MUSKOGEE, Okla. — Muskogee-Davis Regional Airport officers plan to roll out the crimson carpet for guests who fly into city and plan to spend just a little time on the town whereas they’re right here.
Whereas guests might even see no precise crimson carpet after they arrive, their welcome could seem simply as ceremonial when airport staffers hand them the keys to a Tesla. The airport presently makes use of retired police cruisers as courtesy automobiles.
Airport Supervisor Drew Saffell stated Muskogee-Davis would be the first airport in Oklahoma to offer an electrical courtesy automobile. With that courtesy automobile being a Tesla, he stated Muskogee “can have the nicest courtesy car within the state.”
“Sundance Airport in Oklahoma Metropolis did purchase three new Vary Rovers, and they’re good, however the Tesla will make an impression,” Saffell stated. However “most individuals have by no means pushed an electrical car — they’ll keep in mind driving that Tesla, and they’ll keep in mind they drove it in Muskogee.”
Saffell stated having a Tesla as a courtesy automobile on the airport will likely be “a terrific advertising alternative” for each the airport and for financial improvement efforts. As soon as phrase in regards to the courtesy automobile spreads, he anticipates pilots will fly in to purchase gas and make a visit to city simply to get an opportunity to drive the Tesla.
“Proper now, we’re placing these people in a automobile that’s valued at about $500 — they’ll get you from Level A to Level B, however they’re worn out, they’re problematic,” Saffell stated. “The overwhelming majority of the site visitors we get are enterprise house owners … (and) workers — we have to make the most effective impression we probably can.”
Ward II Councilor Dan Corridor, a member of the Muskogee Airport Board, stated he had a dialog earlier than a gathering with “a man who was on the point of fly out on a $17 million jet that was costing him $7,000 an hour.” He stated the enterprise traveler was impressed with the airport services and what the town was making an attempt to do however turned off by the late-model Fords getting used as courtesy automobiles.
“A man getting off a non-public jet, getting off right here in Muskogee to do enterprise …, a more recent automobile would have been good as a result of that is what he is accustomed to,” Corridor stated. “We have to be placing them in a automobile that might be memorable, not depressing.”
Saffell stated the airport has two charging stations donated in 2018 by Tesla which are used typically and will likely be used for the courtesy automobile when $42,490 automobile is delivered. The Tesla, he stated, has no annual upkeep necessities, and people who use it should haven’t any obligations to refuel it earlier than returning it to the airport.
Saffell stated the acquisition will likely be funded with airport person charges.