Airport's effort to land northern route unsuccessful so far

Lynchburg Regional Airport’s bait to attract northbound commercial flights could disappear this weekend.

Four years ago the U.S. Department of Transportation offered a $250,000 grant to encourage airlines to connect Lynchburg to an airport north of the city. That offer is set to expire unused on Sunday.

Currently, all flights from Lynchburg are routed through Charlotte, N.C., or Atlanta.

Airport Director Mark Courtney said customers in the region want more options for transportation to the Northeast, but airlines believe there is not enough potential to make profits on such a route. Because of the economic environment, “the airlines … don’t seem to be expressing much interest in expanding smaller markets,” he said.

Courtney asked the DOT to extend the deadline, but he said he is not optimistic about getting more time without any firm plans for a new route.

The airport received the $250,000 grant in 2006. The Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce helped coordinate about $155,000 in local support, which included pledges from companies and waived fees at the airport.

Courtney said he and chamber representatives approached numerous major and regional airlines to discuss getting northbound flights. They focused on service to Washington-Dulles International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport.

“When you have a large connecting hub … close by like that, it really does create more opportunities for connectivity in all directions,” Courtney said.

Those additional routes could help the Lynchburg airport attract more travelers, such as David Graham, of Lynchburg.

Graham said he has flown to New York about six times this year to visit his girlfriend. He flew out of Lynchburg two of those times, but the other times he has driven to the Roanoke or Charlottesville airports, which connect to northern hubs.

“It just feels better when you get on a plane and go straight north to your destination, instead of getting on an airplane to go south,” Graham said.

The success that Amtrak has had on its second daily train from Lynchburg to Washington, D.C., is evidence of other people wanting to go north, Graham said. Amtrak officials have said the Northeast Regional train has surpassed their ridership projections in its first year of operation.

Christine Kennedy, vice president of the chamber of commerce, said more transportation options are key to economic development.

“When we only have two hub airports, both in the South, it makes our comparative advantage difficult,” she said. “Companies need accessibility, and when we can’t provide that they go to another airport.”

The DOT grant was set to expire last year, but Courtney got a one-year extension. Getting a second extension hinges heavily on having an airline with firm plans to start new routes, he said.

US Airways, which currently serves the Lynchburg airport with flights to Charlotte, N.C., provided a letter supporting the extension, but it offered no firm commitments. It stated that the grant would be considered in future route planning.

DOT spokesman Bill Mosley said the extension request is under review. “We expect to make a decision within the next few weeks,” he said.

If DOT does not extend the grant but an airline later expresses interest in routes north of Lynchburg, the chamber would have to renegotiate the local incentives that were pledged earlier, Kennedy said.

Courtney believes Lynchburg is ready to support new flights because of its recent growth. Since Delta and US Airways cut their fares in Lynchburg two years ago, passenger traffic has more than doubled. Both of those airlines have added new flights to their southern hubs.

“We have to look at that as a positive and continue to hold on to the good things we have,” Kennedy said.