Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan Weekend is
a weekly programmed designed to inform and enlighten on a
wide range of public policy issues, as well as news
and current events. Now here's your host, Phil Tower.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
It is West Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio. Thank you so
much for tuning in, and I guess we can say
Happy New Year.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Why not?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
It is a busy time of the year, lots of
air travel, and for that matter, it seems like air
travel is busy all year round. But have you ever
thought about flying out of Traverse City, Michigan. We thought
we'd check in with Kevin Klein, CEO of Cherry Capital
Airport with us on this segment of West Michigan Weekend. Kevin,
(00:45):
first of all, welcome to the program. So great to
have you here.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Hey, thank you for having me. It's great to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
You are growing, and you have been growing for years.
You've been with the airport, as I understand, for over
twenty years. You started as operations director, Is that right?
Speaker 4 (01:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (01:02):
I was the ops manager actually back in December of
two thousand and two is when I started. Shortly thereafter,
I was promoted to assistant director and then twenty eleven
airport director and then as we change to the authority.
It's been a great run here almost twenty three years now.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
You know, for those who fly out of Ford International
Airport and Grand Rapids maybe don't have a frame of
reference for Cherry Capital Airport.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
What should they know about the airport in general?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
I mean, it's such for a lot of people in
Grand Rapids, it's such a close drive.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
A lot of West.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Michigan residents spend significant time in Northern Michigan. It's easy
to overlook your airport as a great option. So what
should folks know about Cherry Capital Airport, Kevin Kline that
they don't know already?
Speaker 5 (01:51):
Well, one of the third largest airport in the state
of Michigan when it comes to passenger traffic, just behind
Detroit and Gerald R four as number one and number two.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
We're number three. And so we have six great airlines
that operate out of the airport with.
Speaker 5 (02:07):
Allegiant, Avello, American, Delta, United, and Sun Country, and we
serve twenty non stop destinations. We are heavily summer seasonal
with our flights and NonStop destinations. And so you know,
we're really that hub of Northern Michigan and especially northern
Lower Michigan for all things air service. So we continue
(02:32):
to grow with our passenger traffic. We've set records the
last several years. Twenty twenty three was our recent record
of seven hundred thousand and seven hundred thousand, six hundred
and ninety nine total passengers, and through November of twenty
twenty four, we've already passed that with seven hundred and
thirty three thousand total passengers.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
So we're looking to end up.
Speaker 5 (02:53):
Closely for twenty twenty four and that seven seventy five
area for total passengers almost an eleven percent increase in
passenger traffic for US. So we continue to grow. We
continue to see expanded air service coming into our market.
It's been, you know, I would say a path of
(03:14):
growth that's been very unusual for airports of our size
across the country because a lot of airports are size
has actually lost air service through the.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
Pandemic and even coming out of the pandemic.
Speaker 5 (03:26):
And so when we look at how airports are forming
and meeting the regional requirement and demand, Cherry Capitol Airport
is very primed in that position to do that, and
so I also love to say when you talk about
those in West Michigan and when we look at spring
break is a great example of those travelers and they're
(03:49):
looking around to find the best deals. So our spring
break is usually up here that last week of March,
where the West Michigan spring break is usually that first week.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Of April, and so we.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
See a lot of West Michigan travelers come up to
Traverse City to catchure our allegianate flights down to Florida
and to our destinations. And so because we can find
those I'll say off prices because of the week, and
the weeks are different and the demand then is different.
So sometimes we see our travelers during that week.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
In March, we'll go down to Grand Rapids, and then
we see the vice versa happen in the other week.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
I think I want to go back to what you said,
Kevin Klin, CEO of Cherry Capitol Airport, the third busiest
airport in the state of Michigan. I think that would
probably really surprise a lot of our listeners with looking
at you know, Flint and looking at Lancing, But that's
not surprising to me. If you unpack that a little
bit more. Kevin, You've got Petoski, You've got obviously Galered
(04:52):
so many cities across northern Michigan that that's not that
far of a flight. I'm thinking about Boyne and the
areas around there. A lot of people within your range,
and as you said, some people from the north of
Grand Rapids area, even Big Rapids and beyond, and Cadillac
(05:13):
makes a lot of sense to drive.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
There and it's easy to get to.
Speaker 5 (05:16):
You know, we have great, great road system that brings
everybody into us, and you're absolutely right.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
We have a large reach and that reach even goes
into the eastern half of the Upper Peninsula. When we
saw Allegiant come into.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
Our market, they really attracted from almost six hours away
and in the evening to Sus Saint Marie, Canada. So
we really have that large reach. We're excited to be
able to deliver and that's one thing that's leading to
our need to have in a terminal addition, to add
another four to five gates to meet that demand, because
(05:52):
we're seeing a change of the type of aircraft that
uses the airport. Years ago we saw the fifty seat
regional and that has grown to larger regional jets and
now mainline aircraft that we see with all of our
partners here at the airport. So we're seeing aircraft that
now have up to one hundred and ninety two seats
on board, and our terminal was really designed for that
(06:16):
fifty to seventy seat regional jets. So we're adding an
additional concourse and we're excited about that. That should begin
construction here in twenty twenty six. So we're finishing design
through twenty twenty five and looking at bonding in twenty
twenty five. And so we'll get all those particulars in
line and then for construction in twenty six and hopefully
(06:38):
complete it by twenty twenty eight to be able to
meet this demand.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Yeah, and the additional concourse would bring, as you said,
four more gates, a potential for a fifth. You already
have one concourse now with how many gates, Kevin Klin.
Speaker 5 (06:55):
So we have five gates here at the current concourse,
but with the demand that we're seeing right now, we've
had to lay out almost eight to nine additional spots
to make everything work. Sometimes we have to do some
ground loading, but yes, that's that we have five jet
bridges here at the current term.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
That's a good problem to have, Kevin.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
Growth is good.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Growth is good.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Indeed, you know, I think a lot of people may think, wow,
it can be very wintery in northern Michigan. How do
you fly planes out of there, especially when the weather
is an issue. But you guys are pros at that.
I mean you've seen this now for twenty two years
with your time at the airport. What's that like in
the winter time for flying and getting the airport ready
(07:41):
for planes to land and take off.
Speaker 5 (07:43):
Well, it's a twenty four hour operation when it comes
to that. We have an awesome snow removal team. They're
top notched, their award winning. But really the secret sauce
to it all comes down to we treat every aircraft operation, landing.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
Or takeoffs as a an event.
Speaker 5 (08:01):
So we want to make sure we have the best
surface for each operation that takes place. So when we
go out there, we plow, we sweep, we use our
snowblowers to move snow banks, and then we use sand.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
I always like to tell our community we bring the
beach to the airport in the wintertime, we use a
lot of sand, and.
Speaker 5 (08:23):
You really make sure each each day is well taken
care of to ensure we have the safest field for
the aircraft operations. But one of the most i say
biggest improvements to our airfield in the last twenty years
is a new instrument landing system for our runway ten.
And we've always had an instrument landing system on our
(08:44):
runway two eight and the end that's coming where you're
landing from the east to the west and we have
the west winds, but when we have some of our
major snowstorms, we would get east winds and we saw
over one hundred cancelations a year due to that phenomenon.
And what we really worked hard with the FAA to
(09:05):
get an instrument landing system in on a runway ten.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
What was the resistance?
Speaker 5 (09:09):
It is because of the change the satellite technology GPS approaches.
Everybody wanted to go to the new satellite, but what
we saw is the airlines are slow to make that
change and they like the historical instrument landing system.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
So we worked very hard to get that done and.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
Really went operational in December of twenty three, so it's
been up and operating for one year.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
I'm happy to report.
Speaker 5 (09:34):
We've had zero cancellations to those east winds situation, and
so our reliability for air service has increased dramatically.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Kevin Klein is CEO of Cherry Capital Airport. You can
learn more at TVC Airport dot com. That's tvcairport dot com.
A lot of exciting things going on at Cherry Capital Airport,
including a major expansion adding a new concourse with four
to five more gates. I know passengers love flying in
and out of your airport because it's just so easy
(10:07):
to get in and get out. But the bottom line
is just know that the growth is going to keep
on coming. Over seven hundred thousand passengers you said that
was twenty twenty three.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
I'm assuming you're going to continue.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
On that upward path, as you said, maybe seven hundred
and seventy five thousand, third busiest airport in the state
of Michigan. Wow, we've got about a minute left. Kevin,
Is there anything I didn't talk with you about that
our listeners should know of.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
Well, we're seeing expanded service already in the twenty twenty
five REALM so United Airlines is they started the Houston
service last summer on a Saturday only.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
They're going to go weekly through the.
Speaker 5 (10:50):
Summer period of that, I'll say six week prime summer.
Their Denver service is going to expand, I'll start earlier
in May and go almost through our into November. We're
also seeing a Vello add an additional weekly flight to
New Haven, Connecticut, so we'll see a Wednesday Saturday pattern there,
and even Delta Airlines just in the last twenty four
(11:10):
hours announced that the Atlanta flights in the summertime will
expand to not only the Saturday flights but Sunday and
start in early June and go through September. So it's
a great additional service coming in for twenty twenty five
for us.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
We're very excited for that.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
We welcome everybody to our airport and we want to
bring them into our up North Resort Feel airport to
fly out and really enjoy Northern Michigan.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
There's something about watching in aircraft clear the cloud cover
and approach in airport and land, same with taking off.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
I've always enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
I think there's almost a universal appreciation and enjoyment for
watching aircraft do their thing and the pilots do their things.
So it's exciting to know that that is what a gig.
Kevin Klein, you get to see that every day. I've
enjoyed my time with you very very much. Again, we
want to let listeners know they can learn more about
(12:11):
you and Cherry Capital Airport at tvcairport dot com.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
And I hope.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
When my time in Northern Michigan we get a chance
to connect. I know we have a mutual friend in
your Airport Authority board member Pauli Beach. Now, so tell
Pauli I said, Hi, okay, I.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Will do that. All appreciate it. He's a great person
to have on the board and represents.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Yes, he is gailored area so well, so he sure does.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Congratulations on all your success, all the exciting growth with
the Cherry Capital Airport. Kevin Klein, CEO of Cherry Capital
Airport with us on this segment of West Michigan Weekend.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
You've been listening to iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan
Weekend is a production of Wood Radio and iHeartRadio.