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Effects of Airline Merger May Take a While for Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Blue Grass Airport in Lexington plans to maintain the number of flights to Charlotte, Chicago, and Dallas—at least for now. Service to those cities is provided by US Airways and American Airlines, which announced last week plans to merge in an $11 billion deal.

Spokeswoman Amy Caudill says Blue Grass Airport is taking a “wait-and-see” approach to the news.

“A lot of times it takes at least a year to be approved by the Department of Transportation and then it usually takes another year or two for the airlines to actually integrate and determine their air service routes, integration of their IT systems.”

That means customers also won't notice a change for some time.

Caudill says airport officials remain in contact with the airlines to show the value of having Lexington as part of their network of destinations.

Other airline mergers have hurt small, regional airports, such as when AirTran left Lexington after it was acquired by Southwest.

Blue Grass Airport sees about 40 flights a day and is also home to Delta, United Airlines, and Allegiant Air.

Lexington native Brenna Angel anchored local morning newscasts for WUKY through May 13. She joined the station in March 2010 after previously working for WHAS-AM in Louisville.