## Sponsor: Lakeland Linder Regional Airport

Eugene B. Conrad II, C.M.
, Airport Director

Dun & Brad street DUNS Number : 020997912 Tax Identification Number: 59

- 6000354 Congres sional District Code: FL

- 12 

# Lakeland Linder Regional Airport Lakeland, Florida

Application Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

For Ground Handling, Marketing, and Advertising Support

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## TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTORY LETTER

................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 3 SUMMARY INFORMATION (SOLICITATION APPENDIX C)

................................ ................................ ...... 4
INTRODU CTION

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 7
AIR SERVICE OVERVIEW

................................ ................................ ................................ ......................... 9

Catchment Area

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................ 9 Existing Air Service

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................... 10 Direct Air at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport

................................ ................................ ................................ ... 11


### AIR SERVICE NEEDS AND DEFICIENCIES

................................ ................................ .............................. 13

Leisure Service

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 13 High Fares from Central Florida

................................ ................................ ................................ ............................. 14
Hub Service

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................... 14 Regional Service

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 15


### STRATEGIC PLAN FOR NEW AIR SERVICE

................................ ................................ ............................. 16
Funds for Ground Handling Services

................................ ................................ ................................ .................... 17 Funds for Tailored Marketing Campaigns

................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 17 Air Service Dev elopment Efforts

................................ ................................ ................................ ............................ 18
Public

- Private Partnerships

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 20 Funding Plan

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................. 20 Implementation Timeline

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 21 Route to Sustainability

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 21 Monitoring Grant Progress

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 22 Legal Sponsor

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................ 22


### SUMMARY

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 23Lakeland Linder Regional Airport

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### INTRODUCTORY LETTERLakeland Linder Regional Airport

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### SUMMARY INFORMATION (SOLICI TATION APPENDIX C )

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### A. Applicant Information (Check All That Apply)

N ot a Consortium Interstate Consortium Intrastate Consortium Community now receives EAS subsidy Community (or Consortium member) previously received a Small Community Grant If previous recipient: D ate of Grant:

__ ____________ Expirati on date of Grant: _______________ Federal Funds Requested: ________________________________________________________________ Carrier(s) Service Obtained: ______________________________________________________________ Destination(s) Served: ___________

_________________________________________________________ 

### B. Public/Private Partnership (List Organization Names)

Public:

1. City of Lakeland 2. Central Florida Visitor and Convention Bureau

Private:

1. Central Florida Development Council of Polk County 2. Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce 3. Lakela nd Economic Development Council 4. Polk Vision 5. Columbia Air Services



### C. Project Proposal (Check All That Apply)

Marketing Upgrade Aircraft New Route
Travel Bank Service Restoration Subsidy Surface Transportation Regional Service Revenue Guarantee Launch New Carrier Start

- U p Cost Offset First Service Study Secure Additional Service Other ( explain below )Lakeland Linder Regional Airport

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### D. Existing Landing Aids at Airport

Full ILS Outer/Middle Marker Published Instrument Approach
Localizer Other:



### E. Project Cost: Do Not Enter Text in Shaded Area

Line Description Sub Total Total Amount 1 Federal amount requested $ 500,000 2 State cash financial contribution $

- Local cash financial contribution 3a Airport cash funds $ 100,000 3b Non

- airport cash funds $ 200,000 3 Total local cash funds (3a+3b) $ 300,000 4 TOTAL CASH FUNDING (1+2+3) $ 800,000 In

- Kind contribution 5a Airport In

- Kind contribution** $

- 5b Other In

- Kind contribution** $

- 5 TOTAL IN

- K IND CONTRIBUTION (5a+5b) $

- 6 TOTAL PROJECT COST (4+6) $ 800,000



### F. In

- Kind Contributions**

For Fun d s in lines 5a (Airport In

- Kind Contribution) and 5b (Other In

- Kind Contribution), please des c ribe the sour ce(s) of fund(s) for each.Lakeland Linder Regional Airport

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### G. Is Application Subject to Review by State Under Executive Order 12372 Process?

a. This application was made available to the s tate under the Executive Order 12372
Process for review on (dat e)

_ _____ _____. b. Program is subject to E.O. 12372, bu t has not been selected by the state for review. c. Program is not covered by E.O. 12372



### H. Is Applicant Delinquent on any Federal Debt? (If “Yes”, Provide E xplanation)

No Yes

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________Lakeland Linder Regional Airport

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### INTRODUCTION

On March 30 , 2011, Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL) was reintroduced to the national air service system
with an announcement from Part 380 public charter operator Direct Air that it would begin flights from the airport on June 23

. By all accounts, most of the services were successful. In fact, within two weeks of the initial announcement, Direct Air announced additional flights and cities

. Underperforming routes were quickly
removed from the network and reallocated to the more successful routes. In February 2012, three additional
destinations were announced.

The success that Direct Air created, in terms of attracting passengers to Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, was not surprising. The airport is located just off Interstate 4 in Central Florid a, midway between the beaches of St. Petersburg/Clearwater and the theme parks of Central Florida. The tourism attractions and venues of both

areas are well

- known throughout the world and draw millions of visitors every year. The very strong draw of
Cent ral Florida combined with low

- fare flights to underserved and previously un

- served markets is a traditional airline recipe for success.

Capitalizing on this strategic location, the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, in partnership with the FAA, the City

o f Lakeland, and the State of Florida, committed $9.8 million dollars over several years to develop Lakeland Linder as a commercial service airport. Years of hard work culminated on June 23, 2011, when the first Direct Air scheduled public charter MD80 took off for Myrtle
Beach.

As reported in the airport’s 2011 Small Community Air Service Development Grant application, the airport had been preparing to “take the next step” on its growth path. The next step was envisioned to include numerous components, i ncluding growing the low

- fare, less

- than

daily flight offerings, as well as to recruit network carrier hub service and regional intrastate flights.

The timing for growth at the airport could not be better, Exhibit 1: Lakeland Linder Regional Airport LocationLakeland Linder Regional Airport

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- 0 069 8 as the community and region have numerous positiv e trends. The amusement park business is booming. The addition of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter has dramatically increased visitation to Universal’s Island of Adventure. In nearby Winter Haven , Merlin Entertainment opened the second U.S. location for LEGOLand. The new amusement park completely redeveloped the site previously occupied by Cypress Gardens and, similar to its Florida competitors, is intended to be the largest park in its brand. LEGOLand opened to great fanfare in
October 2011. These developments have helped the region’s tourism industry remain relevant and fresh, and eased the impact of the recession.

There are other elements in place to create successful air service at LAL. The Lakeland

- Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area ( MSA) is the largest in Florida without air service. In fact, it is substantially larger than communities with significant air service. Directly across the street from the airport is the headquarters of Publix Supermarkets

– a strong user of air service , the second largest private company in Florida

, a nd the county’s largest employer.

G iven the positive results in our community, the March 13, 2012 system

- wide suspension of service and bankruptcy filing by Direct Air was surprising. All indications were that service in Lakeland was successful. In fact, company executives visi ted the airport just weeks earlier to announce additional flights

. Nevertheless, the airport will press forward, restoring air service while diversifying the types of services offered in Lakeland

.

In order t o entice air carrier oper ations, t he a irport and its community partners need cost effective ground handling services and marketing dollars to aid prospective airlines in establishing successful operations . This Grant application requests $ 500 ,000 in Department funding matched by $ 300 ,000 in local funds. The total of $ 800 ,000 will give the Airport the tool s it needs to successfully restore air service to Lakeland . The new service will lower the cost
of travel to Central Florida, improve access to the region for tourists, residents, and businesses, and thus confer a significant local economic benefit. This modest Grant funding request is entirely consistent with the purpose of the Grant Program
, and Department funds will enable new air service that will have a significant positive loc al economic impact. Exhibit 2: 60 and 90 Minute Drive Radius from

Lakeland Linder Regional Airport Source: Sixel Consulting GroupLakeland Linder Regional Airport

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### AIR SERVICE OVERVIEW

Catchment Area

Lakeland Linder Regional Airport is situated just a few miles south of Interstate 4 midway between the theme parks of O rlando and the beaches of the Tampa Bay area. LAL is less than 42 miles fr om the Main Gate
entrance of the Walt Disney World Resort, which attracts over fifty million visitors annually. In fact, of
the three ultra

- low

- cost airports in Central Florida,
Lakeland is closer, on
average , to all of the
attractions than the other
two airports. Additionally, LAL is the closest airport to LEGOLand Florida, the region’s newest theme park.

The convenient location of Lakeland Linder Regional Airport extends beyond
tourists to the residents of
Central Florida. Due to the location of the airport and convenient access to Interstate 4, Lakeland Linder Regional Airport is accessible by almost five million residents within a 90

- minute drive. This are a includes all of Tampa and St. Petersburg, as well as substantial portions of the Sarasota/Br adenton and Orlando areas. Almost 2 million people live with in a 60

- minute drive. The airport is located in the Lakeland

- Winter Haven MSA, which is comprised entirely of Polk County. Polk County alone has a population of almost 600,000 people, making it the largest MSA in Florida without air service

– larger than Melbourne, Pensacola, or Panama City.

Within close proximity of the airport are two major travel organizations: LEGOLand Florida and Publix Supermarkets. LEGOLand is just 23 road miles from t he airport, in nearby Winter Haven. The Florida park is Exhibit 3: Average Distance from Lakeland Linder to Area Attractions Source: Google MapsLakeland Linder Regional Airport

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- 0 069 10 designed to be the largest LEGOLand in the chain, drawing over two million annual visitors. Within weeks of the park’s October 2011 opening, Merlin Entertainment announced a waterpark expansion whic h is already in operation for Summer 2012.

Publix Supermar kets is a n employee

- owned grocery store headquartered in Lakeland since
19 51

. With over $27 Billion in retail sales, Publix is the second largest private com pa ny in Florida and one of the top 10 largest volume supermarkets in the U.S. The corporate campus is located directly adjacent to Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, where the company bases its private aircraft.



### Existing Air Service

Central Florida ha s several airports, including Orl ando International, Orlando

- Sanford International, Tampa International, and St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airports. Although these airports collectively have extensive operations, they do not meet all of the market demands. In fact, there are o ver forty airports with over 10 passengers per day each way (PDEW) to Central Florida without nonstop flights. As Southwest
continues to reduce its AirTran subsidiary’s operations to smaller cities, this list will actually grow. Many of these
cities are ideal candidates for less

- than

- daily leisure service, similar to the flights provided by Direct Air.

The large Central Florida airports also do not provide adequate regional and intrastate service to the residents
and businesses of Lakeland and Winter Hav en. While the larger airports have regional services provided on a variety of carriers, it is simply not competitive with the automobile. The hour drive

- time to Tampa International and Orlando International Airports combined with long and variable securi ty lines, parking and other hassles, simply eliminate any of the value to residents of Polk County. So, residents of the Lakeland

- Winter Haven MSA find other ways to travel. Publix Supermarkets maintains a small fleet of regional aircraft at Lakeland Lin der Exhibit 4: Lakeland

- Winter Haven Population Versus Other Florida MSAs Source: U.S. Census BureauLakeland Linder Regional Airport

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- 0 069 11 Regional Airport to ensure it can access its network of grocery stores and production facilities. Area residents likely drive when they travel within Florida or nearby states.



### Direct Air at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport

In 2007, the ultra

- low c ost carrier Skybus took to the skies. Skybus showed great interest in offering service to the region at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. Unfortunately, the airport was not prepared for Skybus to immediately offer service. The airport quickly began prep aring, bringing in experienced people and renovating the terminal. By the time the necessary facilities were in place, Skybus had ceased flying.

The seed had been planted, however, that Lakeland Linder Regional Airport was an ideal airport for a low

- co st airline to
serve Central Florida. The community could point to success at other airports and its fast growing population as indicators of potential success at LAL. In early 2011, efforts to recruit an airline were successful, with Direct Air announcin g on March
30 th that flights from Lakeland Linder Regional Airport would begin in on June 23 rd . Direct Air announced additional flights and destinations just a few weeks later on April 10 th

.

The initial group of flights began June 23 rd , with flights to
N iagara Falls, NY, Springfield, IL, and Hagerstown, MD. The Hagerstown flights had a stop at Myrtle Beach, thus four total
destinations were offered. The initial results were solid with Niagara Falls load factors exceeding 90% during the first two
full mo nths of operations. Springfield showed great promise. The flights to Myrtle Beach and Hagerstown lagged the others, and were therefore discontinued by the end of
the summer.

In November, the Myrtle Beach/Hagerstown flights were replaced with service to Plattsburgh, NY. All three markets improved through the winter months. During the peak Spring travel season, beginning in mid

- February, all three markets were running load factors near 100%. Exhibit 5: Direct Air Routes at ShutdownLakeland Linder Regional Airport

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- 0 069 12 As the peak travel season began, Direct Air executives
also travelled to Lakeland to announce new service. On February 15, 2012, Direct Air announced new flights
between Lakeland Linder Regional Airport and
Columbus Rickenbacker International Airport, Gulfport/Biloxi International Airport, and Pittsburgh
Internat ional Airport, with flights to commence in the early part of the summer, around the one

- year anniversary of commercial service at the airport.

Given the level of passenger traffic being achieved and the announcement of additional flights, the suspension of service came as a complete surprise to the airport. All communications with the carrier were positive, and in fact, Direct Air privately discussed potential additional investments in the airport and community. Direct Air suspended all flights in its n etwork on March 12, 2012.

Technical Note: Because Direct Air operated under FAR Part 380 regulations, the carrier did not report data to the Department as
most airlines d o. Thus, the data presented is as the carrier reported to the Lakeland Linder Regi onal Airport. Exhibit 6: Direct Air Load Factors by Route Source: Lakeland Linder Regional Airport

Exhibit 7: Direc t Air Passengers per Month by Route Source: Lakeland Linder Regional AirportLakeland Linder Regional Airport

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### AIR SERVICE NEEDS AND DEFICIENCIES

Leisure Service

Tourism is a critical industry in Central Florida

. The destinations in our region are known throughout the world. Over 200,000 people , on average, visit the region’s amusement parks eve ry day. The Pinellas County Visitors and Convention Bureau estimates the county receives about 5.2 million visitors per year. About 20% of those visitors also include a stop at the theme parks of Orlando.

The theme parks in Orlando are also growing

– both in physical size and capacity, as well as visitors. Leading the way is Universal Orlando
Islands of Adventure. The park’s new Wizarding World of Harry Potter area has been deemed responsible for a 30% increase in visitation to that park, as well as a slight increase at neighboring Universal Studios Florida. Some media have reported rumors of this success leading to additional Harry Potter themed areas. Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is also undergoing renovation to its Fantasyland area, which wi ll double the capacity of that part of the park along with adding a new roller coaster, several restaurants and other attractions. As discussed earlier, LEGOLand Florida has also opened in very close proximity to Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, and is e xpected to draw about two million visitors per
year.

Despite the growth in theme park attendance, traffic at Orlando airports has been down in recent years, and remains slightly below the levels of 2007. There are over forty markets within 1,400 miles of Central Florida with more than ten passengers per day each way which lack any nonstop service to our area. At the larger end of the scale, there are markets with significant traffic numbers driven by existing low fare carriers, however no flights. On th e smaller end of the group are markets which fit the profile for service and fare stimulation by a
less

- than

- daily carrier. Exhibit 8: Large Markets within 1,400 Miles of Central Florida without Nonstop Flights Source: U.S. DOT Data, Table DB1ALakeland Linder Regional Airport

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### High Fares from Central Florida

Central Fl orida is known as a region with typically low cost airlines and low fares

. This is not universally true. In fact, low fares to Central Florida are typically driven by low

- cost carriers who offer nonstop flights to the regio n. As ide ntified previously , there are numerous communities who do not have such access.

The communiti es without access to Central Florida, via nonstop and low

- cost carrier flights, have much hi gher fares than nearby airports with such service. Some communities have a fare difference in excess of $100 versus nearby communities, which likely restricts the use of air servi ce for vacations to Florida.

Every additional airline seat to Central Florida is critical, as each additional visitor t o the region generates about $160 in e conomic activity, per day. Thus, a new flight flown twice a week could generate an economic benefit as much as $3.1 million, annually. Every small city with service to Central Florida, also benefits the origin airport s and t heir ability to recruit air service, many of whom also reques t fund ing through this grant program to do so.



### Hub Service

While tourism , and the leisure focused air service supporting it, is a very large and important part of the Central
Fl orida economy, it is not the only air service deficiency from LAL

. The Lakeland

- Winter Haven MSA is the largest MSA in Florida without commercial air service. Between 2000 and 2010, the population of the MSA grew 21% to over 565,000 people. The Lakeland area has a larger population than the Daytona Beach or Melbourne area s , both of which have air service by multiple carriers to multiple hubs using large narrow

- body equipment . The population of the region is more than double that of Gainesville, Fort Wal ton Beach, Panama City, or the
Florida K eys, all of which have substantial air service to multiple air carrier hubs. Exhibit 9 : Fare Difference Between Neighboring Markets With and Without Nons top Flights to Central Florida Source: U.S. DOT Data, Table DB1ALakeland Linder Regional Airport

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### Regional Service

The Lakeland Linder Regional Airport is ideal for the development of regional airline service. Located directly across the street from the airport’s passenger terminal is the headquarters for Publix Supermarkets. The company operates a chain of supermarkets throughout Florida and the southeast, with concentrations in Atlanta, Nashville, Alabama, and South Carolina. Publix also o perates several private aircraft to access their stores.

The private flights operated by Publix illustrate the deficiencies in regional air service provided by the larger airports in Central Florida. The large airports are approximately an hour by car fr om the
Lakeland and Winter Haven areas. This
travel time combined with the time for parking, shuttle buses, and security checks eliminate the ability of these services to compete for regional air passengers from Lakeland. The regional air service simply provides no speed advantage to the final
destination.

However, regional flights from Lakeland Linder Regional Airport would eliminate all of these issues. Our parking
facilities are steps from the small but effective terminal building. Given the capacit y o f our terminal and potential regional aircraft, security screening is likely to have minimal waits that passengers can depend on. Thus regional flights from Lakeland Linder Regional Airport would offer passengers a true time savings and be competitive with the automobile and private flights for Publix, as well as other Polk County businesses and
residents. Exhibit 10 : Publix Supermarket Locations Source: Publi x SupermarketsLakeland Linder Regional Airport

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### STRATEGIC PLAN FOR NEW AIR SERVICE

Lakeland Regional Airport believes that in order to successfully recruit air service, we need to meet the needs of
th ree different business models:

 Small Jet Legacy Carriers for access to major carrier hubs and networks.
 Ultra

- low

- cost carriers which can provide point

- to

- point service in certain types of city

- pairs.
 Regional / niche carriers which can provide specialized intrastate air service.

Although the three business models are very different, they have demands that are similar to what a small airport like Lakeland Linder Regional can provide . All of these carriers demand a low

- cost, yet efficient airport,
an ultra

- convenient terminal building including predictable and shor t security lines , and appropriately scaled amenities. Thus, the Airport’s guiding strategic principals are:
 Develop a state

- of

- art airport facility that can offer ultra

- low costs for airlines, give passengers a pleasant transit experience and one that is convenient to all of Central Florida.
 Develop on

- field airport

- operated Ground Handling service , including above and below wing service
and low

- cost fueling service.
 Bring together the local tourism and economic development organizations, and reach agreeme nt that potential new carriers will be able to reach commercial terms on the third

- party sale of Central Florida hotel/motel rooms, rental cars and other leisure activities via the carrier’s ancillary service offerings.
 Work with prominent local companie s such as Publix Supermarkets to assess their commercial travel needs and assist in communicating those needs to potential carriers.
 Recruit carriers aggressively ; listen to their needs and concerns and respond as possible.
 Build a significant marketing an d advertising fund for use in partnership with carriers to support their market entry and address their number one concern : how to market new air service to Central Florida, which has not traditionally had such service.

In order to put all of the elements in place, the airport is request ing a Small Community Air Service Development Grant in the amount of $ 500 ,000 . These funds will be combined with local funds of $ 300 ,000 for

a n $ 800 ,000 total project. The project has two major elements: to establish airpo rt operated ground handling services; to create marketing campaigns tailored to the services we are able to recruit.Lakeland Linder Regional Airport

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### Funds for Ground Handling Services

This application for funding through the Small Community Air Service Development Grant program anticip ates
that $ 500 ,000 will be utilized for Ground Handling Services. Lakeland Linder regional Airport already owns much of the ground handling equipment necessary for commercial air service. Th r ough a Florida Department of Transportation grant

, the airport acquire d the ground equipment used by Direct Air employees for processing flights.

Potential air carriers have indicated that the availability of complete ground handling services make commencing operations at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport more feasible in th e short term. Because the airport owns the equipment and there is no appropriate vendor on the field, the airport is prepared to assume this role with assistance from the grant. It is envisioned that the ground handling funding requested will provide
for the recruitment and training of employees, acquisition of additional equipment, if needed, and ability to provid e reduced cost ground handling services to new air carriers at the airport.



### Funds for Tailored Marketing Campaigns

This proposal anticipates $ 300 ,000 in marketing campaigns for the air servic e we are able to recruit. The exact marketing strategy to be employed will not be determined until after the airport and carrier have reached an agreement. However, the marketing plan will be tailored to the type of service recruited:

 Small Jet Legacy C arriers will demand significant marketing in our region to inform residents that service
from Lakeland Linder Regional Airport is available, affordable, and convenient. We would also envision a targeted campaign to the legacy carrier’s frequent flyers who travel to our area
, and a targeted campaign to ensure local business es are able to use the new air service.
 Ultra

- low

- cost carriers are likely to treat Lakeland Linder Regional Airport primarily as a destination. Marketing efforts in these cases will be focused on the origin market. In most cases, the carrier will also be working with the origin airport

. We envision these marketing efforts to be collaborative efforts.
 Regional / niche carriers will require a combination of marketing efforts within our r egion and the origin region of each route. However, because these tend to be niche routes with a specific customer base in mind, the marketing campaign would be specific to the anticipated passenger base.Lakeland Linder Regional Airport

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- 0 069 18 While the details of the exact media to be use d ca nnot be known at this time, we expect marketing campaigns to include :

 Radio promotions and ticket/hotel give

- a

- ways

.  Billboards emphasizing the destination and carrier in addition to the airport.
 E

- mail and postal mailings to targeted potential customers

.  Sales presentations / meetings with critical companies and organizations.
 Online advertising tied to internet search engines and online travel agencies key to searches about
travel to Central Florida or the markets served with our new air service.
 Grass ro ots efforts in our community designed to maximize local exposure

.  Close coordination with existing destination marketing campaigns outside of this program, organized by other organizations such as the Central Florida Development Council of Polk County, the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce and the Lakeland Economic Development Council

.



### Air Service Development Efforts

Lakeland Linder Regional Airport has been committed to the development of air service since 2007

. Air Service Development initiatives cont inued, even after the airport successfully recru it ed Direct Air in early 2011. After the initial launch of service, the airport worked with Direct Air to create additional flights, up to the February 2012 announcement of flights to Columbus, Gulfport/Bil oxi, and Pittsburgh. The airport also continued recruiting efforts with other carriers, conducting over 20 airline meetings thus far in 2012. The carriers targeted for meetings encompassed all three potential business models, as well as international car riers. Additionally, the airport sponsored several events at the Routes Americas and Network Air service development conferences to ensure the airline planner community is aware of opportunities available at the airport.

Specific air service development initiatives since 2007 include:

2007

- 2008

 Participated in an extensive process attempting to secure service from Skybus Airlines, including making infrastructure improvements.Lakeland Linder Regional Airport

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- 0 069 19 2009

 Hired new airport director Eugene B. Conrad III, C.M. who has signific ant experience in recruiting commercial service to small communities including being part of the team that opened Branson Airport, which was the first privately developed and operated commercial service airport in the country.

2010

 LAL secured funding for and launched a major project to develop the infrastructure required to support
scheduled service.
 LAL recruited Sky King ’ s corporate headquarters and maintenance operations to the airport with a key motivation being to establish a base from which they could offer scheduled charter service.
 In the summer of 2010 the airport funded an air service study.
 In the summer of 2010 LAL started holding meetings with targeted communities interested in low fare service to the Central Florida region.
 LAL spoke with multip le carriers who are interested in providing service to the market.
 LAL held meetings with the FAA Administrator, Randy Babbitt.
 LAL created marketing materials to promote the airport and to start preparing the community that commercial service is coming.
 I n the fall of 2010 LAL held meetings with Direct Air regarding market potential. The carrier committed in the spring of 2011 to serve the market starting in June 2011.

2011

 LAL attended the Network Conference in Austin, Texas, in March of 2011 and met with six low cost or less

than

- daily airlines.
 Final recruitment and m arketing of the new Direct Air service began in earnest in early 2011, with expenditures for the year of more than $200,000 across many media venues.

2012

 LAL attended several air service de velopment conferences, conducting over 20 meetings with carriers from all business segments, including international carriers

.  Sponsored events at Routes Americas and Network air service development conferences to ensure publicity to airline plannersLakeland Linder Regional Airport

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### Pub lic

- Private Partnership s

The Airport’s government and private sector partners in air service development include:

 The City of Lakeland, Florida (public member)

– The City committed over $2.2 million dollars ($1.8 for infrastructure and $400,000 for studi es, recruiting and marketing) since 2007 to the effort to make the Airport ready for commercial air service. The City also provides Crash/Fire/Rescue (ARFF) services and police services for the Airport at no charge.
 Central Florida Visitor and Convention Bureau (public member)

– The CVB is instrumental in attracting visitors to Lakeland, Winter Haven, and all of Polk County. It has committe d $ 2 00,000 in 201 2 to assist in
air service restoration

.  Central Florida Development Council of Polk County ( private member)

– The CFDC is itself a public/private partnership of government and private entities wor king together to further economic development in Polk County.
 Polk Vision (private member)

– Polk Vision is an association dedicated to establishing and meeting long

term goals for eco nomic and social infrastructure development in Polk County.
 Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce (private member)

– The Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce
is a not

- for

- profit organization representing the interests of its 1,700 business members and facilitatin g economic growth in the area.
 Lakeland Economic Development Council (private member)

– The LEDC is a private non

- profit association with 175 member companies. The ECDC’s primary job is to expand economic and job opportunities for area residents and recrui t new businesses to the area.
 Columbia Air Services (private member)

– Columbia Air Services is a network of full service FBOs. The Lakeland operation provides full FBO services for both general aviation and airline operations at
Lakeland Linder.


### Funding P lan

Lakeland Linder Regional Airport Authority and its partn ers are requesting grant funds in the amount of $ 500 ,000 from the Department. This funding will be matched by $ 300 ,000 in local funding

- $ 200 ,000 provided by Central
Florida Visitor and Convention Bureau and $ 100 ,000 provided by Lakeland Linder Regional Airport . Thus the airport and its partners will fund 38 % of the $ 800 ,000 marketing and ground handling project.Lakeland Linder Regional Airport

Application Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program; Docket DOT

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- 201 2

- 0 069 21 While we cannot know the exact expenditure rate for Grant funding, we bel ieve that Grant supported marketing efforts will be distributed throughout the year 2012 and 2013, as appropriate for optimum support of
new air service. The timing of the ground handling portion of the project will be tied to the specific needs of
recruit ed air carriers and timing of flights added to the airport. Thus
, the Airport requests that its Grant have at
least a two

- year term.

The airport also requests the flexibility to alt er the amount of funding devoted to each component of the project, if necessary, based on the needs if the carrier(s) recruited and in consultation with the Department.



### Implementation Timeline

Applications for Small Community Air Service Development Grants are due to the department on June 11, 2012. It is anticipated that awards will be granted in the Third Quarter of 2012. Based upon that timeline, the airport has developed the timeline displayed in Exhibit 1 1

. The timeline is tentative and will be driven by
numerous items outside the airports control, including the Department’s granting of awards and air carrier start
dates

. The airport will take all actions necessary on its part to remain on the timeline illustrated.



### Route to Sustainability

Ground handling services or m arket ing and promotion alone cannot make a new air service successful, nor be its downfall. However, the Airport and all Grant stakeholders recognize that marketing and promotion are an essential element of a successful new air service. Airport

- provided and re duced

- cost ground handling cannot make a route profitable for an airline, but can provide a critical tool for risk mitigation that the airport will be able to use to encourage new air service.

Exhibit 1 1 : Implementation TimelineLakeland Linder Regional Airport

Application Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program; Docket DOT

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- 201 2

- 0 069 22 

### Monitoring Grant Progres s

The airport will monitor performa nce of the grant and submit quarterly summaries to the Department.
Performance measurements will include:

 Status and activity related to air service recruitment efforts.
 Communications with the air carrier to review advanced bookings.
 Monitoring of Touris t Development Council website and inquiry activity for trends.
 Review ing and Monitoring of Department data sources including T

- 100 and Table DB1A.



### Legal Sponsor

Lakeland Linder Regional Airport is the legal sponsor for this project. Airport Director Eug ene B. Conrad III, C

. M

. , will be responsible for the administration of the grant. O versight will include (but not be limited to):

 Liaison with the Department, including the timely filing of all quarterly Grant status update reports
 Conclusion of all agree ments with prospective airlines to serve the Airport
 Coordination and oversight of the implementation of Grant

- supported marketing and promotional
efforts
 Oversight and coordination of the regular performance reviews of Grant

- supported efforts to ensure
pr ogram success  Approval of all expenditures of Grant funding, in close coordination with the Department and Grant program stakeholders

The contact information for the Legal Sponsor is:

Lakeland Linder Regional Airport Eugene B. Conrad III, C.M. Airport Dir ector 3900 Don Emerson Drive, Suite 210

, Lakeland , Florida 33811 (863) 834

- 3298 Gene.Conrad@lakelandgov.netLakeland Linder Regional Airport

Application Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program; Docket DOT

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- 0 069 23 

### SUMMARY

Lakeland Linder Regional Airport is in an ideal location to serve a number of needs in the Central Florida economy. The airport is in the center of the region ’ s tourism industry and closer to the Walt Disney World resort
than the other low

- cost Central Florida airports. The airport has the potential to serve unique traffic bases, including local businesses such as Publix Supermarkets. The opportunity for regional air service is large, as this segment of the market is not adequately served through the larger regional airports.

With Direct Air, the airport has a proven track record in the less

- than

- daily leisure air service business se gment

. The airport hosted well over 7 0,000 passengers in just eight months of operations, and was likely to exceed over 100,000 passengers in its first year. This success was driven by a unique partnership between the carrier, the airport, and the community.

In this Grant proposal the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport is seeking a modest amount of Grant funding with a healthy local cash match in order to provide ground handling service, marketing

, and promotion of restored air service at the airport with new c arriers

.

While the airport’s demonstrated success thus far is in the leisure segment, that success has motivated the community towards broadening the reach and services offered at the airport. The commitment to “taking the next step” in our air service d evelopment has only been strengthened by the challenges associated with the suspension of flights by Direct Air.

The Airport and its partners thank the Department for its consideration of this application.