"Tennessee airport may land low-fare carrier"

Thursday, May 6, 2004

Airport may land low-fare carrier
by Jennifer Hodson
The Maryville (TN) Daily Times Staff


Chances look good for a new low-fare carrier, Independence Air, coming
to McGhee Tyson Airport.

Independence Air was formerly known as Atlantic Coast Airlines and
operated regional jet service for United Airlines under the name United
Express.

Becky Huckaby, spokesperson for McGhee Tyson, said after United declared
bankruptcy, Atlantic Coast began a litigation process to allow it to
make an unprecedented transformation into a low-fare carrier.

``The first step in our transformation is to change the way we
operate,'' wrote ACA/Independence Chairman and CEO Kerry Keen in an
article posted on Independence Air's Web site in January. 

``We will shift from the legacy airline model to the high-utilization
and low-distribution-cost model that has been successfully employed by
airlines in the low-fare segment started 30 years ago by Southwest, and
today includes carriers like jetBlue, AirTran, Frontier and others.''

Huckaby said McGhee Tyson officials have been in negotiations with
Independence -- and other low-fare carriers -- for some time.

When preparing for the negotiations, airport officials did extensive
marketing research to make sure the local community could support the
various low-fare airlines' services.

Of Independence Air, Huckaby said, ``They are a good fit for us.''

East Tennesseans for Airfare Competition, a collaboration of area
businesses working to bring a low-fare carrier to McGhee Tyson, has also
participated in negotiations with Independence.

ETAC's strongest negotiating tool is the concept of a travel bank,
whereby local businesses would designate a certain amount of their
annual travel dollars for use with a low-fare carrier.

Huckaby said airport officials were about ``70 percent positive that
conditions were favorable'' for Independence Air to come to McGhee
Tyson.

However, she cautioned a formal announcement has not yet been made and
is not expected until later this month.

``There's some room for change,'' she said. ``But we are very
optimistic. We think it would profitable for both us and them.''


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