Northern Kentucky

TRANSPORTATION
Arteries for the heart of U.S. economy
CVG is the 8th largest U.S. cargo airport with 8,500 jobs and billions in annual impact
BY ROBBIE CLARK
WHETHER it’s for business
or leisure, getting people
into, around and through
Northern Kentucky is critically
important for the region’s transportation
entities, which are commercial arteries in
heart of the U.S. economy.
With more than 6.5 million
passengers in 2016, the Cincinnati/
Northern Kentucky International
Airport (CVG), in Hebron plays a
crucial role in Northern Kentucky’s,
and the nation’s, transportation needs.
Beginning commercial passenger service
in 1947, CVG now offers more than
160 peak-day flights to 54 nonstop
airport destinations, including direct
international service to Paris, Toronto
and three Caribbean locations.
Since becoming CEO
in 2011, Candace McGraw
has efficiently guided CVG
out of its toughest times,
creating an airport that now
sees passenger numbers
growing and carriers offering
cheaper airfares.
“We’ve been able to
do that by operating
the airport like the true
business that it is,”
McGraw said. “We have
Candace
McGraw, CEO,
Cincinnati
Northern
Kentucky
International
Airport
an operating budget a little over $100
million, and what we’ve done over the
last several years is take excess costs out
of our system. We’ve demolished old,
obsolete buildings. We’ve been smarter
about the way we operate, so we’ve had
a continuous decrease in our expenses
over the course of the past four years,
while at the same time doing things
to increase our revenues, like the
diversification of land development.
All of those things are working to lower
our costs.”
German-owned DHL air freight has its
U.S. hub – one of three globally – at CVG
and has expanded it multiple times in the
past decade, making the airport one of the
highest volume freight transit points in
the hemisphere and attracting significant
distribution operations to the region.
Due to its improved cost structure,
CVG has been able to reduce the
landing fees it charges carriers by 44
percent. That decrease gets passed on to
Reduced landing fees have resulted
in lower airfares and more passengers
utilizing Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky
International Airport.
passengers. With an average ticket fare
of $411 in the 4Q of 2015, CVG had the
22nd highest fares in the nation, which
is considerably better than a year earlier
when fares were the third-highest.
The lower fares are creating a spike in
passengers choosing CVG over other
airports. According to McGraw, the
airport is tracking a 7 to 8 percent
year-over-year increase in passengers
for 2016, after a 6.5 percent increase
in 2015.
According to a 2012 report, CVG
has a $3.6 billion economic impact on
the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati
region, and McGraw is optimistic these
numbers will be significantly higher
when the new passenger count is taken
into consideration, as well as a growing
employee base. CVG has over 12,000
badged employees at the facility, and
about 60 percent of those workers are
residents of Northern Kentucky.
CVG now offers more than 160 peak-day
flights to 54 nonstop airport destinations.
26 The Lane Report’s Northern Kentucky Market Review 2017 lanereport.com