Over the next six months, the Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport will be partnering with consulting group Volaire Aviation to seek new airline opportunities at the local level.
The airport board approved a $7,500 retainer agreement with Volaire earlier this week.
According to OWB Director Tristan Durbin, two upcoming airline conferences and a separate four- to six-month bidding process will present “pretty large opportunities” to get in front of airliners and pitch the benefits of flying with the regional airport.
The first conference will take place June 23 in Orlando. The second will be hosted by Allegiant Airlines and held in September.
Consultants with Volaire will accompany Durbin to the two conferences and assist in the bidding process.
Under a time crunch to procure the contract with Volaire, board members said it was important to partner with a company they could trust, and OWB had worked with Volaire on other projects in the past.
Board member Micky Bowman said he’d worked with Volaire for more than 20 years before being appointed to the OWB board.
“They’ve cut us a heck of a deal. It came under what I thought they’d charge us by about half,” he said. “I don’t think we could do any better than to have Volaire help us over the next six months.”
Board members agreed that Volaire would be a much-needed asset during one-on-one meetings with various airlines, as many of them would be hearing up to 20 pitches a day.
The board amended the agreement to include a line saying any additional expenses accruing more than $250 would have to be approved by the board.
