Commuter Airline Fills In Nashville Gap Left By AA

<I>Nashville</I> - A new regional carrier is filling up the vacuum left by American Airlines and its commuter subsidiary, American Eagle, which have been cutting service out of their former Nashville hub in recent years.

Corporate Express, which was launched late last year by former American Eagle executives, now flies to the Tri-Cities--Kingsport, Bristol and Johnson City--Knoxville, Atlanta, Memphis, Little Rock and Greensboro, N.C.

Chuck Howell, president of Corporate Express, said the airline uses Nashville as an "origin and destination market, with most travelers flying out and returning the same day." The longest flights are to Little Rock and Greensboro, both under two hours.

Prior to the arrival of the regional carrier, those markets were "underserved or not served at all, and these are pretty big cities we're dealing with," Howell said.

He said Nashville presented a unique situation because of the departure of American and American Eagle. "We saw the opportunity to pick up where they left off," he said.

Corporate Express provides six daily round trips between Nashville and Atlanta, five to Tri-Cities, and three each to Knoxville, Memphis, Little Rock and Greensboro. It is considering two or three other markets, but has not yet announced service. The carrier has eight 19-seat turboprop planes.

Corporate Express' entry in the market has been greeted for the most part with enthusiasm from local travel buyers.

According to David Dingess of Nashville-based Belle Mead Travel--which has a 60 percent corporate mix--the demand is there. "There was a real void in those markets," he said.

Heather Dennis, a travel manager for Willis Corroon, a Nashville insurance company, said Corporate Express has a good niche in the market, and the flights "can be a lot easier than driving or making connections to get to a destination that is not far away." However, she added that some of her travelers are not comfortable with the small aircraft.

Meanwhile, Corporate Express competes head to head with Delta on its Atlanta routes, but with greater frequency. "Delta's planes are often full to Atlanta, so this gives us an alternative," Dingess said.

As for the aircraft, Dingess said they are refurbished and they look and feel like corporate planes.

Dingess reported that service is second to none. "We recently had a customer on a lunchtime flight that was delayed. The pilot went out and bought pizza for all the passengers."

While Corporate Express does not position itself as a low-cost carrier, Howell said fares are competitive. The carrier has a discount coupon book that costs $1,410 for a 10-coupon book good for any flights in the system. Cheaper coupons are available for specific city pairs, and the carrier also has negotiated volume discounts with local corporations, Howell said.