JACKSON, Tennessee – Lawmakers have spoken out with local media about a new provider of critical air services.

At a press conference at McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport, several representatives gathered to introduce McKellar’s new air service provider, Denver Air Connection.

Jon Coleman, senior vice president of corporate strategy at Denver Air Connection, told us Denver Air’s reliability is unparalleled in the industry today.

The expected economic boom from Ford Motor Company’s “Blue Oval City” and its proximity to McKellar also highlighted the need for improved air connections.

“We believe Jackson’s McKellar-Sipes has tremendous growth opportunity as a market. In our industry, there’s a word called ‘catchment’ and that basically means the size of the people within an hour’s drive and there’s a tremendous amount of people there, including the expansion of the Ford portion, which would certainly help the airport with its appointments,” Coleman said.

In March of this year, airport officials met with Madison County Mayor AJ Massey and Jackson Mayor Scott Conger and concluded that the aircraft used by passengers at McKellar needed to be modernized.

At the time, they considered Contour Airlines of Smyrna, Tennessee and Denver Air of Denver, Colorado.

“They concluded that of all the players or participants in the bidding process, Denver Air would be the best choice for the city,” Coleman said.

Denver Air is expected to commit to offering 12 weekly round-trip flights between Jackson and Atlanta.

“We’re a pilot-led airline. I fly. The CEO flies. The COO flies. We fly the lines, just like the rest of our pilots. So we’re a pilot-led airline. From an operational perspective, that means when we say the plane flies, it flies,” Coleman said.

Denver Air Connection will begin operations on December 1.

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