The wooing of Southwest Airlines

Welcome to Your Week in Knoxville, emailed every Sunday only to subscribers, from Knox News editor Joel Christopher. A selection of our best pieces from this past week are featured at the bottom of this newsletter.

I am out of town this weekend for a family event, so below I'll post a column written by colleague Brenna McDermott about why we've put so much effort recently into coverage of Knoxville's McGhee Tyson Airport, which is the focus of the Sunday print edition's main report (and the first story featured in this newsletter).

All my best,

Joel Christopher , editor, joel.christopher@knoxnews.com

Brenna McDermott column

OK, but why should I care?

For the past three years, it's been my job to ask this question.

Knox County is trying to pass a new growth plan. Why should I care?

The University of Tennessee has record enrollment. Why should I care?

Knoxville's McGhee Tyson Airport has a special pile of money it can dole out when needed. Why should I care?

It's the question that guides Knox News' growth and development team since it was created in 2021. And though it's an "I" question, it's really about you.

As editor of this team, my No. 1 job is to make sure the stories we report on resonate with you, the reader. Each day, I put myself in your shoes, knowing full well that you have a near infinite number of places to get your news, websites to draw your attention, responsibilities to get through each day.

You don't have the time or interest to guess. When you read a headline or opening line of our stories, I want you to know within seconds why you should care .

Thankfully, with coverage of McGhee Tyson Airport, it's easy to make that connection for you, dear readers. You've shown us how deeply you care about what's going on at your airport. From new airlines like Avelo to airport expansion to flights for summer , you read the heck out of anything we write about one of our community's most critical pieces of infrastructure.

And hopefully you've noticed our response! Knox News reporter Daniel Dassow spends a good chunk of his time following all the exciting changes happening there and explaining why those changes matter.

This weeks' report about how the airport uses incentive money to sweeten the deal for new airlines, flights or destinations is just one slice of the growth happening there.

The airport is in the midst tremendous change coming off of its busiest year ever.

• A record 2.8 million passengers traveled through the Knoxville airport in 2023.
• Avelo, the airport's first new airline since 2011 , launches its twice-weekly flight to New Haven, Connecticut, this week.
• Work is started a new six-story parking garage, part of a larger plan for terminal expansion .
• This summer, the airport will add seven new flights and increase seats available on all flights by as much as 40%.

All the experts we talk to say the same thing: McGhee Tyson is a healthy, growing airport.

So, why should you care? Beyond the flight deal you're looking for, of course.

You should care because the health of an airport reflects the health of a community.

It tells us that people here spend money on travel. They use this great community amenity (no hard feelings if you drive to Nashville, but is it really worth it?). It tells us businesses want to set up shop here. It tells us people want to move here. It tells us there's more population growth ahead, whether you like it or not.

When you're headed to your gate this summer for vacation travel, take a look around. McGhee Tyson will not look the same two years from now. Will you see the Southwest Airlines heart logo? I can't say. But I can say that we'll be there to document whatever changes comes next. And we'll certainly tell you why those changes matter and why you should care.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: The wooing of Southwest Airlines