LCDC
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Airline serving new Somerset airport warns 'use it or lose it'
(Somerset Commonwealth-Journal, Mar 4 09)
“Us it or lose it,” was a comment made by the airline officials relative to the local commuter service launched December 27. Passengers
fly on the “City of Somerset,” a Metro III twin-engine turboprop aircraft.
The company president and a senior associate with an airport planning firm, talking with a reporter after the chamber meeting, indicated they are not
disappointed but apparently are not thrilled with current utilization of the commuter service.
...
Trevor Sadler, president of AirAzul, revealed that the Surfside, Florida-based airline is looking at Cincinnati as a second destination to and from
the Somerset airport.
ORIGINAL FULL ARTICLE: Cincinnati may be next commuter destination
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RELAX
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A connection to Cincinnati would make more sense to me than a flight to Nashville or Louisville.
However with the economy in the tank.. well looks like AirAzul just had bad timing. 
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WaterWings
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Don't people do marketing research anymore? If they do, do they measure it against possible revenue, cost, and economic downturns? Or do they just
take a politician's word for it?
I agree with Relax a lot of their problems maybe economy related but still..... they should have had a reasonable idea of the demand for these flights
(with a +/- margin of error) before they even thought about it.
Yep, flights to Cincy, Hotlanta or even Charlotte would make more sense to me. Louisville is a big hub but the others are major hubs.
Of course taxpayers have now spent millions upgrading the facilities at the airport to accomodate them. This maybe come KY's bridge to no where.
WHATEVER floats your boat Dude!
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rockinrod7
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Mood: realizes now that apparently my political correctness dictionary is out of date also
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1 word...... PORK.
The airline commuter service is bolstered financially with a $1 million essential air service grant obtained through efforts of Congressman Hal
Rogers.
When the money is gone so will they be.......Well unless ole Pork Daddy Hal can go ahead and pay them to stay another year.
I mean come on. I am no researcher but honestly is there really that many people that on a weekly basis is gonna fly from Somerset to Nashville to
even REMOTELY justify this?
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laker53
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I really don't think market reseach was any part of their move to Somerset.
I have always thought this was just one small move in a much larger chess game.
Just an opinion.
I almost always use Nashville to get out of town. Much better connections than any listed above. Longer drive, but net less time. Down US 31 from
Glasgow and in the back door at BNA.
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rockinrod7
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Mood: realizes now that apparently my political correctness dictionary is out of date also
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Hal and the rest of his bunch have been in the common belief that if there was an airline here. Somerset would be the new Lexington.
Local officials jumped on board and added that we needed a 4 year college and a new library.
Even our governors wife had this to say yesterday.
Beshear lauded the community for a petition-approved real property tax of 5.9 cents on each $100 of assessed value for the library. It paved the way
for the library district to sell $10.7 million in revenue bonds to finance an almost incomprehensible rural-area library. The new complex on South
Main Street opened last spring.
Lauded the community?? Maybe she should have talked to some of the "community" and she would have found out how the illegally done that so called
petition to pay for that stupid library. Who in their right mind would give up a perfectly good building and spend 10.7 million for a new one other
than a greedy self guided politician.
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Pourme
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You don't have to do market research to know that Somerset can't support this. Silly.
I like all boats I see and some people I meet!
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WaterWings
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Pourme
You don't have to do market research to know that Somerset can't support this. Silly. |
Guess I have an old school MBA.
Profits and stock holder returns were always the driving force in any business venture.
Apparently, they looked into their crystal balls and saw a lot of potential revenue where the rest of us can not see it. Got to get me some balls like
that. 
WHATEVER floats your boat Dude!
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Spooner
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Somerset barely supports a cab service let alone an air route.
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kdfwr911 (retired)
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I assumed the theory behind the venture was that people in the Lake Cumberland region would drive the 30 min to an hour to Somerset to catch a flight
to an airport with connecting flights to their destination rather than drive two plus hours to that airport from here. I would also think it should be
expected to take time for such a venture to take off and shouldn't be expected to be busy 2 or 3 months into it......especially given the fact that it
opened for business in the dead of winter, and after the holiday travel season. Perhaps this summer will see business pick up a little.
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Awakening
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"Use it or Lose it"...... now that is good marketing
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RELAX
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If they dont use it, will they loose anything anyone really needs?
All in all Somerset will have one nice runway, just in case, in about 20 years after the economy recovers somebody decides to start an airline. 
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cardinal
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Once they have code sharing with the airlines at BNA, which should happen soon, I imagine traffics will pick up. More than a couple companies in
Somerset area have people flying in on a regular basis. They usually fly to Lexington and drive down. When they are able to book a flight directly to
Somerset on one ticket, things should look up.
Also, less than daily service is a drawback. People need to be able to plan flights around their business needs. Not plan their business around a less
than daily flight.
Having used the airline, I can say that the terminal is very good and the personnel are very friendly and professional. I plan on using it regularly
for trips out of town.
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WaterWings
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Well it seems they heard me and are least doing a survey of some sort this time. 
"Build it and They Will Come" works great in the movies but in real life you don't spend the money until your pretty darn sure they will come. IMO
By KEN SHMIDHEISER, Managing Editor and CHRIS HARRIS, Staff Writer
The Commonwealth Journal Thu Feb 09, 2012, 08:55 PM EST
Somerset —
Has the time come for the Lake Cumberland region to become a hub in the nation’s air travel network? Somerset-Pulaski County Development Foundation
hopes to answer that question now that commercial airline carriers are again expressing interest in locating passenger airline service in Somerset.
Yesterday, Martin Shearer, executive director of Somerset-Pulaski County Development Foundation, and Luke Schmidt, president of L.B. Schmidt &
Associates, announced the launch of a regional survey of air travelers. The purpose of the survey will be to confirm both existing and future
air travel patterns, and the demand for passenger airline service in the Somerset region.
During the past two years, community leaders have been quietly working to develop new airline service at the Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (also
known by its three letter identification code, SME). This effort has included updating the market profile, establishing a target list of potential
providers of commercial air service and recruiting the providers to Lake Cumberland Regional.
The survey is targeted towards 137,000 Facebook users across southcentral Kentucky. In addition to Pulaski County, input is being sought from
residents of in Bell, Casey, Clay, Jackson, Knox, Laurel, Leslie, Lincoln, McCreary, Owsley, Rockcastle, Russell, Wayne and Whitley counties. The
survey can be accessed by visiting:
www.surveymonkey.com/s/somersetairtravelsurvey
This month two years ago as the economy continued to sour, Locair, a Florida-based airline carrier terminated passenger service at the airport here
following the expiration of a million-dollar federal grant that made the flights possible.
“Business and industry leaders throughout the region have asked repeatedly when air service will be restored to SME,” Shearer noted.
Today, with the stock market at its highest levels in years, and the number of people seeking unemployment near a four-year low, Somerset-Pulaski
County Development Foundation feels the time has come to respond.
The airport’s attractive $1 million terminal is now staffed and being used by the private aviation community as attested by a jet parked on the tarmac
outside the Kit Cowan Road terminal yesterday.
“The Foundation recognizes the important role that airline service can play in not only providing a valuable service for our residents, but also in
helping to attract new jobs to the region,” Shearer said.
As part of its efforts to restore air service at Lake Cumberland Regional, the Foundation retained Louisville-based consulting firm L.B. Schmidt &
Associates, LLC to assist in the effort. The consulting firm updated the market profile, which recognizes that the airport will serve 15 Kentucky
counties with a combined population of 384,000 people. The firm has also identified several potential providers of air service and has met with each
of these companies to introduce the Somerset market. The focus now turns to a regional survey of air travelers to fully understand where people from
this region travel to and how often.
“Today, we are announcing the launch of our survey which is open to any and all business and industry representatives, professionals and individuals
who travel by air for any reason—business or personal,” said Luke B. Schmidt, consultant to the Foundation. “We have designed a short, easy to
complete survey which will help us to understand just where people from this region fly to and how often they fly. And, in order to help drive
participation, we are using social media, specifically Facebook, in an effort to reach the largest number of potential users of SME airport.”
“The survey will help us to better understand the market and the demand for airline service in this region,” said Schmidt. “More importantly, a robust
level of participation in the survey will help to match this market to the right provider.”
The survey period will continue through February 24, 2012.
Somerset-Pulaski County Development Foundation serves as the economic development arm for the Somerset and Pulaski County, Kentucky region. The
Foundation facilitates the development of new jobs by recruiting world-class firms to the community and also assists existing business and industry
through the expansion of existing facilities.
Full story here:
http://somerset-kentucky.com/local/x290305509/Survey-may-att...
WHATEVER floats your boat Dude!
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laker53
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| Quote: | Originally posted by WaterWings
| Quote: | Originally posted by Pourme
You don't have to do market research to know that Somerset can't support this. Silly. |
Guess I have an old school MBA.
Profits and stock holder returns were always the driving force in any business venture.
Apparently, they looked into their crystal balls and saw a lot of potential revenue where the rest of us can not see it. Got to get me some balls like
that. |
It was always my OPINION Somerset was not the focus of profit-----it is a cost of doing business, and the profit center is in another city.
It is also my OPINION your MBA and crystal ball is working well-----this game is more like a jigsaw puzzle and this company has a view of ALL the
pieces---and more importantly, how they fit together----and the pieces that cost money-----and the pieces that make money.
This OPINION was reached using my MPA. The P adds some perspective for this situation.
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Scooter
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local here... I'd love to see it WORK. Some of the issue is getting folks to change their old habits. I don't think I've ever flown out or into LEX
without knowing at least a couple of people/families on the plane. Driving to (fill in- LEX TYS CVG BNA SDF) is just part of the trip culture here.
There are a good number of air travelers in the area.
I need to feel like I can catch a flight out of Somerset, and it's going to work. Outbound and inbound, whatever the connection. Give me a well
timed daily or 3 day a week ATL flight and we can plan around it for the convenience. Maybe a Th Fri / Su Mo Dayton flight you can book with your
houseboat rental? Not frikkin' Pink Ditch, South Virginia!
BUT..The powers that be can put flights in place that they want to, but marketing has to be part of the package too. A banner on the fence as your
primary advertising tool is a tad hillbilly even for South Central. When Azul Air left a plane in view from the most conjested road in town, tipped
downward in a ditch off the near side of the taxiway, that was some epic crappy marketing. (happened twice) The second was after the pull out
announcement, but it was still damaging to the airport. Kinda wiped out any warm fuzzys.
2 cents
SHO
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