Commercial Service Returns to Purdue University Airport

They say it takes a village to raise a child. Apparently, the same can be said about air service development. After a 20-year hiatus, reestablishing scheduled commercial flights at Purdue University Airport (LAF) in West Lafayette, IN, took the active involvement of local, state and federal representatives; the local chamber of commerce and multiple business associations; an air service development consultant; Purdue University administration; three Purdue alumni and one proud Purdue grad dad.

Thanks to its extensive village, LAF now has flights seven days a week to/from Chicago O’Hare International (ORD) via Southern Airways Express, a Surf Air Mobility company. Service began this May with 24 round-trip flights per week, each with capacity for nine passengers. And airline officials hint that more flights may be in store. Establishing links to Southern’s interline partners such as American and United was a key driver in establishing the initial frequency. Now, passengers flying out of the university airport can connect to 240 other destinations.

The last carrier to serve LAF was Corporate Airlines, doing business as AmericanConnection, a regional partner with American Airlines. It pulled out of the market in 2004.

facts&figures Project: Air Service Development Location: Purdue University Airport, in West Lafayette, IN Consultant: Crawford, Murphy & Tilly Airline: Southern Airways Express, a Surf Air Mobility company Initial Service: 24 round-trip flights/week to Chicago O’Hare; 7 days/week Fleet: Cessna Caravans C208Bs (9 seats/aircraft) Noteworthy Detail: 20 years had passed since airport had commercial air service

Airport Director and Purdue alum Adam Baxmeyer notes that there isn’t a simple explanation for LAF’s long stretch without commercial service. “There’s not one reason,” he remarks. “Airline consolidation, wildly fluctuating fuel costs, a shortage of aviation professionals, the pandemic—all had negative impacts on air service development efforts.”

Why and How

Wanting commercial service back was one thing; attracting a carrier and sealing the deal was quite another. “Airlines typically don’t come knocking on your door,” Baxmeyer muses. “In 2019, significant progress had been made until the grounding of the 737 MAX. Network planners with legacy carriers and affiliates had their hands full connecting the big dots on the map, let alone adding new markets. Just as things were returning to normal, COVID added an entirely different and more significant challenge. Many airlines were left with the dilemma of where to cut rather than where to add.”

In retrospect, Baxmeyer says it took patience, persistence, solid market research and analysis, and—most importantly—community support to return service to LAF. “Air service development is complicated and hyper-competitive,” he says. “Above all else, communities need to remember that airlines are businesses with highly mobile assets. It is important to understand your market and do your homework well. Airlines place resources in locations thoughtfully to recognize a profit.”

Located halfway between Chicago and Indianapolis, LAF is the second-busiest airport in Indiana, behind only Indianapolis International (IND). “We have about 125,000 operations a year,” Baxmeyer reports. “Purdue University educates pilots, mechanics, airport directors and more. We are one of the few universities to own and operate an airport. About 1,000 students come to the ‘largest classroom on campus’ every day.”

Purdue University is highly rated in many academic disciplines, including aeronautics and engineering. As such, it draws students, faculty and professionals from around the world.

“LAF is ‘hitting above our weight class’ in terms of international travel,” notes Baxmeyer. “Purdue places nationally in the top 10 for international student enrollment and conducts research around the globe. Greater Lafayette also has a robust economy with strong travel demands,” he says. “Saab, Subaru, Caterpillar, GE Aviation, Wabash National, Rolls-Royce, Arconic, Evonik, ZF Group, Nanshan America, and now SK hynix are based in our community and require quick access to an international hub such as Chicago O’Hare.”

One of the biggest cheerleaders for LAF is Purdue President Mung Chiang. In his guiding ABCD strategy, the “A” stands for airport. (B references broadband initiatives for rural counties, C is for a hard-tech corridor in central Indiana, and D highlights the importance of connecting with Washington, D.C.) On the airport front, Chiang actively supports the Purdue Flies initiative, which focuses on developing all things aviation at the university.

Bruce Jacobs, Purdue alum and special assistant to the chief executive officer of Surf Air Mobility, Southern Airways Express’ parent company, advises airports interested in adding routes to understand the economics and have an overriding reason for wanting new service. “Commitment of the community and local business is critical,” he says, adding that “commitment” includes buying tickets. “It’s very expensive to build it and wait.”

Jacobs says that establishing routes at LAF made sense for Southern Airways Express because its catchment area is becoming a nexus of academics and companies that want to be near Purdue. Providing connections for global access was another driver.

A Perfect Match

Nicholas Haan, Air Service Development practice lead at Crawford, Murphy & Tilly in Indianapolis, is the airport’s consultant for assessing and attracting new air service. He met Baxmeyer at the 2019 Aviation Indiana Annual Conference and began as a consultant for Purdue that same year. “Being an alumnus, I was very interested in what was going on at the airport. Adam [Baxmeyer] mentioned to me that he was trying to restore service at LAF. I think he recognized the passion that I have for Purdue and that no one would work harder to get air service back than I would. So he gave us the opportunity to help out.”

Haan started by quantifying demand in the Lafayette/West Lafayette area: where potential passengers live, where they are flying and what airlines they use. The results were surprising and encouraging. Nearly 1,700 people a day were driving from LAF’s catchment area to other airports to board flights. Armed with that information, Haan used his airline network planning experience to identify which airlines would fit the market, and what routes they could serve. Then, he created a business case about why airlines should fly to/from LAF. Haan included stories about the community, Purdue University and local businesses to demonstrate the support structure/village that is in place to help airlines succeed at LAF.

Mark Cestari, chief commercial officer of Southern Airways Express and proud dad of a Purdue grad, heard Haan’s presentation at the 2023 Routes Conference in Chicago. “I thought LAF was a perfect match,” says Cestari, comparing the conference to a three-day speed-dating event for airlines and airports.

“Southern Airways Express thought we had a great story at our very first meeting, then shortly thereafter, they came to visit and see things for themselves,” Haan recalls. “They quickly determined they could be successful at LAF; so we started working together to make that happen.”

Baxmeyer credits elected officials and local business organizations with helping bring commercial service back to the airport. “The Greater Lafayette Commerce, Indiana Economic Development Corporation, and the state and fed gave tremendous support. TSA [screening] had to be added, and we had tremendous support from TSA.”

Jacobs highlights the crucial role of administrators from Purdue—specifically, Rob Wynkoop, vice president of Auxiliary Services; Jessica Robertson, chief operating officer of Auxiliary Services; and the Board of Trustees. “Without Rob’s and Jessica’s efforts to define the costs and benefits to Purdue, and Rob’s ability to obtain funding from various state and University sources, this project would never have gotten off the ground,” Jacobs emphasizes. “Rob went to the Board of Trustees multiple times to convince them of the necessity of supporting this effort and was able to generate tremendous support from the Board and the University.”

Pre-Flight Check

Long before passengers boarded the inaugural flight in May 2024, LAF, the local community and Southern Airways Express all had to be on board with what it takes to implement new air service. In short, it took time, money and effort.

Jacobs explains the buy-in process: “We needed to explain to LAF and its community as to how regional and commuter service really works. We prepared a pro forma for what we could do and [detailed] the costs through negotiations with Purdue Procurement Services and the West Lafayette community with how many tickets we could sell.”

“This is a joint effort,” he continues. “Local and community leaders have all gotten behind it.”

Jacobs and Cestari did the same within the airline. “We knew that LAF is not EAS [part of the federal Essential Air Service program] and we don’t get paid at all if we don’t fly. We had to make that clear to our company,” Jacobs explains.

Haan recalls that a lot of other work had to be done as well, such as bringing in TSA, preparing the terminal and marketing the new air service. “It was truly a team effort between Purdue, Southern, CMT [Crawford, Murphy & Tilly] and others to finally bring scheduled service back after 20 years.”

Infrastructure Investments

Whether or not LAF succeeded in reestablishing commercial service, runways and other infrastructure still had to be maintained or constructed to improve airport safety and security. This May and June, Runway 5-23 was resurfaced. Also in May, a ceremonial groundbreaking occurred for the new $11.8 million Amelia Earhart Terminal. The approximately 9,400-square-foot terminal will include areas for ticketing, passenger screening, baggage claim and holdrooms. Construction is expected to be complete in August 2025.

“Our current terminal was built in 1943 as a hangar. In the 1970s, modifications were made to accommodate scheduled commuter airlines,” says Baxmeyer. “In our current situation, space constraints make handling aircraft with more than 30 seats a challenge. The new terminal is being designed and built to accommodate narrow-body jets and will have a larger holdroom, screening areas and more ticket counter space.”

Jacobs notes that building a new terminal wasn’t required for adding service at LAF, but it was a factor the airline considered. “The new terminal will make a much better passenger experience and help grow air service into LAF.”

Flying Billboard

Southern Airways Express is using several nine-seat Cessna Caravan C208Bs for its new LAF/ORD service. According to Jacobs, the venerable turboprop is uniquely suited for the short-haul, moderate-altitude route because it is a reliable aircraft built for high-volume operations of 1,000+ hours per year.

Cestari notes that the aircraft have a lot of cargo capacity, with room for big bags and even bikes (a selling point for student passengers). “There are no middle seats. Every seat is a window and an aisle seat,” he spins.

Southern markets itself as the largest commuter airline in the United States and is working to establish hubs. The one in Chicago fed by LAF and other airports opened in 2022. Cestari explains that part of the airline’s plan is to scale from its hubs and support air service through Southern’s interline partners: American, United, Hawaiian and Alaska. He expects about two-thirds of passengers on the 40-minute flight from LAF to ORD to connect to other airports — 20% to international destinations. Cestari cites quick boarding/deplaning and no rechecking of bags as major benefits for such customers.

One of the Caravans that regularly flies the LAF/ORD route has livery created by Purdue graphic designers in the school colors of black and gold. “It would actually be good if used on other routes as it’s basically a flying billboard for Purdue,” says Jacobs.

An Attractive Arrangement

What makes LAF an appealing airport for Southern Airways Express?

“The aviation school is fantastic,” says Jacobs. “And the Aviation Management track — what better education can you get than having an airline on campus?

“We love having access to pilots in Purdue’s pilot program, having access to students for internships, as well as hiring for many airline jobs,” he continues. “Hopefully, we can add maintenance in the future.”

Cestari is also bullish on partnering with the university airport. “We are really excited about the talent at Purdue and would love Purdue grads to work for us,” he says. “LAF is unlike a lot of smaller markets. The university generates a lot of inbound and outbound travel. It is a year-round market, a bi-directional market, and a very large market. There is already a lot of travel happening. We just need to redirect it.”

The research occurring at Purdue is yet another plus. “We look to technology and Purdue’s work on turbine engine fuels and much more,” says Jacobs, noting that such collaboration could have big potential for the airline, airport and university.

Challenges and Victories

Because it had been 20 years since LAF had commercial service, Southern needed to contact travel databases such as SABRE and third-party ticket sellers about adding the airport back into their systems. “Of all the problems one has running an airline, that was not the biggest,” laughs Jacobs.

On the plus side, Cestari encountered local cooperation about bringing air service back. “We had such good teamwork,” he reports. “The outpouring of support from the business community was great. The Lafayette Chamber of Commerce is very supportive and really got the community involved. The Chamber created events every step of the way to educate and get the community to embrace this new service.”

When recently flying from ORD to LAF, Cestari overheard a glowing testimonial from a fellow passenger who had taken the morning flight to Chicago for a 10:00 a.m. meeting and was on the afternoon flight back to West Lafayette. “As we flew over I-65, the passenger looked out the window and said, ‘I would be sitting in that traffic for hours, but now, I will be home for dinner.’”

To be sure, competing flight options at ORD and Midway in Chicago will be an ongoing challenge. “But, I think LAF makes up for that in convenience,” says Haan. “It’s a great passenger experience. You park your car right in front of the terminal and can be through security and boarding your flight in minutes, instead of a three-hour drive to Chicago, parking your car and waiting in lines.”

Indianapolis International Airport, about 70 miles to the south, is yet another competitor.

But Baxmeyer and other airport leaders are receiving plenty of reassurance about how important LAF’s new service is. “We work with the whole community, not just Purdue University,” he explains. “Airports are very much a reflection of the communities they serve. Everyone wants to see this work.”

Jacobs credits Purdue for involving the community in developing the airport. “This is probably the biggest reason we are interested in this market area,” he reflects.

Final Approach

“Personally, it’s been very rewarding for me to help my alma mater,” says Jacobs. “I never expected that Southern Airways Express would service West Lafayette when we started the company, but seeing the tremendous support for new air service from the entire community has been wonderful. I think that is why it will be successful, as everyone has skin in the game.”

Cestari agrees that working with LAF has been a positive experience. “Our focus is primarily business, and that people are using the service,” he says. “We are true partners, and this is a service that is critical to the community.”

For Haan, the project is another example of what Crawford, Murphy & Tilly does for its clients. “We strive to really understand the needs of the communities with which we work,” he explains. “We build strong relationships with our partners in order to work together as a cohesive team, accomplishing our shared goals.”

He continues, “Increasing commercial air service at small airports is difficult because there are so few airlines, aircraft are getting larger and there are many airports out there competing for the same service. We feel like our approach provides clients with a competitive advantage that gives them the best chance of success in such a challenging environment.”

Looking ahead, Baxmeyer knows that the hard work is not done and says, “The airlines are in business to make money. Attracting new air service is super-competitive. For us, the game really just started.”