Proposal Under the Small Community Air 

Service Development Program, Docket 

DOT-OST-2010-0124

Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport 

Authority

DUNS 09-741-7349

Congressional District Code: 05 & 07
100 Bowen Loop, Suite 200

Charlottesville, VA 22911

Ph: 434"973"8342

Fax: 434"974"7476

August 26, 2010

Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE!!

Washington, DC 20590

RE:!! Small Community Air Service Development Program!!

DOCKET DOT"OST"2010"0124

Charlottesville"Albemarle Airport Authority Grant Application

Dear Sir/Madam:

Included with this letter is Charlottesville"Albemarle Airport’s (CHO) Small Community Air

Service Development Program grant application. The Charlottesville Albemarle Airport

Authority has formed a public"private partnership with eighteen other organizations for the

purpose of securing commercial air service deemed critical to the economic development of the

region. Prior to filing this application, CHO conducted extensive research and analysis of the

local air service market and completed passenger and profitability projections for the air service

proposed herein.!!

The purpose of this grant is to:

! Provide new nonstop service to Chicago"O’Hare International Airport which is

considered vital to the local business community and leisure travelers as well;

! Help mitigate leakage to surrounding regional airports; and

! Backfill recently lost hub service to Detroit.

The attached application meets the priorities established by the Secretary of Transportation:

! These improvements will provide benefits to a broad segment of the traveling public,

including businesses, educational institutions, and other enterprises, whose access to

the national air transportation system is limited due to the recent loss of Detroit service;

! The community has established a public"private partnership to facilitate air carrier

service to the public;

! The community will provide a portion of the cost of the total proposed air service

program; and





Proposal Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

Docket #OST-2010-0124

Table of Contents

1. The CHO Market................................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Catchment Area ..................................................................................................................1

1.2 Demographics .....................................................................................................................4

2. Air Service Issues at CHO................................................................................................. 7

2.1 Current O&D Passengers ...................................................................................................7

2.2 Current Scheduled Service at CHO is Not Adequate and Dominated by Turboprop 

Equipment .........................................................................................................................................8

2.3 CHO Has High Fares Compared to Peer Markets ............................................................10

2.4 CHO Leaks Significant Amounts of Traffic to Other Airports.............................................12

2.5 CHO Air Service Development Efforts ..............................................................................16

3. Project Overview and Action Plan ................................................................................. 17

3.1 A Well Developed Public-private partnership ....................................................................17

3.2 Business Case for CHO-ORD...........................................................................................17

3.3 Support Plan for New Air Service......................................................................................22

3.4 Project Sustainability After Grant Expiration .....................................................................25

3.5 Funding Plan.....................................................................................................................25

3.6 Prior SCASDP Grant Award..............................................................................................27

4. Project Implementation Plan .......................................................................................... 28

4.1 Schedule ...........................................................................................................................28

4.2 Progress Reporting and Performance Measures ..............................................................28
Proposal Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

Docket #OST-2010-0124 1

1.The CHO Market

1.1 Catchment Area

The City of Charlottesville, the county seat of 

Albemarle County, is located 115 miles from 

Washington, DC, and is essentially halfway between 

Boston and Atlanta. Centrally located in Virginia, 

Charlottesville is about 70 miles from the state capitol 

of Richmond. The City sits on the Rivanna River 

sandwiched between the Southwest Mountains and 

Blue Ridge Mountains.

The greater Charlottesville region is connected,

anchored and boasts an enhanced healthcare 

environment:

Connected

With convenient access to major highways, an intensely creative culture and close proximity to larger 

metropolitan areas, the region is an emerging center for new business development in communication, 

information technology, biotechnology, light manufacturing and distribution.

Anchored

Home of the University of Virginia, one of the nation’s premier academic and research institutions, the area 

is host to more than two dozen wineries and some of the nation’s most acclaimed vintners that add to the 

backdrop of largely agricultural settings and mountain views.

Enhanced Healthcare Environment

The availability of outstanding healthcare services not only represents a rapidly growing component of the 

regional economy, but is an amenity that enhances the environment for both businesses and residents.

The University of Virginia Health Sciences Center is a major teaching and research 650-bed hospital that 

has a Level One trauma center, offers medi-vac helicopter service, and ranks among the 100 best hospitals 

in the United States.

Throughout the region there are five hospitals, including Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, which

is currently moving to an 84-acre Outpatient Care Center.
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Charlottesville’s employment is supported by the following major industries:

! Retail

! Lodging

! Construction

! IT & professional services

! Healthcare

! Electronic equipment & instruments

! Publishing & broadcasting

! Finance & insurance

Kiplinger.com recently named Charlottesville as 

the fourth best city in America for jobs. Cities on 

this list have strong job markets, but are 

expected to create new, well-paying positions. 

Specifically, the report stated that, “The home of Thomas Jefferson's university is an unexpected blend of 

Southern charm and liberal edge, with a strong business base.”

Two local companies that generate significant business travel include Sperry Marine and GE Fanuc 

Automation. With 800 employees locally and 1300 worldwide, Sperry Marine has large interest in local 

airport connectivity. An average of 400 engineers travel annually with a travel budget well over a million 

dollars. GE Fanuc Automation has its world headquarters in Charlottesville, and numerous other 

operations located in the Americas, Europe & Asia, hence airline connections and reliability dictate its 

choice in airports.

Another significant impact on employment and business travel in the region is the Defense Intelligence 

Agency’s (DIA) relocation of over 800 jobs to the Charlottesville area. The 170,000 square-foot facility, a 

2005 Base Realignment and Closure authorization, was completed in May of 2010. To date, over 25 

defense contractors have moved within a 20 mile radius of CHO to better serve the DIA. The facility will 

merge intelligence operations -- approximately 800 people from DIA and 200 from the Army National 

Ground Intelligence Center. The Defense Department estimates this move will bring 2,500 additional longterm jobs to the Charlottesville, VA region.
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Docket #OST-2010-0124 3

Other employers in the area include:

o American Press (Commercial printing)

o Crutchfield Corporation (Electronics 

retailer)

o CFA Institute (Global Investments)

o Dominion Virginia Power (Utility)

o Hyperion Telecommunications 

(Telecom)

o Inova (Solutions Creative Reporting 

Technology)

o Klöckner Pentaplast of America (Rigid 

PVC film and sheets)

o LexisNexis (Publishing)

o Luck Stone Corporation (Crushed stone)

o Hyosung (Tire Cord)

o MicroAire Surgical Instruments (Surgical 

instruments)

o MPS (Publishing)

o National Card Control Company (Credit 

card services) 

o National Optronics (Lens processing 

equipment)

o Pharmaceutical Research Associates 

(Pharmaceutical research)

o Plow & Hearth (Home and garden mail 

order retailer)

o RIGID Products (Industrial machinery)

o The Rochester Corporation (Marine 

cable manufacturing)

o SNL Financial (Research and 

publishing)

o Southern Health (Healthcare)

o Sprint (Telecommunications)

o State Farm Mutual (Insurance)

o Tovaris (Secure e-mail solutions)

o Tri-Dim Filter Corp. (Air filters)

o Upstate Biotechnologies 

(Biotechnology)

o Wal-Mart (Food Distribution)

o Wintergreen Resorts (Resort)

o Worldstrides (U.S. Largest Student 

Travel organization)

The University of Virginia is a significant 

economic driver for the regional economy. UVA 

was recently ranked by U.S. News & World Report 

as #2 among the nation’s top public universities.

The school is home to approximately 19,000 

students and over 2,000 faculty and staff members. UVA boasts $300 million in sponsored research and a 

nationally renowned health system including one of the nation’s top 100 hospitals. A $3 billion capital 

development program includes a cancer hospital, children’s hospital and acute care center.
Proposal Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

Docket #OST-2010-0124 4

CHO

1.2 Demographics

According to the Thomas Jefferson Partnership for Economic Development (TJPED), within a sixty minute 

drive of CHO there are:

! Population of 439,306

! $277 million in total travel expenditures 

! $62 million in airline travel expenditures

It is often useful to compare current figures and 

projected growth rates to other similar cities within the 

same geographic region that are served by 

commercial airports. Therefore, Charlottesville will be 

compared to the following cities for all demographic 

and economic indicators: Lynchburg, Newport News, 

Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke and Virginia Beach. 

These cities were chosen due to their similar geographic 

locations in Central/Southern Virginia. Most city comparisons are performed on a Metropolitan Statistical 

Area (MSA1

 

1 An MSA has at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more population, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and 

economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties.

) basis. For a more accurate comparison, we will use the cities of Newport News, Norfolk and 

Virginia Beach as opposed to the combined MSA for all three. The Charlottesville MSA includes the City of 

Charlottesville as well as Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene and Nelson counties. For growth rates, 

Charlottesville will also be compared to the state of Virginia and the United States as a whole. See the first 

figure on the next page for a comparison of the current population for the aforementioned cities and a

comparison of projected 2010-2015 population growth rates is shown in the next figure.
Proposal Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

Docket #OST-2010-0124 5

2010 Total Population

Source: Woods & Poole, 2010

2010-2015 Population Growth Comparison

Source: Woods & Poole, 2010

The Charlottesville MSA is projected to grow from its current size of 199,000 to nearly 211,000 by 2015.

With a projected growth rate of 6% from 2010 to 2015, Charlottesville will grow faster than 4 of the 7 cities 

included in this comparison, slower than the growth rate for the Commonwealth of Virginia but slightly faster 

than the growth rate projected for the United States as a whole. A comparison of total households is shown 

on the next page and is followed by a comparison of projected growth rates through 2015.

1,269

447

302

250 234 199 181

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

Richmond Virginia Beach Roanoke Lynchburg Norfolk Charlottesville Newport News

2010 Total Population (‘000)

9%

7%

6%

5%

3%

1%

0%

8%

5%

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

9%

10%

5-Year Population Growth Rate
Proposal Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

Docket #OST-2010-0124 6

2010 Total Households

Source: Woods & Poole, 2010

2010-2015 Household Growth Comparison

Source: Woods & Poole, 2010

Total households in Charlottesville are projected to grow by 9% through 2015, 50% faster than the 

projected growth rate for population. This is greater than 4 of the 7 cities included in the comparison but, 

again, slightly slower than the growth rate for the Commonwealth of Virginia but faster than the growth rate 

projected for the United States as a whole.

511

171

130

102 90 82 73

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Richmond Virginia Beach Roanoke Lynchburg Norfolk Charlottesville Newport News

2010 Total Households (‘000)

11% 11%

9%

6%

5%

4%

3%

10%

6%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

5-Year Households Growth Rate 
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2.Air Service Issues at CHO

2.1 Current O&D Passengers

CHO generates 344,840 annual passengers according to the U.S. DOT O&D Survey (year ended 

December 31, 2009). This figure equates to 472.4 total passengers per day each way (PDEW).2 Total 

passengers can be subdivided into 315,590 domestic passengers (432.3 PDEWs) and 29,250 international 

passengers (40.1 PDEWs). 92% of CHO’s passengers are domestic whereas 8% are traveling to 

international destinations.

Convenience of nonstop air service always plays a role in a traveler’s decision of which airport to use, so it 

should come as no surprise that three of CHO’s top ten O&D destinations are markets served nonstop from 

CHO. Currently, New York City3 ranks as Charlottesville’s top air service market, averaging 28.4 PDEWs.

Among the other top ten markets, three are in the West – the Bay Area4, the LA Basin5, and Denver; two 

are in the Southeast regions – Southeast Florida6 and Tampa; and the remaining two are major business 

markets – Chicago7 and the Boston Area.8 Of these ten markets, seven do not have nonstop service which 

indicates CHO’s reliance on service to connecting hubs. The figure below shows a ranking of the top ten 

O&D city markets by PDEWs.

Charlottesville’s Top Ten O&D City Markets (Calendar Year 2009)

 

2 Passengers per day each way, or PDEWs, is an industry acronym measuring average daily round-trip O&D traffic levels. PDEWs 

are calculated from total annual O&D passengers divided by the number of days in a year times two (i.e. Annual O&D/(365*2)).

3 New York City includes Newark (EWR), Kennedy (JFK) and LaGuardia (LGA) airports. 4 Bay Area includes Oakland (OAK), San Francisco (SFO) and San Jose (SJC) airports.

5 LA Basin includes Burbank (BUR), Los Angeles (LAX), Long Beach (LGB), Ontario (ONT) and Orange County (SNA) airports.

6 Southeast Florida includes Ft. Lauderdale (FLL), Miami (MIA) and West Palm Beach (PBI) airports.

7 Chicago includes O’Hare (ORD) and Midway (MDW) airports.

8 Boston Area includes Boston (BOS), Manchester (MHT) and Providence (PVD).

Rank CHO To/From PDEW Average Fare

1 New York City 28.4 $208

2 Boston Area 25.5 $143

3 Atlanta 20.6 $177

4 Chicago 18.1 $142

5 Southeast Florida 17.8 $152

6 Bay Area 14.8 $222

7 LA Basin 13.0 $231

8 Denver 11.6 $191

9 Charlotte 11.6 $148

10 Tampa 11.1 $141
Proposal Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

Docket #OST-2010-0124 8

2.2 Current Scheduled Service at CHO is Not Adequate and 

Dominated by Turboprop Equipment

CHO currently has 19 daily nonstop 

flights to 5 destinations provided by 

Delta Connection, United Express and 

US Airways Express. A sixth destination, 

Detroit (DTW), was served twice daily by 

Delta Connection until it was 

discontinued on August 1, 2010. The 

airport now has 132 weekly scheduled 

commercial aircraft departures supplying 

5,658 seat departures, with an average 

of 42.9 seats per departure. Compared 

to last year’s schedule (August 24-30, 

2009), departures are up 4.8% for a total 

increase of 6 weekly, or 0.9 daily, flights.

Seat departures are up 8.2% for a total 

increase of 430 weekly or 61.4 daily, 

seats. These statistics show that 

average aircraft size has also increased 

by 1.4 seats, or 3.4%, since last year.

Despite this modest growth in capacity, 

service at CHO is still dominated by turboprop equipment. 65% of departures and 59% of seat departures 

are still flown with turboprops. Comparatively, only 5% of departures at nearby Richmond International 

Airport (RIC) are flown by turboprops and 2% of seat departures. Similarly, 25% of departures at Roanoke 

Airport (ROA) are flown by turboprops and 21% of seat departures – a far better ratio of jet to turboprop 

service than what is available at CHO.
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The following table shows CHO’s service patterns for the week of August 23-29, 2010:

When Delta discontinued service to Detroit 

(DTW) on August 1, 2010, it left CHO 

passengers without a direct connection to 

the upper Midwest. Convenient, well-timed

connections were lost to some of CHO’s 

top markets including Chicago, the Bay 

Area, the LA Basin and Denver. All in all, 

single connecting options with acceptable 

schedules were lost in 27 markets, as 

shown to the right. The Delta service 

supplied the CHO market with 13 weekly 

frequencies with 650 weekly seat 

departures. The market had been flown 

since April 2005 and increased from one to 

two daily frequencies in June 2010. Delta 

cited aircraft availability issues as a key reason for the service’s cessation.
Proposal Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

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As shown below, service at CHO over the past ten years has been relatively stable.

Due to the strength of the local market, CHO has retained nonstop service to most hubs except for the 

recent discontinuation of Detroit. Nonstop service to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh was discontinued as a 

result of greater strategic corporate decisions by these airlines to dismantle connecting hubs.

2.3 CHO Has High Fares Compared to Peer Markets

As shown in the figure below, CHO has higher average domestic fares than competing airports in the 

region. The average domestic fare at CHO is 5% higher than the average domestic fare at Roanoke (ROA), 

9% higher than at Lynchburg (LYH) and 27% higher than at Richmond (RIC).

Average Fare Comparison with Peer Airports

Source: U.S. DOT, Origin-Destination Passenger Survey, via Data Base Products.

Destination Carrier 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Atlanta (ATL) Delta Connection

Charlotte (CLT) US Airways Express

Cincinnati (CVG) Delta Connection

Detroit (DTW) Delta Connection / 

Northwest Airlink

New York‐LaGuardia (LGA) US Airways Express

Philadelphia (PHL) US Airways Express

Pittsburgh (PIT) US Airways Express

Washington‐Dulles (IAD) United Express

Calendar Year
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Docket #OST-2010-0124 11

A fare comparison on an individual market level will reveal more than a comparison of the average fare for 

each airport. The figure below shows a comparison of the fare at each airport in CHO’s top 20 markets and 

analyzes how CHO fares compare.

Fare Comparisons for Top CHO Markets

Source: U.S. DOT, Origin-Destination Passenger Survey, via Data Base Products

This chart helps explain why CHO loses so much traffic to RIC. For CHO’s top 20 markets, it has the lowest 

fare of these four airports in only three markets – ORD, PHL and IAH. Interestingly, CHO has lower fares 

than ROA in all but five markets – LGA, CLT, TPA, DFW and LAS. Most of the fare discrepancies with ROA 

are minor except for the case of LGA, where CHO’s fare is 65% higher. LYH has lower fares in most 

markets and significantly lower fares to LGA and CLT, another issue worth discussing with US Airways. Not 

surprisingly, RIC has significantly lower fares than CHO. Many of the largest discrepancies occur in 

markets where RIC has LCC service – AirTran to ATL and MCO, and JetBlue to FLL, JFK and MCO.

CHO Rank Market CHO LYH RIC ROA CHO v. LYH CHO v. RIC CHO v. ROA

1 LGA $216 $126 $89 $131 71% 143% 65%

2 ATL $177 $135 $112 $209 31% 58% -15%

3 BOS $132 $146 $106 $201 -10% 25% -34%

4 ORD $143 $154 $144 $191 -7% -1% -25%

5 SFO $220 $206 $181 $236 7% 22% -7%

6 DEN $191 $163 $154 $207 17% 24% -8%

7 CLT $148 $80 $145 $129 85% 2% 15%

8 LAX $224 $177 $167 $225 27% 34% 0%

9 TPA $141 $126 $112 $140 12% 26% 1%

10 DFW $187 $182 $197 $184 3% -5% 2%

11 MCO $141 $108 $90 $143 31% 57% -1%

12 PHL $109 $249 $184 $151 -56% -41% -28%

13 IAH $172 $209 $204 $175 -18% -16% -2%

14 MSY $157 $135 $127 $176 16% 24% -11%

15 SEA $223 $199 $177 $237 12% 26% -6%

16 LAS $203 $172 $155 $188 18% 31% 8%

17 PHX $191 $177 $149 $242 8% 28% -21%

18 MSP $195 $191 $195 $236 2% 0% -17%

19 MIA $152 $147 $135 $164 3% 13% -7%

20 FLL $152 $112 $114 $159 36% 33% -4%
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2.4 CHO Leaks Significant Amounts of Traffic to Other 

Airports

The Charlottesville Service Area

The Charlottesville service area has been defined using relative drive times and distances from CHO and 

represents the area where CHO would be expected to be either the primary choice of airport or could be 

expected to draw the majority of passengers should it have appropriate service. To better represent the 

airports’ share and potential, the service area is divided into two sections: primary and secondary.

The Primary Charlottesville service area is between 40 and 50 miles from CHO and within a 60- to 90-

minute drive from the airport. It is the area within which CHO is the closest airport of comparable or larger 

size. The Secondary service area shares a similar eastern boundary reflecting the size and proximity of 

RIC and the dominance of the Washington, DC, area airports. To the west, however, the Secondary 

catchment extents up to 90 miles and three hours drive time, reflecting the more limited airport choices for 

this region and the strong potential for CHO to draw from the area. The figure below provides a map of the 

CHO region and the identified primary and secondary catchment areas.

CHO Service Area

Charlottesville Service Area Profile

Close to 1.3 million passengers from the combined Primary and Secondary Charlottesville Service Area 

used CHO or other local airports for domestic and international travel in calendar year 2009. 93% of this 

traffic consisted of domestic passengers (1.2 million). South Florida, with over 78,000 passengers, was the 

top domestic destination followed by the Boston Area (74,000 passengers) and the San Francisco Bay 
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Area (72,000 passengers). The figure below highlights the top domestic destinations for passengers 

originating from the combined Primary and Secondary Charlottesville Service Area. The top 15 domestic 

destinations account for 61% of all combined Primary and Secondary Charlottesville Service Area 

passengers.

Combined Primary and Secondary Charlottesville Service Area

Top Domestic Destinations (Calendar Year 2009)

Rank City Passengers % of Total

1 South Florida9 78,288 7%

2 Boston Area10 74,458 6%

3 San Francisco Bay Area11 71,658 6%

4 New York12 70,302 6%

5 Orlando13 67,621 6%

6 Los Angeles Basin14 60,646 5%

7 Atlanta 54,365 5%

8 Chicago15 52,715 4%

9 Denver 41,764 3%

10 Tampa16 31,998 3%

11 Minneapolis-St. Paul 31,680 3%

12 Kansas City 27,319 2%

13 Las Vegas 24,145 2%

14 Houston17 22,283 2%

15 Fort Myers 21,322 2%

Subtotal 730,562 61%

All Others 469,427 39%

Total 1,199,989 100%

Source: InterVISTAS market share analysis.

International traffic from the combined Primary and Secondary Charlottesville Service Area using CHO or 

other local airports had a total of 95,000 passengers in calendar year 2009. Toronto, with over 10,000 

 

9 Includes Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Miami International Airport (MIA) and West Palm Beach International Airport 

(PBI). 10 Includes Boston Logan Int’l Airport (BOS), Manchester Airport (MHT) and Providence Airport (PVD).

11 Includes Oakland International Airport (OAK), San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and San Jose International Airport (SJC). 12 Includes New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Newark Liberty International Airport 

(EWR). 13 Includes Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Orlando Sanford Airport (SFB).

14 Includes Burbank Airport (BUR), Long Beach Airport (LGB), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Ontario International Airport (ONT) and 

Santa Ana John Wayne Airport (SNA). 15 Includes Chicago Midway Airport (MDW) and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD).

16 Includes Tampa Int’l Airport (TPA) and Tampa St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport (PIE). 17 Includes Houston Hobby Airport (HOU) and Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).
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passengers, was the top destination followed by London, U.K. (6,000 passengers) and San Juan, Puerto 

Rico (6,000 passengers). The figure below highlights the top international destinations for the passengers 

originating from the combined Primary and Secondary Charlottesville Service Area. The top 15 international 

destinations account for 54% of all combined Primary and Secondary Charlottesville Service Area 

passengers.

Combined Primary and Secondary Charlottesville Service Area

Top International Destinations (Calendar Year 2009)

Rank City Passengers % of Total

1 Toronto, Canada 10,474 11%

2 London, United Kingdom18 6,351 7%

3 San Juan, Puerto Rico 6,006 6%

4 Cancun, Mexico 3,547 4%

5 Amsterdam, Netherlands 2,844 3%

6 Frankfurt, Germany 2,821 3%

7 Paris, France 2,755 3%

8 Montreal, Canada 2,529 3%

9 Rome, Italy 2,191 2%

10 Beijing, China 2,108 2%

11 Montego Bay, Jamaica 2,051 2%

12 Vancouver, Canada 2,024 2%

13 Seoul, Korea 1,902 2%

14 St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 1,856 2%

15 Nassau, Bahamas 1,661 2%

Subtotal 51,119 54%

All Others 43,932 46%

Total 95,051 100%

Source: Adjusted MIDT.

Charlottesville Service Area Passengers Using CHO

CHO is one of six primary commercial service airports that serve the Charlottesville Service Area. CHO is 

in direct competition with Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Washington Reagan National 

Airport (DCA), Richmond International Airport (RIC), Roanoke Regional Airport (ROA) and Lynchburg 

Regional Airport (LYH)19

 

18 Includes London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and London Heathrow Airport (LHR).

. While CHO is the closest airport for passengers within the Primary Charlottesville 

Service Area, the lack of nonstop service choices and the abundance of service choices available from 

nearby airports results in more passengers using the competing airports than those using CHO. As shown 

19 Shenandoah-Staunton airport (SHD) lies within the primary service area but currently offers more limited service and draws barely 1% of the 

catchment area traffic.
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in the figure below, for the 746,000 domestic passengers, the preferred origin airports from the Primary 

Charlottesville Service Area were CHO with 35%, IAD with 23%, DCA with 21%, and RIC with 14%. The 

other airports serving the Primary Charlottesville Service Area captured 6% of the passengers. IAD, RIC 

and DCA each lie within a two hour20 drive from the City of Charlottesville and, with their more extensive 

service options, not to mention low cost carrier service, collectively captured nearly 60% of the primary 

catchment area traffic.

For the 454,400 domestic passengers from the Secondary Charlottesville Service Area, the preferred 

airports were LYH with 32%, ROA with 24% and IAD with 17%. CHO captured only 3% of the Secondary 

Charlottesville Service Area passengers.

Charlottesville Service Area Domestic Passengers by Airport

Source: Adjusted MIDT.

The Charlottesville Service Area’s international travel market is less fragmented across the six airports. As 

shown in the figure on the next page, 71% of the 59,000 Primary Charlottesville Service Area international 

passengers used CHO and IAD. CHO and IAD accounted for 38% and 33% of the outbound international 

traffic, respectively.

For the 36,000 international passengers from the Secondary Charlottesville Service Area, the preferred 

airports were ROA with 48% and LYH with 28%. All together, the other airports serving the secondary 

service area comprised only 24% of the international traffic. CHO attracted only 3% of the Secondary 

Charlottesville Service Area’s international passengers.

 

20 Source: Google Maps.

CHO

263,872

35%

LYH

5,249

1%

ROA

41,836

6%

RIC

105,136

14%

DCA

159,467

21%

IAD

170,035

23%

Primary Charlottesville Service Area

Total Primary Charlottesville Domestic Passengers = 745,595

LYH

144,967

32%

CHO

12,973

3% RIC

35,845

8%

DCA

74,132

16%

IAD

77,867

17%

ROA

108,610

24%

Secondary Charlottesville Service Area

Total Secondary Charlottesville Domestic Passengers = 454,394
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Docket #OST-2010-0124 16

Charlottesville Service Area International Passengers by Airport

Source: Adjusted MIDT.

2.5 CHO Air Service Development Efforts

Due to high fares, significant traffic leakage and poor service quality in terms of equipment types, CHO has 

been quite aggressive in pursuing and maintaining air service. The Airport has actively participated in the 

annual ACI-NA JumpStart event for quite some time and last year started to attend the annual Network 

USA conference as well. CHO also attended the Allegiant Air Airport Conference in Feb. 2010 for the first 

time to continue air service conversations with Allegiant Air.

CHO keeps in regular contact with airlines via e-mail and phone communications in addition to meetings at 

carrier headquarters. Over the past few years, meetings have been held at the headquarters of Allegiant, 

Delta and Northwest to discuss air service opportunities at CHO. Besides in-person meetings, the Airport 

maintains at a minimum quarterly communications with both incumbent and potential new entrant carriers.

The Airport regularly works with air service consultants to study its air service market and identify 

opportunities for air service improvements. Recent projects have included:

! Strategic air service study and leakage analysis in 2010

! CHO-ORD route forecast in 2009

! Air service risk assessment in 2008

! Market assessment and passenger analysis in 2007

CHO

22,376

38%

LYH

65

0%

ROA

3,835

7% DCA

5,359

9%

RIC

7,652

13%

IAD

19,554

33%

Primary Charlottesville Service Area

Total Primary Charlottesville 

International Passengers = 58,842

ROA

16,885

48%

CHO

1,260

3%

RIC

1,836

DCA 5%

2,297

6%

IAD

3,729

10%

LYH

10,209

28%

Secondary Charlottesville Service Area

Total Secondary Charlottesville 

International Passengers = 36,210
Proposal Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

Docket #OST-2010-0124 17

3. Project Overview and Action Plan

3.1 A Well Developed Public-private partnership

The Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport Authority (Authority), owner of Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport, has 

formed a public-private partnership with eighteen other organizations for the purpose of pursuing this grant 

award and attracting new service to Chicago. The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce will 

assist in the grant administration and oversee the marketing efforts on behalf of the community participants. 

A list of the organizations that have agreed to participate follows:

o Albemarle County

o Albemarle Magazine

o Charlottesville-Albemarle Convention and 

Visitors Bureau

o Charlottesville Newsplex 

(CBS19/ABC16/FOX27/MyCvilleTV/Weather

Now) 

o Charlottesville Radio Group

o Charlottesville Regional Chamber of 

Commerce

o City of Charlottesville

o C-ville (magazine)

o Charlottesville Daily Progress (newspaper)

o FORWARD/Adelante (magazine)

o Northwestern Mutual (financial services)

o Okay Yellow (advertising agency)

o PRA International (pharmaceutical)

o SNL Financial (financial news)

o State Farm Insurance

o The Hook (newspaper)

o United Bank

o University of Virginia (UVA)

The Authority will execute all grant agreements, process associated reimbursement requests, manage the 

marketing program, monitor the project’s progress and oversee grant administration along with the 

Chamber.

3.2 Business Case for CHO-ORD

The plan is to pursue new nonstop regional jet service from Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport to ChicagoO’Hare International Airport. Chicago is one of the largest O&D destinations from CHO not to mention a 

global hub that provides connections throughout all parts of the world. Preliminary discussions have been 

held with both American Airlines and United Airlines regarding this potential new service and the Airport’s 

plan to secure a grant award to help fund a $400,000 revenue guarantee and associated marketing and 

carrier start-up costs.

A route forecast was performed in October 2009 to evaluate the feasibility of daily nonstop service between 

CHO and ORD. The results of this forecast are shown to the right, which produced a 76% load factor for 

two daily nonstop flights in the market. This result is indeed conservative as two factors were not taken into 

account:
Proposal Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

Docket #OST-2010-0124 21

Daily roundtrips                  2

Seats per departure                50

Available seats (annual)       73,000

Onboard passengers       55,232

Load factor 76%

Local passengers       19,484

Connecting passengers       35,748

Local‐connect ratio 35%

CHO‐ORD Forecast Results

! CHO has since lost nonstop service to DTW which would only improve the results of a route forecast for 

potential nonstop service to ORD since both hubs serve overlapping connecting markets.

! This forecast did not account for traffic currently traveling to Chicago’s Midway Airport (MDW) from 

CHO or other regional airports that may elect to utilize nonstop service from CHO to ORD should it 

become an option.

Thus, the 76% load factor estimated for new CHO-ORD 

nonstop service is indeed conservative. As a point of 

comparison, American Eagle served seventy markets 

from ORD with more than 100 total trips in the yearended May 2010. This load factor is higher than the 

load factor achieved for 38 of those markets, putting 

potential CHO-ORD service in the top half American 

Eagle’s routes served from ORD. The average load 

factor for all American Eagle service at ORD was 72% 

for this time period, four percentage points lower than 

the load factor estimated for potential CHO-ORD 

nonstop service.

Should American Eagle choose to start CHO-ORD service, single connection options (with acceptable 

connecting times) would be created in 25 markets, 12 that were available via DTW before Delta 

discontinued the service and 13 net new markets.

Source: OAG, August, 2010.

Should United Express choose to start CHO-ORD service, single connection options (with acceptable 

connecting times) would be created in 36 markets, 10 that were available via DTW before Delta 

discontinued the service and 26 net new markets.
Proposal Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

Docket #OST-2010-0124 22

Source: OAG, August, 2010.

3.3 Support Plan for New Air Service

The support plan for new Chicago service covers two key areas: financial assistance/risk abatement and 

new service awareness.

! Cost and risk abatement

a. Revenue  guarantee:

b.

    Although  the  forecast  shows  that  the  route  would 

become  self‐sufficient  in  the  long‐term,  there  is  the  possibility  that  some 

financial losses would occur in the first year during the ramp‐up period.  It is 

during this period that the community will be learning of this new air service 

option and ridership may take six to twelve months to achieve a steady state 

level.  Changing travelers’ behavior is not an overnight phenomenon but can 

take months  to achieve  thus  the  proposed $400,000.00 revenue  guarantee 

for the first year.

Fee waivers:

c.

To help mitigate the potential financial impact during the 

service ramp‐up, the Authority will also offer a $20,000.00 landing fee waiver 

for this new service.

Start‐up cost assistance: The Authority will also reimburse an airline up to a 

maximum of $9,947.56 in start‐up costs for establishing an operation at CHO.
Proposal Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

Docket #OST-2010-0124 23

! New service awareness:  a comprehensive marketing plan has been developed, the details 

of which follow:

(March 2011 – April 2011) “ GO CHO to Chicago” Campaign Created by Local Creative Firm 

! A strategic marketing plan will be created that will concentrate on raising awareness of 

a new airline and the connectivity of the new destination as well as increasing top of 

mind awareness throughout the first 12 months.

Total investment: $10,600

(March 2011 – May 2011) “Go CHO to Chicago” Radio Campaign to Introduce Chicago 

Service 

! 106.1 The Corner – Morning News Sponsor @ 8:40am, Monday‐Friday. 5 live billboards 

each week with 5 commercials adjacent to feature each week. 100 commercials will air 

on WCNR & WVAX, Monday‐Sunday 6 am‐12pm

! Lite Rock Z95.1 – Morning Drive Commercials:  5 commercials each week 

Monday‐Friday, 6am‐10am. 

100 commercials will air from Monday‐Sunday, 6am‐12pm.  20 News/Sports billboards 

mentioning CHO to Chicago campaign from Monday‐Friday 6am‐7pm

! 97.5 3WV – Concert Update Sponsor Monday‐Friday. 10 sponsor ID’s each week 

(@4:20p & 8:20p), 5 commercials per day, 15 additional spots mentioned throughout 

the week identifying “Go CHO to Chicago” as the Concert Update sponsor. 

Gocho.com/Chicago Link on the Concert Update Banner, commercials on 

www.3wv.com. 100 commercials will air from Monday‐Sunday, 6am‐12 pm. 20 

News/Sports billboards, Monday‐Friday 6am‐7pm

! WINA News Radio – Morning Drive Commercials 5 commercials each week 

Monday‐Friday, 6am‐10am. 100 commercials will air Monday‐Sunday, 6am‐12pm. 20 

News/Sports Billboards mentioning CHO to Chicago campaign from Monday‐Friday 

6am‐7pm

! Website Banner Link/Logo. CHO will have placement on all 5 station websites with a 

banner ad that links to Gocho.com/CHICAGO

Total Investment: $25,000
Proposal Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

Docket #OST-2010-0124 24

(March 2011 – February 2012) “Go CHO to Chicago” Television Campaign to Introduce & 

Maintain Chicago Service 

! Countdown to “Go CHO to Chicago” ‐ Pre‐Promotion Media Blitz

o Go Cho to Chicago Commercial Coverage: March 1 2011 to May 29 2011

o Duration: 13 weeks

o Spots Per Week: 24 spots per week:  

o WCAV‐CBS19: 8 per week (104 total spots)

o WVAW‐ABC16:  8 per week (104 total spots)

o WAHU‐FOX27: 8 per week (104 total spots)

o Total Campaign Reach %: 82% of TV Households

o Total Campaign Reach #: 61,898 Households

o Total Campaign Frequency: 10.2 times per viewer

Total Investment: $15,000

! “Go CHO to Chicago” ‐ Promotion Maintenance Schedule

o Go Cho to Chicago Commercial Coverage: June 1 2011 to February 26 2010

o Duration: 39 Weeks

o Spots Per Week: 16 spots per week

o WCAV‐CBS19: 6 per week (234 total spots)

o WVAW‐ABC16:  5 per week (195 total spots)

o WAHU‐FOX27: 5 per week (195 total spots)

o Total Campaign Reach %: 98% of TV Households

o Total Campaign Reach #: 74,720 Households

o Total Campaign Frequency: 11.4 times per viewer

Total Investment: $30,000

o 24 spots per week (to air between 5am – 1am) 8 per week (104 total spots) 8 

per week (104 total spots) 8 per week (104 total spots)

(March 2011 – February 2012) “Go CHO to Chicago” Print Campaign to Introduce & Maintain 

Chicago Service

! Phase 1: Introduction of Service ‐ raise initial awareness that there will be a convenient 

global connection from CHO to Chicago coming soon. 

! Phase 2: Maintenance of Service ‐ increase top of mind awareness that continues the 

use of CHO to Chicago service.

Total Investment: $68,705
Proposal Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

Docket #OST-2010-0124 25

(March 2011 – February 2012) “Go CHO to Chicago” Event Campaign to Introduce & 

Maintain Chicago Service

! Phase 1 – June 2011: Chicago Launch Party at CHO.  A co‐operative event supported by 

the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce and the Charlottesville Area Convention and 

Visitors Bureau to create viral awareness and spread the word about the new service.

! Phase2‐ September 2011: CHO to Chicago Thanksgiving Party on Charlottesville’s 

Downtown Mall.   A Co‐operative event supported by the Charlottesville Chamber of 

Commerce and the Charlottesville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau to drive the use 

of the Chicago Service during the busy Thanksgiving travel period.

Total Investment: $20,000

(March 2011 – February 2012) “Go CHO to Chicago” University of Virginia Event Campaign 

to Introduce & Maintain Chicago Service

! CHO to Chicago University Athletics “T‐shirt and Time out” drive.  Sponsorship of the 

time out and half time t‐shirt cannon supported by  scoreboard messaging to spread the 

word about the new service to Chicago.  Campaign will cover football, men’s basketball 

and women’s basketball seasons.

Total Investment: $30,000

3.4 Project Sustainability After Grant Expiration

It is estimated that the new service will be self-sustaining after the first six to twelve months of service. If 

the service is not meeting airline internal profitability benchmarks once the marketing funds and revenue 

guarantee have been exhausted, the Airport will indeed extend the landing fee waivers and provide 

additional marketing support. The Authority will also work with all participants in the public-private 

partnership as well as potential new ones to generate additional cash-based or in-kind market support.

3.5 Funding Plan

The Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport Authority and the participants in the public-private partnership are

seeking $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund a revenue guarantee, marketing 

program and start-cost assistance for new nonstop regional jet service to Chicago-O’Hare International 

Airport. Both the airport and community will provide cash towards the revenue guarantee, marketing 

program and assistance with airline start-up costs. The Airport will provide in-kind contribution via landing 

fee waivers and additional in-kind support will come from the community in the form of additional marketing 

assistance. The table on the following page provides the action plan budget broken down by element and 

sources of funding.
Proposal Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

Docket #OST-2010-0124 26

The Airport and Community collectively are providing a 37% match, via cash and in-kind contributions, 

against the requested $500,000 funding from the DOT. The following table shows the list of participants in 

the public-private partnership as well as respective contribution levels.
Proposal Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

Docket #OST-2010-0124 27

3.6 Prior SCASDP Grant Award

The project outlined in this grant application is indeed different from the ultimate use of funds for the award 

in 2004. The project funded by that grant award has been completed per the amended terms agreed to 

between the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport Authority and the Department of Transportation. The funds 

were ultimately used to provide marketing and promotional support for already established hub service that 

was not meeting the airline’s internal profitability standards. The goal for this grant application is different in 

that it seeks to provide a revenue guarantee, marketing and advertising support and carrier start-up cost 

abatement for service to a hub that is not currently offered from CHO.
Proposal Under the Small Community Air Service Development Program

Docket #OST-2010-0124 28

4. Project Implementation Plan

4.1 Schedule

The proposed service would ideally begin in the second quarter of 2011, with June 5 being a target date for 

planning purposes. If the new service were to start on June 5, 2011, the marketing program will commence 

approximately three months prior and run continuously for fifteen months through the first anniversary of 

the new service.

Action Plan Schedule

4.2 Progress Reporting and Performance Measures

CHO will submit monthly reports detailing the progress that has been achieved towards implementing the 

proposed grant project. As directed in order 2010-7-16, materials deemed relevant to the grant project will 

be submitted as well.

To benchmark and quantify the performance of new nonstop service to Chicago, the Airport will implement 

the following monitoring program:

o Monthly T-100 data will be analyzed as well as quarterly O&D data to evaluate the 

performance as it relates to total passengers, load factor, fare, yield, top connecting 

markets, local v. connect ratio and other pertinent performance related statistics as 

deemed relevant and benchmarked to similar markets in the region.

o Route profitability will be discussed with the airline’s route planning department on a 

regular basis, at least quarterly if not more often. Utilization of the revenue guarantee 

funding will depend upon the route achieving specific profitability benchmarks as agreed 

upon by the Airport and carrier.

Item

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May

Grant award

Airline discussions

Route announcement

Marketing:

  Planning

  Marketing Campaign

New Service

2010 2011 2012






















To: Jason Burch

From: M. Travis Wilburn Biz Dev/ Retail Sales Manager

Re: Chicago route

Date: 8/24/10

Re: CHO to ORD

In support of Charlottesville Albemarle Airport Authority’s attempt to secure 

service between CHO and ORD. C-VILLE Weekly is wiling to dedicate five 1⁄4 page 

color ads valued at $465 each for a total value of $2325.00 in its regular weekly 

newspaper, C-VILLE.

Sincerely,

M. Travis Wilburn

Biz Development/ Retail Sales Manager

C-VILLE Weekly

308 E. Main St.

Charlottesville, VA 22902

434.817.2749 x 30

434.242.0380 (c)

434.817.2758 (f)
August 23, 2010

Barbara Hutchinson

Executive Director

Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport

100 Bowen Loop, Suite 200

Charlottesville, VA 22911

Dear Barbara:

It is with great enthusiasm that I submit this letter in full support of the Charlottesville 

Albemarle Airport Authority’s efforts to secure a Small Community Air Service 

Development Program grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

In recognition and appreciation of CHO’s importance to the economic vitality of the 

Greater Charlottesville Region, we pledge $15,000 of in-kind advertising support to be 

used as you see fit to market service from the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport to 

Chicago-O’Hare. This advertising support can be used at your discretion in 2010-2011, 

on any of our three local network affiliates (WCAV CBS19, WVAW ABC16, of WAHU 

FOX27), and on our flagship local news website, newsplex.com.

We greatly value CHO as an air service provider, but also as an engaged and upstanding 

community enterprise that makes this region a better place to live and work. If there is 

anything else we can do to support the grant application process please let me know.

Yours truly,

Brad Ramsey


Proposed Advertising In-Kind Donation

The Hook Newsweekly

August 24, 2010

To whom this may concern,

The Hook Newsweekly would like to show our support for the 

Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport’s proposed Chicago service with an 

in-kind donation of advertising in the amount of $4,700.

- 3 Full Page ads: $1,300 each = $3,900 total print advertising

- 2 months of web advertising (skyscraper on www.readthehook.com) 

$100 week = $800 total web advertising

TOTAL: $4,700

We plan to donate this advertising if CHO receives the grant funding 

their Chicago service 

Thanks,

Kate Sanders

Senior Advertising Executive

(434) 295-8700 x228

Kate@readthehook.com

100 2nd Street NW | Charlottesville VA 22902 | 434-295-8700 | www.readthehook.com

August 24, 2010

Jason Burch

Marketing Director

Albemarle – Charlottesville Airport

Charlottesville, Virginia

Dear Mr. Burch,

On behalf of our diverse business community, it is a pleasure to express our total 

support to your efforts to provide travelling services from CHO to Chicago. 

Our audience, a diverse and upwardly mobile cross-section of the Greater 

Charlottesville area will greatly benefit from the convenience offered by CHO, 

according to our flash survey conducted by our online Marketing Team.

Hispanic Professionals, entrepreneurs, and individuals have expressed the following 

opinions regarding flying to Chicago from CHO vs. Richmond or Washington; 

Saves gas money 

Saves time (from 3 to 5 hours from Richmond or Washington) 

Less stressful – for children and seniors

Will promote frequent visits to Chicago to visit relatives

Will promote getting more visits from friends and family from Chicago during the 

winter holidays since Virginia has a warmer climate

Forward/Adelante, Virginia’s 1st Bilingual Business Journal would like to show our 

gratitude for your efforts by donating a 1⁄4 page ad ($1000 value) to promote CHO’s 

trips to Chicago during one full year. 

Best regards,

Olga Morse

Olga Alcaide-Morse

Publisher

Forward/Adelante

www.ForwardVirginia.com
Jason,

I am excited to hear that CHO is adding a direct flight to Chicago. As a small business that 

provides a business-to-business service I support most efforts that make Charlottesville more 

attractive to businesses and this is certainly one of them. I understand how important this 

development is for the local business community. Additionally, I have many friends and 

family in Chicago, so I am very excited about the potential to see them more frequently and 

conveniently.

I would like to extend a $600 coupon toward our graphic design services. Typically, $600 is 

enough to cover most, if not all, of a full page print ad. I hope you can find a use for this 

coupon in your efforts to ensure the success of this Chicago flight.

Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.

Paul Dierkes

Owner, Okay Yellow, LLC