Survey shows 'overwhelming interest' in air charter service to Nashville from Tri-Cities

About 80% of participants in a recent survey, by BRIDGE, expressed interest in an air charter service to Nashville from the Tri-Cities Airport, TRI. BRIDGE is a regional, privately funded organization that supports — among other projects — air service for business, tourism and economic development. Executive Director John Rose said a group of local business owners approached BRIDGE about conducting a survey to gauge the need, desire and possibility of an air charter service. Differing from commercial air service out of Tri-Cities Airport, like Delta and Allegiant, charter uses smaller planes with direct service. It would be a private business operating out of a private hangar at TRI, Rose said. More than 70 organizations responded to the online survey, which gave participants the option to stay anonymous. One of the survey's questions asked where they'd most like to see an air charter service to; participants could list multiple cities in order of preference. "The overwhelming interest would be Nashville," Rose said. "Most respondents listed Nashville and D.C., or D.C. and Richmond." After Nashville, around 40% of survey participants were interested in Washington, D.C., and around 30% in Richmond, Virginia. Thirteen total cities were suggested, including Norfolk in Virginia, New York City, other Tennessee cities and others in the South. Rose said air charter service provides a convenient travel option. "A lot of people have one meeting in Nashville, but they have to drive down the day before or the day of, then spend the night and drive home. So, they lose two days," he said. "By the time you do hotel, travel costs, food — that's one consideration. Another is the loss of time traveling where you can't be productive." Another part of the survey that stood out, Rose said, is that a "significant portion" said they'd use the air charter service for personal travel too, due to its convenience. The service would be open to the public. "That means it'd be used more than if it's just for one sector, business or personal. If they're considering it for both, it makes it much more viable for the investors," he said. Rose said BRIDGE's next steps are to discuss the survey's details with the private businesses that requested the information. "We provided the survey outreach portion," he said, "but it's up to them to develop their business plan." Supporting growth at the airport is part of BRIDGE's strategic plan, developed by more than 120 interviews and multiple round tables across the region about two years ago. "So many community partners participated in [the strategic plan]," Rose said. "We'd like them to know that we're following through with that we were asked to do by multiple communities across the region."