Lakeland City Manager Shawn Sherrouse unveiled Lakeland Linder International Airport’s new logo on Monday, which includes a swan with the swoop of an airplane in its tail feathers and the airport’s call letters “LAL.”
Under the image it says “Lakeland International Airport.” But one word is noticeably missing: Linder.
Not to worry, airport officials say. The name Lakeland Linder International Airport is here to stay. It’s just marketing materials that will have the shortened name.
Lakeland Regional Airport added Scott Linder’s last name to honor the state business and local civic leader, who passed away in 1990. He had been CEO of Scotty’s, the now-defunct behemoth hardware supply corporation, along with chairman of Linder Industrial Machinery Co. based in Lakeland. He was also a veteran of the Army Air Corps, a precursor to the U.S. Air Force.
Former Airport Director Gene Conrad changed the airport’s logo back in about 2013 to “Fly Lakeland,” which is still on the airport’s webpage … for now. And it also doesn’t have Linder.
In December, the Lakeland City Commission unanimously approved a 15-year agreement between the city and Avelo Airlines, embarking on a new era of passenger service at the airport.
Lakeland Communications Director Kevin Cook said Lakeland Linder International Airport will remain as the official moniker of the airport, but, like Orlando International Airport’s MCO and Tampa International Airport’s TPA, the city is using the airport’s call letters in marketing campaigns: LAL.
It’s “for destination marketing purposes,” Cook said Monday following the City Commission meeting, adding that Lakeland Linder International Airport “will still be used locally but with a commercial carrier, marketing the area as a destination from other parts of the country with call letters is preferred.”
“All we’re doing is rebranding to be more familiar with the flying public,” Airport Director Kris Hallstrand said. “The traveling public doesn’t knowing anything about Mr. Linder.”
Hallstrand pointed put that there are multiple airports across the country named after individuals, but the flying public generally only knows them by their city names, such as Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.
LkldNow reached out to the Linder family for comment, but did not hear back from them.
Route announcements expected soon
When asked if the airport and airline are close to announcing where Avelo will fly to from Lakeland, Hallstrand said there is still work to be done at the airport to bring it up to Transportation Security Administration guidelines.
“I’ve been calling it the chicken and the egg,” Hallstrand explained. “We’re sitting in the middle between our friends over at TSA and our friends over at the airline.”
The airport has been working for months to update its TSA security plan.
“In order to get the federalization, there has to be a few things that get checked off the box for the government, for TSA,” Hallstrand said. “The airline, in a previous destination, had to deal with this and they ended up having to bus people to other airports because the TSA stamp wasn’t done. So they’re very gun shy, and rightfully so. We don’t want a flop on day one.”
Hallstrand said airport officials talk with Avelo daily and with TSA multiple times a day.
“We’re trying to figure out how to get that chicken and egg to become one and we’re stuck in the middle understanding both sides. It’s getting very frustrating on our end,” Hallstrand said. “But I think we have some paths forward here that we’ve been navigating very quickly, so we’re getting there.”
Hallstrand said route announcements are imminent. “I’m not going to promise anybody, but every week I’m like, is this the week? Is this the week? Is this the week? So we’re trying.”
Avis and Budget car rentals
In the meantime, the city inked a five-year deal with Avis Budget Car Rentals LLC last month to operate car rentals at the airport. The agreement is non-exclusive, so other companies can also set up shop.
Under the terms of the deal, the company will pay $150 a month to reserve 45 parking spaces near the terminal and $620 a month for two rental counters and office space inside the airport totaling 338 square feet. One counter will be for its Avis brand and the other for Budget.
The company will also pay the city 15% of gross revenues for car rentals directly related to air travel and 10% of its earnings for car rental activity it conducts from the airport but that originates from the city.
Upgrading the terminal and runways
The City Commission also approved two measures related to terminal and runway upgrades on Monday.
The first was a grant agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation for the state agency to provide $382,552 for a revised Airport Layout Plan and Terminal Area Study Project. It will focus on the “advanced planning efforts for the construction of the south parallel runway, taxiway system, associated facilities and navigational aids, and the terminal area study. The narrative report will include an updated analysis on the forecast of aviation activity, facility requirements, development alternatives, and the Airport’s capital improvement program.”
The second was a grant agreement with FDOT to provide funding for the Taxiway Alpha Shoulders and Run-Up project. The Federal Aviation Administration will provide $977,418 through the FDOT grant, while the city will fund the remaining $54,301. This will allow large aircraft to park along the runways if needed during inclement weather.
The votes were 5-0. Mayor Bill Mutz and Commissioner Chad McLeod were absent.
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Thanks, LAL, for those 630AM Amazon departures on Sunday morning. You’re as bad as my neighbor who cranks up his illegally modified Harley every morning at 5am and roars out of the neighborhood.
Who designed the logo?
The city’s Communications Department designed it in-house.