Talk about a week of mixed emotions.
On one hand we see the end of airport operations at the Blue Ash airport, ending an impressive and historic run which includes more than 91 years of service to our community. Declining flight activity, coupled with rising operational costs, sealed the fate of the Blue Ash Airport.
The airport may be closed, but the incredible memories will live on forever.
We then see this week an announcement that the Lunken Airport will lengthen the main runway, allowing larger aircraft to utilize the facility. Continued growth at Lunken is a good thing, but that growth will not translate into commercial flight activity, since the airfield is primarily a facility used for corporate purposes and I do not see that changing any time in the near future.
The changes at Lunken will take some time, as any airport project does, but it is movement in the right direction. In this day of airline and airport reductions, it’s a nice change of pace to see one airport getting larger, improving in its service to the community.
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Jay Ratliff has served as 700WLW's Aviation Expert since 2002, calling upon his 20+ year in the airline industry as a former General Manager for Northwest Airlines.
After being born in Frankfurt (that would be Germany, not Kentucky), Jay's family moved to Vandalia, Ohio where Jay spent his time learning to play the greatest game ever (baseball), by smacking the daylights out of fastballs from his next door neighbor Roger Clemens. (Disclaimer: At 9 years of age, this would have been a pre-steroid era.)
During his high school years at Carlisle High School, Jay spent most of his free time at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Center helping his Dad to build the condominiums at the course for a variety of Cincinnati sport's legends like Nancy Lopez, Ross Browner, Tom Seaver and others. In 1981 he watched his father build the ATP Tennis Stadium for the likes of Connors, McEnroe, Lendl and Borg.
Jay's passion for baseball continued thru 1983 when he was invited to tryout for the 1984 US Olympic Baseball Team. A torn hamstring six weeks before the tryouts ended his baseball dream. (He was able to write about the greatest game ever played for Reader's Digest, winning their Editor's Choice award and having it read by more than 88 million people worldwide.)
It was then Jay's attention turned towards the airline industry, where he loved the daily challenges of cancelled flights, delayed luggage (they weren't referred to as 'lost' until they were MIA for 90 days), weather problems and the always-wonderful Sunday after Thanksgiving! Cities Jay worked at included Monroe (LA), Florence (AL), Cincinnati, and Dayton. It was also during these years Jay was able to serve as the Travel Coordinator for the Detroit Lions - spending his Sunday afternoons on the NFL sidelines!
Jay continues that adrenaline rush by educating travelers with information specifically designed to help them find the cheapest of fares, resolve complaints, and having multiple options when flights are cancelled.
Jay lives in the Dayton area with his wife, Sherry and their two boys, and his older daughters serve as nurses to Dayton area hospitals.
If you have any questions, you can contact Jay through his Day Trading website - he is an avid Day Trader and teaches others on his system. (www.daytradefun.com)
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Mornings on Jim Scott's show
