Chicago service to return to Evansville airport
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Evansville Regional Airport will once again have nonstop service to Chicago later this year, Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office announced Friday.
American Airlines plans to relaunch its twice-daily route to its Midwest hub at Chicago O’Hare Airport beginning Sept. 4.
“This is a big win, not just for southwest Indiana, but for the entire state,” Holcomb said in a news release. “A direct flight from Evansville to the third largest city in the country will be a conduit for economic growth, business development and limitless opportunities for Hoosiers.”
The governor’s office says the airline will use a CRJ 200 aircraft that will have 50 seats on board. Flights to Chicago will depart Evansville in the morning and afternoon and return to Evansville in the afternoon and evening.
In January 2022 United Airlines stopped flight service between Evansville and Chicago, and American Airlines followed suit two months later. The city of Evansville has been pushing for a return of flights to Chicago ever since, and officials credit the business community for adding its voice to the effort.
Ron Romain, executive chairman of Evansville-based United Companies, told Inside INdiana Business Host Gerry Dick on Friday that having the Chicago flight back is a “breath of fresh air.”
“We’ve got so many corporate headquarters here–plus just general business travel–that we’ve got to have routes going north,” Romain said. “We’ve been out of service since COVID, and now we’ve got it back. It’s just critically important to our business community. You can’t do business if you can’t get to see your customers and suppliers and that sort of thing. So it’s great news.”
Romain said there were serious concerns among the business community about getting flights to Chicago back.
“[There were] a lot of closed door meetings about this and the impact on the region,” he said. “We were hearing rumblings from [businesses], how dissatisfied they were that we couldn’t make it happen locally, that the state didn’t seem to be doing enough. But we had conversations with with both parties to make certain that there were good efforts and money being put in place where it needed to be. But yeah, we were we were probably more at risk, and that’s not a position you ever want to be in.”
Holcomb’s office says the reestablished route will further expand the airport’s $120 million annual impact on the region and support the growth of global businesses currently located in Evansville, as well as those considering southwest Indiana for relocation or expansion.
The southwest Indiana region is home to many major employers, including Toyota, plastics processor Berry Global, and manufacturer Koch Enterprises.
“The connectivity created by this new route is critical not only for future economic development in the Evansville region, but also for many businesses already here today,” Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry said in the release. “I’m excited not only for the opportunities that this route provides for our business community, but also for the convenience it offers to our residents as they travel in their leisure time.”
Tickets for the new Chicago flights will go on sale beginning Monday on American’s website and mobile app.
However, city and business officials are not stopping at Chicago. In 2022, the city also lost service to another key market: Detroit. Romain said the community is continuing its efforts to restore that service as well.
“Toyota, of course, has a huge facility here, and they need to get to Detroit. Plus, we’ve got other companies that need to move that direction as well,” he said. “We had good seats filled on those flights. They were full aircraft, but just the pilot shortage and all the other issues around all that caused that. But I’m confident we’re going to be able to get this Detroit thing back. We’re not giving up.”
Evansville Regional Airport is also looking south, as service to Orlando, Florida from Breeze Airways began earlier this year. In February, the airport also announced that Allegiant will begin a new nonstop service to St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport in mid-June.
The airport is also in the midst of construction on a $7.5 million private terminal building, which will be operated by Tri-State Aero, a subsidiary of United Companies. Work is slated for completion this summer.