Table of Contents. Cover Letter - Pulaski County Judge/Executive Barty Bullock Cover Letter- Project Consultant Luke B. Schmidt...

Transcription

1

2 Table of Contents Cover Letter - Pulaski County Judge/Executive Barty Bullock... 3 Cover Letter- Project Consultant Luke B. Schmidt....4 Small Community Air Service Development Grant Proposal... 5 SME Market Profile... 5 Lake Cumberland Regional Airport {SME) Community's Existing Air Service Historical Air Service Community's Air Service Development Efforts Proposed Air Service Community's Air Service Needs/Deficiencies Pulaski County's Strategic Plan to Develop Scheduled Air Service Revenue Guarantee Program Uses ofscasd Award Grant Funds In-Kind Contribution Summary Appendix Application Under Small Community Air Service Development Program - Summary Information Letter of Support - Corporate Flight Management Letter of Support - Public Charters Letter of Support - The Honorable Hal Rogers, Member of Congress Letter of Support -The Honorable Eddie Girdler, Mayor of Somerset Letter of Support - Somerset - Pulaski County Development Foundation Letter of Support - Somerset Community College Letter of Support - Somerset - Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce Letter of Support - Somerset - Pulaski County Convention & Visitors Bureau Letter of Support - The Center for Rural Development Letter of Support - Hendrickson Letter of Support - Wonderfuel Letter of Support -Toyotetsu America, Inc. Letter of Support - Blackboard Student Services Letter of Support - Coretrans, LLC Letter of Support - Air Methods Page 12

3

4

5 Small Community Air Service Development Grant Proposal Pulaski County Government seeks a grant through the USDOT Small Community Air Service Development grant program on behalf of its partners, the Somerset - Pulaski County Development Foundation and the Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME) in the amount of $1,000,000. The community has successfully recruited a carrier which meets its needs, contingent upon the establishment of a short-term revenue guarantee fund while the carrier builds the market to a fully sustainable position. The following provides detail on the market and the proposed use of the grant's funds. SME Market Profile Somerset/Pulaski County Kentucky is the commercial, education, employment, manufacturing, healthcare and tourism hub of Southern Kentucky. The community's leaders and elected officials seek to establish scheduled passenger airline service at the Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME) which serves the community. The SME regional air service market (catchment area) encompasses a 16 county region of Southern Kentucky with a combined population of 412,566 people:.~ ~.'...--.,..._ Page I 5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13 Locair failed to secure a terminal agreement in Nashville Locair failed to secure interline agreements with other airlines Locair frequently changed destinations from Somerset Locair operated a fleet of only two aircraft; if a flight cancelled due to a mechanical problem, there was no backup aircraft and passengers were left to fend for themselves (and purchase another ticket on another airline if needed) Locair did not provide any marketing efforts to promote the service Because of the SCASD subsidy, Locair had absolutely no incentive to sell tickets nor to work with the community to grow the service; when the subsidy ran out, so did the company All in all, the service was not reliable and did not connect SME to the global air transportation system. Following the departure of Locair, the Somerset - Pulaski County Development Foundation retained the services of L.B. Schmidt & Associates, LLC for the purpose of re-starting the recruiting process. This included the development of a new market profile for the 16-county region and the identification of potential airlines. Recruitment efforts centered on airlines which could offer service using 19-passenger turboprop aircraft. Meetings were scheduled and presentations were given to representatives of various airlines, including Great Lakes Airlines, Gulfstream International Airlines (now Silver Airways) and US Airways Express. Additional discussions were held with representatives from Delta Air Lines, Mesaba Airlines, and Pinnacle Airlines. Through this process, a working dialogue was established with Corporate Flight Management (CFM), which is based in Smyrna, TN and is a major operator of BAE Jetstream J31/J32/J41 aircraft. This led to a proposal for air service which was received on July 17, Proposed Air Service Corporate Flight Management (CFM) and its partner, Public Charters, Inc. (PC) propose to begin service on June l, 2014 with one daily roundtrip between SME and Nashville International Airport (BNA), contingent upon similar service starting between Pikeville, KY (PBX) and BNA which is currently in the implementation stage and is slated to begin March 31, CFM is a major operator of charter aircraft in the Eastern United States, with bases in Smyrna, TN; Danbury, CT; White Plains, NY; and, Teterboro, NJ. The company operates a fleet of turboprop, light and medium jet aircraft. CFM proposes to operate the SME service with BAE Jetstream J31/J32 aircraft. PC is a major charter operator and partners with firms like CFM to provide lift for service throughout the U.S. One such example of this service is the company's Ultimate Air Shuttle service from Cincinnati Lunken Airport to Chicago Midway Airport; Morristown, NJ; and Charlotte, NC, which utilizes 30-passenger Dornier jets and which has operated on an unsubsidized basis since its inception in BNA is the nation's 35th busiest airport with 380 arriving/departing flights each day and has nonstop service to 49 destinations: Page 113

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38