Direct To Detroit
The trip between the Scenic City and the Motor City just got a lot shorter and easier thanks to a new direct connection taking to the skies.
Delta Airlines has started non-stop daily flights to Detroit. Obviously this connects Volkswagen executives with the center of the American auto industry. But it also gives you more options for your next trip around the country or overseas.
The first non-stop flight from Detroit flew into Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Tuesday morning.
Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Director of Marketing, Christina Siebold, said "you've got great connectivity throughout the United States, internationally into Asia, Europe and so Detroit offers a whole new world of options for our local travelers."
Of course people with Volkswagen stand to benefit the most from the new air service.
"By having a direct flight for someone like myself it saves at least a half a day of traveling," according to Volkswagen Group of America Director of Purchasing Tom Loafman.
The new flights are timed so that people can leave Chattanooga or Detroit in the morning, take care of business, then be back home at the end of the day. Volkswagen has several hundred people working in Detroit in research and development along with it's service parts operations.
Detroit is where most auto parts suppliers are headquartered. But two-day trips there are no longer needed.
"It also saves money by avoiding hotel costs, extra charges for rental cars, so in the end it's really a neat feature for us to be able to compact it if we can to one day," Loafman said.
A big advantage for flying to Detroit from Chattanooga is that the wait time in lines - getting through security - is very short compared to other airports.
"You're going to get into the system and no matter where you connect through the world you are already into the system so your security waits are much shorter," Siebold said. "You go through the same process you do anywhere else but there's fewer people in our area so you get through very quickly."
The new service brings 50-passenger regional jets with a flight time of under two hours. It can only help what Volkswagen has started in the Chattanooga region.
Tennessee U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander said "it's one more signal that Tennessee has become a major auto hub in America and Chattanooga is right at the center of it now with the Volkswagen plant that will help attract more suppliers, help create more jobs."
A round trip ticket from Chattanooga to Detroit will cost about $300.
Tuesday morning's maiden voyage into Chattanooga had 38 of the 50 seats filled according to Siebold. That's a 76% occupancy rate which she said is more than enough to sustain the service.
