Photo Credit: talgov.com
A new flight route through United Airlines may be conducted to Houston from Tallahassee after receiving the Small Community Air Service Development grant.
Tallahassee International Airport (TLH) is the only Florida recipient that will receive this grant by the Federal Department of Transportation.
The $750,000 grant underlines neighborhood endeavors to build air services and help decrease the cost of flights for passengers.
Tallahassee’s airport has recently changed to an international airport, in which they are competing with their rivalry airports in a business sector where a large portion of the travelers use that has less expensive flights.
TLH was previously unsuccessful receiving the federal grant leaving American Airline’s flight to Dallas the only route heading west.
Chris Curry, airport aviation director, believes that this will be huge for Tallahassee if the grant does in fact emerges. Tallahassee would have entry to the Houston center point and associations with 95 urban communities.
“This Small Community Air Service Development grant would be beneficial to obtaining future air service with United Airlines to their Houston hub,” Curry said. “We’re all working together on this.”
JetBlue Airways have recently received letters with a goal to set-up direct service to South Florida.
William Arnold, president of Arnold Hanafin Corp., an engineering firm in Boca Raton has thoughts of opening a small satellite site in Tallahassee.
“Right now we are sort of waiting to see if JetBlue comes in, and if they do, we’ll take it more seriously,” Arnold said.
This news is a relief for students in Tallahassee that travel home to Houston and South Florida.
Keana Highsmith, a third-year Public Relations student from Houston, Texas is ecstatic to hear that she may be able to take a direct flight home for a reasonable price.
“I have been in Tallahassee for three years and it has been hard trying to fly home to Houston,” Highsmith said. “If this does in fact happen, I will definitely fly more instead of driving those 10 hours.