New air service provider announced for McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport

JACKSON, Tenn. — Representatives united to address the local media regarding a new essential air service provider.

A press conference at the McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport brought out several representatives to announce McKellar’s new air service provider, Denver Air Connection.

Jon Coleman, the senior vice president of corporate strategy with Denver Air Connection, told us that Denver Air’s reliability is unparalleled in the business today.

The anticipated economic expansion driven by Ford Motor Company’s ‘Blue Oval City’ and its vicinity to McKellar further showed the need for enhanced air service.

“We think that Jackson’s McKellar-Sipes has a tremendous opportunity to grow as a market. There’s a word in our business called ‘catchment area’ and it’s basically the size of who would be within an hour’s drive and there’s a tremendous amount of people, including the expansion of the Ford piece that would certainly help the airport with their appointments,” said Coleman.

In March of this year, airport leaders met with Madison County mayor A.J. Massey and Jackson Mayor Scott Conger who decided there was a need for an upgrade in the airplanes that passengers use at McKellar.

At that time, they were considering Contour Airlines out of Smyrna, Tennessee and Denver Air out of Denver, Colorado.

“They came to the conclusion that of all of the players or the participants in the bid process, that Denver Air would be the best choice for the city,” said Coleman.

Denver Air is expected to commit to facilitate 12 weekly round trips between Jackson and Atlanta.

“We’re an airline run by pilots. I fly. The CEO flies. The COO flies. We fly the lines just like the rest of our pilots. So we’re an airline run by pilots. So what that means from an operational standpoint, man, if we say the plane’s going, it’s going,” said Coleman.

Denver Air Connection will begin their services on December 1.

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