, ease of parking and personal service she receives from people who work at the airport, she said.

"People know my name," McLaughlin said.

Nancy Little, who works for Ford Motor Co., was flying into Chattanooga for the first time from Detroit and liked Lovell Field except that her luggage was lost.

"Other than the luggage... I like it," she said.

Hart, who'll mark his fifth year as airport CEO in June, said Lovell Field officials probably will kick off a new master planning effort within six months.

"It's planning for growth and doing it the right way," he said, adding a new blueprint should be ready by the end of 2018.

Hart said the plan will look at the potential of adding new gates, a parking garage, and flights to new airline hub cities such as Houston.

He said he compares Chattanooga Airport's growth to the facility serving Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C., an area that added an automotive plant in 1994. Hart said Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant is helping spur similar growth.

"You could see a steady increase... a continued upward trend," he said about the years after a BMW production plant opened in South Carolina. "There's no reason to believe the trend won't continue here."

About nine years ago, Hart came to Chattanooga from Chicago where he was vice president for American Eagle Airlines. After he became the airport's CEO, he said he has tried to keep the airport focused on "passengers' real-time concerns."

Hart piloted renovations and changes which have effectively given a new face to the airport. In April 2014, a $7.2 million upgrade of the passenger terminal was unveiled.

Over the past 12 months or so, the airport added about 300 parking spaces near the terminal, and it built covered walkways from the lot. Also, the airport constructed 250 more spaces served by a shuttle.

Dan Jacobson, Chattanooga Airport Authority chairman, said Lovell Field has seen a lot of growth in the past decade.

"It's undeniable that where we are today is leagues away from where we started," he said.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.