Columbia City Council Members approved an agreement on Monday morning with American Airlines that provides new air service to Chicago and Dallas from the Columbia Regional Airport.
The new flights are scheduled to begin in February.
The agreement between is tentative and needs the signatures of both parties after they complete final negotiations. The agreement creates a $3.3 million revenue guarantee fund for American Airlines operations at the Columbia Regional Airport over the next two years. That means if American Airlines officials don’t make a profit, they can dip into that fund.
Columbia City Manager Mike Matthes said, “I can’t overstate how important this is for the airport. I truly believe with all of the changes in the industry, we have to reach 40% of the market. The changes are huge. There will be actually fewer flights moving forward than there are today.”
The $3.3 million fund comes from pledges from the City of Columbia, Jefferson City, Boone and Cole counties, area businesses and the University of Missouri.
Officials with the existing airline at Columbia Regional Airport also want to be part of this agreement. Columbia city officials plan to meet with Delta Airline officials on Wednesday to discuss their concerns.
Delta currently offers flights to Atlanta and Memphis at Columbia Regional Airport. Delta officials say they might leave the airport, if they don’t get the same type of deal as American Airlines.
Matthes said, “We’ll do everything we can to address those concerns. They are, obviously, a fantastic service. We’ve come along way with Delta. We don’t want to see them leave.”
Columbia city leaders hope to make a formal announcement on their deals with American and Delta airlines within the next week.
The goal of Columbia’s “40 in 2020” project is to have 40% of Mid-Missouri airline passengers using the Columbia Regional Airport by the year 2020.
Only 10% of those passengers use the airport right now.
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