Sun Country Airlines Announces New Service from Nashville

suncountry

Sun Country Airlines announced it is growing its network with new routes and destinations, including new service to Nashville from Minneapolis/St. Paul. From Nashville, new service begins in November to Fort Myers, Miami, New Orleans, Orlando, and Tampa. If you book by August 22 you may take advantage of low introductory fares. Vacation packages and car rentals are also available in most of these destinations. You must purchase tickets 21 days in advance. Stated fares are for one-way, coach class travel. Other terms may apply. Sun Country Airlines is part of the Davis Family Holdings business empire in Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports. From Cambria quartz countertops to Davis Family Dairies to Sun Country Airlines, the Davis family owns and manages some of the state’s landmark homegrown businesses, the newspaper said. As of 2014, they employed 2,600 workers and raked in about $710 million a year in revenue, a figure that would rank the privately held business 38th among Minnesota’s 100 largest publicly traded companies. For years, the Davis operation was little known beyond southern Minnesota. That began to change in 2011 when the family engineered the purchase of Sun Country for $34 million. In 2014, the Davis family landed on…

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Southwest Airlines Begins Nonstop Flights Between Nashville, Atlanta

Southwest Air

Southwest Airlines has begun nonstop flights from Atlanta to Nashville. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the airline launched the flights from Atlanta to Nashville, The Associated Press reported. Nashville International Airport celebrated the inaugural flight from BNA to Atlanta Tuesday. The airline will operate five flights a day Monday through Friday between Hartsfield-Jacskon Atlanta International Airport and BNA, as well as three flights a day on Saturdays and Sundays. Southwest Airlines Co. vice president of technical operations Trevor Stedke said in a statement when the airline announced the route in February that it answers business community requests in both cities. Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority CEO Doug Kruelen says business people have long sought more service between Nashville and Atlanta. Kruelen says the route brings more competition and options. Delta Air Lines already flies the route. Nashville International Airport served more than 14.9 million passengers in the fiscal year that ended in June, making it one of the nation’s fastest growing airports, The Tennessee Star previously reported. The record makes Nashville International, or BNA, the fourth fastest growing airport among the top 50 airports in North America, the airport’s website said. BNA serves 450 daily flights to more than 65 nonstop markets.…

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Nashville International Airport Sets Another Record, Making It Fourth Fastest Growing Among Largest In Nation

Nashville Airport

Nashville International Airport served more than 14.9 million passengers in the fiscal year just ended, The Associated Press reported, making it one of the nation’s fastest growing airports. The record makes Nashville International, or BNA, the fourth fastest growing airport among the top 50 airports in North America, the airport’s website said. BNA serves 450 daily flights to more than 65 nonstop markets. It is the 33rd busiest airport in the United States. The 14.9 million passenger figure breaks last year’s record by more than 1.3 million passengers and marks the fifth consecutive year the airport has set a passenger record. June also set a record as the busiest month in BNA history with 1,460,525 passengers, a 2.9 percent increase over the previous record set the previous month, and a 11.1 percent increase over June 2017, the airport said. “The astounding passenger growth continues at Nashville International Airport, maintaining BNA’s position as one of the fastest growing airports in North America,” said Doug Kreulen, Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority president and CEO. “Per our forecast, solid growth is expected to continue, so it is imperative we continue to plan for our future needs. Our board of commissioners and staff are focused…

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Metro Nashville Airport Authority Fires CEO Rob Wigington

The Metro Nashville Airport Authority on Wednesday fired its CEO for leading a “culture of secrecy and concealment.” Rob Wigington, who went on medical leave in July, will not receive a severance package because he was fired with cause, reports the Nashville Business Journal. The vote to remove Wigington was unanimous. Doug Kreulen has been tapped as interim CEO. In a written report provided by Nashville Business Journal, the first reason board commissioners gave for Wigington’s dismissal was his failure to disclose $2.6 million in incentives for the British Airways direct flight to London announced in August. The board also said he put the Airport Authority in the position of announcing and beginning a $1.2 billion vision plan for Nashville International Airport without having in place a chief financial officer, chief legal officer and chief people officer and no immediate plan for filling those positions. In addition, the board said Wigington gave excessive severance packages to departing executives, and failed to address significant management issues and communicate with the board about fraud uncovered within the Airport Authority. Board commissioners said that “a perception exists the Commissioners do not know all the things they should know, in accordance with employment contract provisions concerning oversight…

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Nashville To Get Direct Flights To London

  Nashville International Airport will offer direct flights to London on British Airways starting in May 2018, Gov. Bill Haslam announced at a press conference Tuesday morning. Haslam was joined at the press conference by Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and Simon Brooks, British Airways senior vice president for North America. It will be the first time the city has offered nonstop flights to London since American Airlines scaled back its operations more than 20 years ago. Tuesday’s announcement followed years of effort on the part of community and business leaders. “This is an exciting day in Nashville, an exciting day for the state of Tennessee,” Haslam said. “It’s a day that many of us have worked long and hard to see happen.” Haslam said that when he was traveling overseas about a month ago, “no matter where we went throughout Europe, there was a great deal of excitement about this flight.” The flights will help facilitate business travel between various European cities as well as various cities in Tennessee, not just Nashville, said Haslam, who expects travel to outperform projections. “This is truly a game changer for the city, and the region and the state,” he said. Brooks of British…

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Make-A-Wish Middle Tennessee Celebrates Granting 1,500 Wishes

Tennessee Star

  When 5-year-old Fallon returned home to the Nashville area Friday from a Make-A-Wish trip to Walt Disney World, it was also a big day for the Middle Tennessee chapter of the national nonprofit that helps bring joy to children with critical illnesses. Fallon’s trip marked the 1,500 wish granted by Make-A-Wish Middle Tennessee. Representatives from Nashville International Airport and Southwest Airlines hosted a welcome home party for Fallon and her family, according to a Make-A-Wish press release. “What a great way to celebrate our 1,500th wish – welcoming home Fallon and her family,” said Beth Torres, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish Middle Tennessee. “It would not be possible to grant 1,500 wishes without the community support of partners like Nashville International Airport and Southwest Airlines.” The welcome home party featured music from the Lonesome Dogs, balloons from Party Animals and treats from Homestyle Bakery. Fallon has spent the last year recovering from a stem cell transplant to treat severe aplastic anemia. But she had a week-long trip to Florida theme parks to look forward to one day. Fallon’s wish was one of more than 130 the Middle Tennessee chapter plans to grant this year. Wishes are made possible through generous contributions…

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