$500k federal grant to McGhee Tyson to help land mystery airline

With one home in Knoxville and another in Nairobi, Kenya, Evans Kariuki knows the East Tennessee to Washington D.C. route.  He does the 28 hour trip at least four times a year.

"Normally, we do Knoxville-D.C. D.C.-Amsterdam, Amsterdam-Nairobi," he said.

Thursday, he was pleased at news the federal government announced McGhee-Tyson Airport is the recipient of a $500,000 grant to help lure a low-fare carrier to offer service from here to Baltimore.

"Any opportunity to get to D.C. more frequently, and more opportunities to get there, I think that's a very good idea," he said.

With Oak Ridge's business ties to the capitol the airport says Knoxville could use another airline offering the service.  While United Airlines and US Airways already fly to Washington Dulles and Reagan International.

Becky Huckaby, spokeswoman for McGhee Tyson says the Baltimore flight is desirable for business travelers who do work in the Washington suburbs.

It's a trip Knoxville native Michelle Baker takes several times a month.

"Lately, I have been paying around $1,000 a ticket," Baker said.

The federal grant application McGhee Tyson filed isn't public record.  Pointing to competitive pressures, the name of the airline they're trying to work with is secret.

"...if publicly disclosed prematurely is highly likely to cause substantial harm to the competitive position of the airline involved," the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority said in their Motion Seeking Confidential Treatment of Information to the Department of Transportation.

There are three low-cost carriers who fly out of Baltimore already, Jet Blue, Air-Train, and Southwest.

Air-Tran already offers service from Knoxville to Orlando and considers Baltimore a "secondary hub".

Southwest has 157 daily non-stop departures from Baltimore.  The possibility they could make a stop in Knoxville has a lot of travelers excited.

"It'd be a pretty big deal.  It'd be a more affordable option and I think there would be a lot of people really happy about it," Baker said.  "I think it would be a great thing," Baker said.

If whatever deal the airport is working on falls through, they'll have to give the money back.  In that case, Evans Kariuki's flight options won't change, even if he's already planning a special piece of carry-on luggage for his next trip home.

"Very soon I'll be taking my newborn son to Kenya so maybe I can get one of those flights to D.C.," he said.