Comments   Add a Comment                                                                    
 

John Stemberg posted at: 4/28/2008 9:50:55 AM Great new website, Mr. Curry. As a 20 year resident of NW Indiana, now residing in Chicago, I have long sought for the GCAirport to be a viable contender in air travel. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to traveling from the hassle-free Gary-Chicago airport! Best, John Stemberg

Chris posted at: 4/28/2008 7:31:50 PM John, I appreciate your support and glad you like the website. The website will give me a chance to communicate with customers directly. We will continue to work hard to recruit what I hope will be a reliable carrier. Thanks again.

Harry Cavallaris posted at: 5/1/2008 3:38:03 PM Dear Chris; When do you expect to have a commercial carrier at the airport? You listed all of these benefits to the airport: Terminal Upgrades, Customer Service and Location Location Location. These seemed to very expensive things to do with government funding. When will there be growth due to income from profits and not income from the government.

Chris posted at: 5/2/2008 11:47:33 AM Harry, I am hopeful to have a commercial airline at the airport by September. This airline would be VivaAerobus who has filed with the Department of Transportation to serve the Gary Airport. As you are aware they cannot come here unless we have a facility to process international passengers. I am currently working with our Washington delegation and others in hopes of obtaining the funding to build a facility. Other major airlines that we have been recruiting have recently indicated that they are slowing expansion and reducing capacity until they get a handle on the price of jet fuel. They have encouraged me to continue the relationship until that happens. Airports in general are not in place to generate a profit but serve as a convenience for the region. There are very few airports that make a profit. I would venture to say that if you are not an airport like Atlanta, Chicago, New York and some of the other major airports your ultimate goal is to break even and pass the benefits of your existence to the community you serve.

Harry Cavallaris posted at: 5/2/2008 3:30:22 PM Well, building another building with tax dollars in hopes of attracting a new carrier seems very expensive and risky. But as you have stated above the airport is for the good of the region and no way should it contribute to its own support. I'm also glad to see that you are didicated to finding more tax dollars to spend on projects that do not have to succeed and might have no benefit to the community you claim the airport is to benefit.

Chris posted at: 5/2/2008 4:06:31 PM Thanks Harry, nice talking with you as always.

Kerry posted at: 6/9/2008 8:25:51 PM Hi Chris, You have mentioned that you have info on the most asked about destinations, may I inquire what the top 10 may be? Thanks, Kerry

Chris posted at: 6/10/2008 11:55:41 AM Kerry, the top ten are Las Vegas, Orlando, Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Phoenix, Atlanta, Washington, and Miami. Others close were Ft. Lauderdale and St. Louis.

Vonda posted at: 6/27/2008 11:07:40 PM Chris I read in the paper a while back about the G/C Airport will be offering $11.00 flights. When will they be available.

Chris posted at: 6/30/2008 11:10:57 AM Vonda, when Skybus Airlines was serving the airport they initially offered the first 10 seats for $10 to Greensboro, NC. They have since gone out of business. Thanks

Deb posted at: 7/15/2008 2:52:52 PM Chris, Some ideas for you to consider... One, change the airport name in honor of Octave Chanute, a Chicago engineer who begin experiments in aviation on the Dunes in Miller, a Gary neighborhood. This would help eliminate the negative attitude towards the name of Gary, Indiana. Chanute International Airport. This name would provide recognition to a great man in aviation history right here in Gary, Indiana. Two, serious consideration should be given to increase cargo freight business not commercial airline business. Cargo freight including FedEx, DHL, UPS, to name a few always divert to C/G when weather is bad. You also have the ability to secure rail freight and truck capabilities. Can you imagine the employment opportunities and growth for the airport with a steady increase of freight cargo business? In closing, please give these thoughts serious consideraton. Thank you.

John posted at: 7/16/2008 6:05:04 PM Mr. Curry , I was looking at the flight info for GYY on flightaware.com and noticed they had United flight 599 fron Cleveland landing at Gary , did another flight divert to Gary ?Thank You

Chris posted at: 7/17/2008 3:41:19 PM John, United flight 599 did not divert to the Gary Airport. It is possible that United 599 considered landing here given a wind shear condition that was reported at Chicago O'Hare however a divert to Gary never happened.

Chris posted at: 7/17/2008 3:50:47 PM Deb, there has been some thought and surveys associated with a name change for the airport. Surprisingly most people that were surveyed in a regional survey conducted by the NWI Forum mentioned that a name change was not significant. In addition, most airports that are located close to large metropolitan cities include the name of the that city in their name. Especially in the internet age (when using the internet and your destination is Chicago, you would want to be picked up in that destination search). We would love to have more cargo activity however until the runway is extended, unfortunately we are stuck with cargo delivery by smaller aircraft. Last year the airport processed 700,000 pounds of cargo. I am not aware of FEDEX, DHL or UPS diverting to the Gary Airport and if they did it would be with small aircraft.

Ezell posted at: 11/18/2008 11:23:25 PM Hello Chris, Great idea for communication! As you my know, many people outside of Gary view the airport as the most valuable asset Gary may have at the moment. Please consider the airport as a potential International customs clearance depot with expedited routes to various destinations throughout Indiana.

RP posted at: 11/24/2008 1:41:19 AM Hi Chris, I stumbled upon this site while viewing the classifieds in the PostTrubune/employment. Just wondering, is there somewhere to submit a resume for future employment considerations if one doesn't meet the qualifications of the current employment ad? Security, Handlers, etc.

D posted at: 1/1/2009 11:22:26 AM Chris, From the looks of it no one is much interested in this airport. I don't understand it. We should be pushing to get this developed. What is the hold up?

Chris posted at: 1/6/2009 11:49:21 AM Ezell, the Board has suspended the idea of a Customs and Immigration facility at this time due to priorities for funding. We will revisit that issue to build one and it has been included in the economic stimulus plans that President Obama has proposed.

Harry posted at: 1/21/2009 3:30:15 PM Well it's Jan 21, 2009 and still no commercial carrier at the airport. When will this happen?

Jim posted at: 4/25/2009 8:41:16 PM Hi again Chris. I read your Fall 2008 issue that mentioned new Executive Hangars by Raymond Lewick and Associates that were going to be built. I haven't noted any construction. I guess it's possible that I missed it while driving by. At any rate, where are they built? Are there any other projects scheduled at the airport this year?

Chris posted at: 5/4/2009 11:51:23 AM Jim, the new hangars that were mentioned were put on hold by Raymond Lewick and Associates. In recent conversations, Mr. Lewick has mentioned his intent to resume construction of the hangar facilities this summer. The location will be west of the Gary Jet Center. There are other projects scheduled at the airport focused on the runway expansion program. Thanks

Mike Beall posted at: 6/23/2009 4:11:37 PM We are relocating a business to the area. What carriers are available as of July 1, 2009? I checked on Orbitz for WAS and BOS and the search came back with no flights?

Mike Beall posted at: 6/23/2009 4:14:19 PM So, no commercial service. But casino charter service... What portion of your revenues are casino-related?

Chris posted at: 6/25/2009 9:13:32 AM Mike, the Gary Chicago International Airport does not have any scheduled commercial service at this time. We do not expect to have one prior to July 1, 2009. Casino charter service provide revenue in the form of landing fees and terminal fees. The passengers who utilize those flights are charged standard airport parking fees. Thanks

Matt K. posted at: 7/7/2009 10:55:58 AM Chris - I used to live in Hammond (still have family there) and now live in Florida. I hate having to fly to Midway or O-Hare when you have an airport minutes away from my family...Why are there no commercial flights?

Chris posted at: 8/27/2009 10:29:38 AM Matt, as you know the airline industry has really been suffering over the past few years. Initially it was the high cost of jet fuel that resulted in 7 carriers going out of business and now the ailing economy. These two factors has resulted in a significant decrease in revenue for commercial carriers and they have also cease to expand services to new airports The airport has and will continue to pursue commercial carriers to provide direct seasonal services to Florida. As we speak, there is no plan on the table that would lead to a Florida service in the near future. When I say near future, I am referring to anything prior to April 2010. We understand that Florida is a popular destination for our community and we will continue to pursue flights to that area either by direct flights or through a hub connection. In addition, we have hired a professional air service recruitment firm that are seeking opportunities with several carriers that can connect the Gary Airport to a hub providing a greater opportunity to serve multiply locations.

 

Name
Email
Message

Enter the code shown: