In mid-June, Kris Hallstrand did something not out of character for an airport executive: she boarded a plane and took a flight.
But this was no ordinary flight – for Hallstrand, her airport or its community.
That Lakeland to New Haven, Connecticut trip was the first commercial outbound flight for the Lakeland Linder International Airport, of which Hallstrand has been director for more than a decade.
Eight decades after its debut as a World War II base in 1942, Lakeland Linder now offers an alternative to Tampa and Orlando, two much closer and much larger regional airports (in 2022, Orlando and Tampa’s airports were ranked the 8th and 26th busiest airports, respectively, by passenger traffic in the United States).
The importance of that virgin flight was not lost on Hallstrand.
“We were all incredibly proud,” she said, sitting next to Adam Lunn, the airport’s assistant director. “We had put in a lot of time and effort. We had a ribbon cutting and a water cannon salute. It was a very weird feeling to take off from a runway we built. It was an experience I really enjoyed.”
The 1,200-mile trip was the culmination of years of planning between the airport and Houston-based Avelo Airlines. For now, there are two roundtrips each week between the two cities.
“It was years of building the relationship,” echoed Lunn who had plenty of distractions during the final crossing of T’s and dotting of I’s with Avelo. “The final stages were occurring right up until my wedding last year,” he chuckled, “and started right up again after my honeymoon.”
Hallstrand interjects here, for clarity, and some good old ribbing, “I did not call him with any airport issues during his honeymoon,” she swore. Lunn concurred.
“It really was an issue of crawl, walk and run,” Lunn added about the intense final stages, sharing that the beginning of flight was almost pushed off one calendar quarter. “[Avelo] needed to make sure we were ready.”
So far, so good, both airport executives agree.
AVELO
The Boeing 737 used for flights has 149 seats and Lunn said that, so far, the planes have been around 90% full.
The flights occur Thursday and Sunday, each week, and Lunn doubts that, for now at least, there would be flights added on the route.
Flights leave Lakeland at 11:25 a.m., arriving in New Haven at 2:10 p.m., a 2-hour and 45 minute-nonstop trip. The three-hour nonstop return flight is 7:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. A search showed fares ranging from $167 for a Sunday-Sunday round trip to $227 for trips Sunday-Thursday or vice versa, in July.
So far, Hallstrand and Lunn are thrilled to have Avelo as a partner, hoping to build on what they’ve started.
Avelo has six regional bases with most routes concentrated on the two coasts. LAL’s leaders are looking to possibly expand to some tried and true destinations such as Chicago and Washington D.C./Baltimore. New York, another vital link, is covered by New Haven, whose airport is 63 miles from New York’s JFK airport.
Other destinations being considered include Puerto Rico and Detroit; not surprising since Lakeland is the spring training home of Major League Baseball’s Tigers.
New Haven – proximity to New York notwithstanding – was “not on our radar,” Hallstrand said. “I was shocked by the amount of requests on social media,” she added. “We (now) think it’s a rock star destination.”
Avelo serves 53 destinations across 24 states and Puerto Rico, adding 16 new destinations this year alone.
When looking for the best geographic partners, LAL’s research focuses on the 17 zip codes closest to Lakeland.
Avelo is also very satisfied with the nascent union.
“We are very happy with the partnership with LAL,” said Courtney Goff, the airline’s communication manager, in an email. “We have a great relationship and work well with them to invest in the area. LAL matches what we like to see in our airports: convenience, accessibility and reliability. Our first route to New Haven is just the beginning of a great partnership.”
But the return of commercial air traffic is only the most customer-facing sign of progress at an airport that is clearly having a moment. LAL sits on a 1,700-plus acre parcel about six miles southwest of Lakeland’s city center.
AMAZON AIR
Another momentous step for the airport was the arrival of a little-known technology/e-commerce/cloud computing/online advertising/digital streaming/artificial intelligence company called Amazon.
Amazon Air launched in the summer of 2020 and now manages a cargo hub spread across 47 acres at LAL. Its three structures comprise an air cargo hub and sorting facility featuring a 223,000-square-foot warehouse connected to the airport. Packages are received, sorted, stored then loaded on trucks for delivery to a nearby fulfillment center.
After the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration moved its Hurricane Hunters operation to the airport, in 2017, the airport was thinking, “What’s next?” according to Hallstrand. The decision was made to go after air cargo.
AND MORE
Amazon Air operates in eight other cities including two each in Texas and California.
But Alero and Amazon Air are not the airport’s only on-site partners. Others with a presence include:
The Central Florida Aerospace Academy opened its doors in 2008 in the Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Center for Excellence campus at LAL. The CFAA of Kathleen High School is a career and technical STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) public high school for students interested in careers in aviation, aerospace and engineering technologies. They can earn industry certifications and licenses and complete dual enrollment/advanced placement college credit. Alongside traditional high school activities such as sports and clubs, students can receive flight, aircraft maintenance and avionics training and more.
The NOAA Hurricane Hunters. The two Lockheed four-engine turboprop aircraft might affectionately be called Kermit and Miss Piggy but as the group’s moniker suggests, there’s nothing comical about aircraft that fly directly into the eye of some of the most vexing storms that descend upon the region. The WP-3D Orions slice through the hurricane’s eyewall, buffeted by wind, rain, updrafts and downdrafts. The aircraft then enters the relative calm of the storm’s eye. These 8 to 10-hour missions allow scientists to transmit measurements of pressure, humidity, temperature plus wind direction and speed, providing a detailed look at a storm’s structure and intensity.
The Aerospace Center for Excellence located on the southwest corner of the airport, comprises eight facilities including the Skylab Innovation Center; the Piedmont 727 Experience; the Tom Davis Education Center; the Buehler Restoration Skills Center; the Aerospace Pavilion; the Central Florida Aerospace Academy; Traviss Technical College, and the Lakeland Aero Club. The center offers year-round educational programs for all ages, from summer camps to field trips, all with the goal of stoking passion for careers in the STEM field. The center also hosts the Florida Air Museum which was designated as Florida’s official aviation museum in 2005.
The Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo. The expo is held every April and celebrated its 50th anniversary this past spring. Their website says 200,000 visitors attend each year, enjoying exhibits, workshops and the display of hundreds of aircraft.
That is hardly all. The airport hosts a variety of aviation-related companies that handle everything from aircraft maintenance and management to hangar rentals and flight training. There is a defense contractor (Draken International) and several government agencies including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, the U.S. Customs & Border Protection and the U.S. Army National Guard.
There are two hotels, the Staybridge Suites and the Hilton Garden Inn, which also boasts a restaurant. Avis and Budget have outposts as do several educational institutions from those previously mentioned to Polk State College and Southeastern University.
Hallstrand said in previous reports that the airport’s two million square feet of lease space is 100% occupied.
Overall, the airport spent approximately $300 million over the past decade on an aircraft control tower, aircraft rescue, a firefighting station, taxiway, ramps, runway rehabilitation and their instrument landing system.
One result of the added work, investment and public-facing services has been a five-fold increase in the airport’s economic impact in the past dozen years, from around $275 million in 2011 to $1.5 billion now.
Partnerships and plans matured, the Ray Foundation paid for the high school to be built and eventually the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Transportation started giving the airport money.
In 2016 the Hurricane Hunters had to leave Tampa’s MacDill Air Force Base and decamped for LAL. Then, the NOAA arrived in 2017 and, eventually, Amazon Air.
Amazon was looking for a central Florida air cargo base in 2018. The airport created a workable design and the Florida DOT provided funding. They started with one plane in 2020 and now have 11. “It’s been a great partnership,” Hallstrand said.
“We’ve been rocking it ever since,” Hallstrand said proudly. “Success breeds success.” She is also proud of the high-skill, high-paying jobs that the influx of partners, vendors and schools has created. She said there are approximately 3,000 people who collect paychecks from working at the airport or ancillary companies including 30 airport employees.
As excited as she is about the present, Hallstrand sees nothing but blue skies ahead for LAL.
“There is so much growth here,” she said. “So much opportunity to see even more development in the future. I don’t see boredom happening any time in the near future.” ♦
