WKChamber Explores Possibility of Air Taxi Service to O'Hare
Posted
Staff Report-
The Warsaw Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce and its partners in the community have been approached by an entity that is exploring the possibility of launching an air taxi service between Warsaw Municipal Airport and O’Hare International Airport, the chamber announced Thursday. As the first step in the process, the chamber sent surveys to member companies to estimate their participation. Responses are not a commitment to fly, according to the chamber. The preliminary operating assumptions for the service are for morning and afternoon departures from Warsaw in order to maximize connections at O’Hare. Flight time is expected to be about 40 minutes on a Piper Navajo-class airplane, an eight- to 10-passenger, twin-engine, cabin class plane common to small feeder operations. The process would be the same as flying charter or corporate to O’Hare: board in Warsaw, arrive at a private terminal at O’Hare, then shuttle to the main terminal to check in for commercial flights and clear security as normally done, according to the chamber. The reverse would be the case on the return journey — passengers would exit the main terminal, shuttle to the private terminal and board the flight back to Warsaw. Because the service would operate under the FAA’s charter regulations and not commercial regulations, passengers could essentially walk onto the plane just before departure in Warsaw or at O’Hare. The air taxi service could be used not just for connections but also for point-to-point travel if doing business in the Chicago area. The operator of this service would be a licensed charter operator that is subject to applicable FAA regulations. The chamber notes that member companies may have restrictions on whether or under what conditions they could utilize such a service.
