HEBRON, Ky. – PSA Airlines, which announced in July that it was adding a maintenance base at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport – a move that could pave the way for more American Airlines flights – has some additional news to share.
The Dayton-based regional carrier, a wholly owned subsidiary of American, said Monday that it will also add a crew base at the airport, opening January 2016. This will be PSA’s fourth crew base, joining Dayton, Ohio; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Knoxville, Tennessee.
The announcement comes just weeks after PSA said it would add a full-service maintenance base at CVG; WCPO.com first reported that PSA was pursuing a five-year lease for hangar space at 149 Maintenance Drive for those operations.
The deal is set to begin Nov. 1.
Up until recently, PSA has utilized a third party vendor at CVG to supplement its maintenance needs. PSA officials say an increasing presence at CVG will benefit both the airline and American by "providing another central location within PSA’s network." Its proximity to PSA's headquarters in Dayton also provides "convenient synergies" between the two locations.
CVG officials, meanwhile, hope the news ultimately means more American flights. Earlier this month, American announced new service to LaGuardia in New York, the first time the airport has had head-to-head competition with Delta to that airport.
The move adds 77 flights a month to American's schedule; coupled with the completion of its merger with US Airways come mid-October, American will be CVG's second largest carrier.
"I'm hopeful that when aircraft leave (that) hangar in the morning after being maintained, they'll put some people in them," CVG CEO Candace McGraw said in August. "It's a five-year commitment, which is a big commitment, and American is a stable tenant. This lease is very beneficial to the airport."
PSA has doubled its fleet size and employee base since December 2013 and now employs more than 2,400 with plans to add 1,000 more to its team. The carrier on Saturday held its second open house career fair to fill maintenance positions at CVG.
It will hold a flight attendants open house starting at 8 a.m. Friday, Oct. 23, at the Holiday Inn at 1717 Airport Exchange Blvd. in Erlanger. Candidates need to fill out an application before attending.
