Louisville begins nonstop flights to Austin. Los Angeles may be next

Alfred Miller | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Where do people fly the most from Louisville? Where do you think most people who fly out of Louisville International Airport are heading?

Discount carrier Frontier Airlines begins twice weekly flights to Austin on Monday, and nonstops to Los Angeles might be next if a local effort to help airlines insure against losses gets off the ground.

The Louisville Regional Airlift Development program — public-private sponsorships also known as LRAD — continues to raise a pot of $4 million to offer minimum revenue guarantees to airlines who take a risk on Louisville.

While the new Frontier Airlines route is not a product of the Airlift Development program, it becomes the 29th destination where passengers can fly from Louisville nonstop, there are still no direct flights to Los Angeles, Boston, Seattle, San Diego and San Francisco.

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Which destination should Louisville International Airport add next with nonstop flights? Vote and read the full story: https://t.co/81skELjpCa — Courier Journal (@courierjournal) August 13, 2018

All five of those cities ranked among the top 25 stops for air travelers who began their journeys in Louisville, according to the latest U.S. Department of Transportation data provided by the Louisville Regional Airport Authority.

That could change if the Airlift Development program is successful. Program leaders have begun negotiating with airlines about a possible Los Angeles route, program consultant Luke Schmidt told the Courier Journal.

Ed Glasscock, a LRAD board member, told the Courier Journal that a deal on Los Angeles could be ready in as soon as 60 days.

The program then will turn its attention toward adding a flight to Boston.

Glasscock was previously on the air access subcommittee of SCALA, the Steering Committee for Action on Louisville's Agenda. He said direct flights remain a key issue for SCALA.

LRAD, which was spearheaded by Humana founder David A. Jones Sr., continues to fundraise even as it talks to airlines.

So far, LRAD has secured a $1.33 million grant from the state, $400,000 from the city of Louisville and $300,000 from Louisville Tourism, said Schmidt, who declined to name private contributors to the fund or say whether the state of Indiana would also participate.

According to an agreement with Louisville Tourism signed in March, the clock is ticking for the program, which has until until the end of next June to add two flights from among Los Angeles, Boston, Seattle and San Francisco. Once an agreement is in place, there is typically a lag of six months before air service begins, Schmidt said.

While most of the nearly 25 million people who visit Louisville each year come by car, the rise of ultra low cost carriers at Louisville International Airport is drawing travelers who would ordinarily drive, said Dan Mann, the new executive director of the Louisville Regional Airport Authority.

Following the start of the Austin route on Frontier, two more routes — to Dallas and Houston — on another low-cost carrier, Southwest Airlines, are slated to begin by January 2019.

On average, fares are dropping, airplanes are flying closer to capacity and parking fees, from which the airport pulls in much of its money, are rising. These are all positive signs for the airport, Mann said.

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In the next five years, the airport aims to add commercial passenger flights to international destinations, Mann said. Contrary to what its name might suggest, the only international flights from Louisville International Airport carry freight, as the airport is home to the international hub for shipper UPS.

Mann said he came away from a recent meeting with Air Canada calling a flight to Toronto “doable.” Air Canada has offered that route in the past.

Still, with a relatively steady 1.7 million travelers boarding its planes each year, Louisville significantly trails its regional peers, including Cincinnati and Indianapolis, which board more than twice that many air travelers, and Nashville, which has four times that many, according to the airports’ annual reports.

Reach reporter Alfred Miller at amiller@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @AlfredFMiller.

Top 25 final destinations from Louisville International Airport

Orlando Baltimore Tampa Atlanta Las Vegas New York — LaGuardia Washington, D.C. — Reagan National Chicago — O'Hare Dallas — Ft. Worth Denver Chicago — Midway Ft. Lauderdale Phoenix Los Angeles* New York — Newark Minneapolis-St. Paul Charlotte Philadelphia Boston* Houston — Intercontinental Detroit Seattle* San Diego* San Francisco* Miami

*no direct flight from Louisville

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation data provided by the Louisville Regional Airport Authority