The following article was published by The Courier-Journal on Friday, January 09, 2004.
New Louisville base will still employ 300
Plans for a new regional airline with its corporate headquarters and maintenance base in Louisville have been dropped, at least for now, but Louisville will still get 300 of the 355 jobs Republic Airlines would have created.
The jobs will come from a facility the proposed airline's parent company, Republic Airways, will build for its existing carrier, Chautauqua Airlines of Indianapolis.
Warren Wilkinson, spokesman for Republic Airways, said yesterday that delays in receiving Federal Aviation Administration certification hampered the proposed Republic Airlines, which would have flown small jets for US Airways.
"We started the certification process a year ago. That process has been bogged down for many reasons. There has been delay after delay," Wilkinson said. "The long and the short of it is, because of the delays, US Airways canceled the contract."
While Republic Airlines had gotten U.S. Department of Transportation certification, the airline hadn't received approval from the FAA.
Republic Airlines isn't dead, but without a contract there is no reason to pursue certification now, Wilkinson said. Still, "It's not all doom and gloom. The reality is we've been able to keep the jobs" — and some will be in place by the end of the month, Wilkinson said.
Republic Airways will bring Louisville a maintenance and crew base and a training facility for growing Chautauqua, the Republic-owned carrier that would have been a sister operation to the Louisville airline.
Airplane maintenance work will begin at Louisville International Airport within weeks, with an initial employee base of about 25 mechanics servicing two airplanes nightly at a 16,000-square-foot hangar.
When a new 35,000-square-foot hangar is constructed sometime in the next 18 months, the airline will be able to service at least four airplanes at once and will begin keeping more planes in Louisville overnight. A bright note about the switch to Chautauqua is that it will mean the ramp-up in employment "will happen faster than it would have happened under a new start-up," Wilkinson said.
Chautauqua will have about 100 mechanics and related workers in Louisville. As the operation expands, Louisville will become a crew center, where pilots and flight attendants live. Republic does not fly under its own name, but operates regional jets under the banner of US Airways Express, Delta Connection and AmericanConnection.
Mayor Jerry Abramson called Chautauqua's decision good news that will "settle any concerns" about lost jobs and could bring more nonstop flights to Louisville. With the strong Louisville connection to Chautauqua, US Airways and Delta Connection could opt for more flights out of the city, Abramson said. AmericanConnection does not serve this market.
Abramson said he met Monday with Bryan K. Bedford, chairman and chief executive of Republic Airlines' parent company, Republic Airways. Abramson said he was assured that the company would fulfill its commitment to Louisville. "So the jobs stay, the investments stay. All of that continues just as it was," the mayor said.
Louisville International Airport has promised to build a $5 million hangar for Republic Airlines, and last year the state gave tentative approval to $7.9 million in tax rebates. "As long as all those incentives stay in place, we are going to bring the jobs," Wilkinson said.
"There is no bad news to this story," said Greater Louisville Inc. President Steve Higdon, who said Louisville is now linked with a highly regarded regional carrier that "is profitable in an industry that has struggled."
"No one is more disappointed that the Republic concept did not pan out than Republic," Higdon said. "Obviously, we are disappointed too."
Nevertheless, "I am extremely bullish based on the history of Chautauqua's growth and profitability," he said. "There is no doubt that Louisville is well-positioned to get our fair share of that new growth, and that's all you can ask for."
Chautauqua flies 85 jets, and Wilkinson said, "We have grown pretty dramatically." The airline already has maintenance bases in Indianapolis, where Republic Airways is based; Columbus, Ohio; and Orlando, Fla.
Republic announced its plans for a Louisville airline in February. The start-up would have begun with 10 50-seat jets in November, but the start had been delayed at least a month. Plans had called for 10 more by July of this year.
One incentive for the new airline disappeared last year when Chautauqua pilots decided to go along with US Airways' requirement that its express carriers hire laid-off pilots from US Airways. Republic Airlines would have been an outlet for the US Airways business that Chautauqua's pilots had earlier voted against.
New Louisville base will still employ 300
Plans for a new regional airline with its corporate headquarters and maintenance base in Louisville have been dropped, at least for now, but Louisville will still get 300 of the 355 jobs Republic Airlines would have created.
The jobs will come from a facility the proposed airline's parent company, Republic Airways, will build for its existing carrier, Chautauqua Airlines of Indianapolis.
Warren Wilkinson, spokesman for Republic Airways, said yesterday that delays in receiving Federal Aviation Administration certification hampered the proposed Republic Airlines, which would have flown small jets for US Airways.
"We started the certification process a year ago. That process has been bogged down for many reasons. There has been delay after delay," Wilkinson said. "The long and the short of it is, because of the delays, US Airways canceled the contract."
While Republic Airlines had gotten U.S. Department of Transportation certification, the airline hadn't received approval from the FAA.
Republic Airlines isn't dead, but without a contract there is no reason to pursue certification now, Wilkinson said. Still, "It's not all doom and gloom. The reality is we've been able to keep the jobs" — and some will be in place by the end of the month, Wilkinson said.
Republic Airways will bring Louisville a maintenance and crew base and a training facility for growing Chautauqua, the Republic-owned carrier that would have been a sister operation to the Louisville airline.
Airplane maintenance work will begin at Louisville International Airport within weeks, with an initial employee base of about 25 mechanics servicing two airplanes nightly at a 16,000-square-foot hangar.
When a new 35,000-square-foot hangar is constructed sometime in the next 18 months, the airline will be able to service at least four airplanes at once and will begin keeping more planes in Louisville overnight. A bright note about the switch to Chautauqua is that it will mean the ramp-up in employment "will happen faster than it would have happened under a new start-up," Wilkinson said.
Chautauqua will have about 100 mechanics and related workers in Louisville. As the operation expands, Louisville will become a crew center, where pilots and flight attendants live. Republic does not fly under its own name, but operates regional jets under the banner of US Airways Express, Delta Connection and AmericanConnection.
Mayor Jerry Abramson called Chautauqua's decision good news that will "settle any concerns" about lost jobs and could bring more nonstop flights to Louisville. With the strong Louisville connection to Chautauqua, US Airways and Delta Connection could opt for more flights out of the city, Abramson said. AmericanConnection does not serve this market.
Abramson said he met Monday with Bryan K. Bedford, chairman and chief executive of Republic Airlines' parent company, Republic Airways. Abramson said he was assured that the company would fulfill its commitment to Louisville. "So the jobs stay, the investments stay. All of that continues just as it was," the mayor said.
Louisville International Airport has promised to build a $5 million hangar for Republic Airlines, and last year the state gave tentative approval to $7.9 million in tax rebates. "As long as all those incentives stay in place, we are going to bring the jobs," Wilkinson said.
"There is no bad news to this story," said Greater Louisville Inc. President Steve Higdon, who said Louisville is now linked with a highly regarded regional carrier that "is profitable in an industry that has struggled."
"No one is more disappointed that the Republic concept did not pan out than Republic," Higdon said. "Obviously, we are disappointed too."
Nevertheless, "I am extremely bullish based on the history of Chautauqua's growth and profitability," he said. "There is no doubt that Louisville is well-positioned to get our fair share of that new growth, and that's all you can ask for."
Chautauqua flies 85 jets, and Wilkinson said, "We have grown pretty dramatically." The airline already has maintenance bases in Indianapolis, where Republic Airways is based; Columbus, Ohio; and Orlando, Fla.
Republic announced its plans for a Louisville airline in February. The start-up would have begun with 10 50-seat jets in November, but the start had been delayed at least a month. Plans had called for 10 more by July of this year.
One incentive for the new airline disappeared last year when Chautauqua pilots decided to go along with US Airways' requirement that its express carriers hire laid-off pilots from US Airways. Republic Airlines would have been an outlet for the US Airways business that Chautauqua's pilots had earlier voted against.
