A $750,000 federal grant is headed to Cherry Capital Airport (TVC) in hopes of landing its first direct flights to the West Coast.

Airport CEO Kevin Klein informed the Northwest Regional Airport Authority Board this week that TVC received notice from the federal Department of Transportation of a pending Small Community Air Service Development Program grant award. The funding would be used to establish seasonal air service from Traverse City to either Los Angeles or San Francisco through United Airlines.

The airport board is expected to formally accept the grant award by the end of the year.

“An airport our size doesn’t normally see air service to a Los Angeles or a San Francisco,” Klein says.

The grant program provides federal dollars to help cover start-up expenses for airlines that set up new flight services for smaller communities. Cherry Capital has utilized the program a few times since 2009, Klein says, starting with its direct seasonal flights to Denver which now continue from May through November. It also received a grant to establish seasonal flights to Dallas, which was later amended to provide flight service to Charlotte, N.C. and later to Sarasota, Fla. TVC also received a Small Community grant to start air service to Houston, although Klein says the flights were so popular that the grant funds were never needed and were returned to the DOT.

As part of the grant agreement, Traverse City Tourism pledged $100,000 to help market the service, while Traverse Connect will put up $10,000. Klein says the airport will also contribute up to $100,000 from its operating budget to support the flights.

Customer surveys and other market research done by TVC rank both Los Angeles and San Francisco among the top five destination cities sought by local travelers.

“We have a lot of passengers flying (to and from California) through hubs to get here now,” Klein says.

Some of the local attractions spurring the West Coast interest include Traverse City Horse Shows, the Traverse City Wine and Food Festival, a desirable local real estate market and a growing connection between the northern Michigan and California’s technology sectors, Klein says.

“One of the big things we might also see is the connections to Hawaii,” he added.

Klein cautioned the airport board that the grant award doesn’t guarantee the service will happen. TVC officials are scheduled to meet with United officials in October to continue negotiations. There’s no specific timetable for the service and the grant extends for a 3-year period, although Klein says it could launch sometime in 2027.

“I would think they want to start it at a peak time,” he says.

With close to 1,900 aerial miles between Traverse City and the two West Coast cities, Klein anticipates the service would utilize some of the larger aircraft seen at TVC, such as a Boeing 737 or an Airbus A220 with seating capacities for up to 160 passengers.

TVC currently provides seasonal and year-round air service to 18 cities around the U.S. Its western-most destination is currently the Phoenix/Mesa airport in Arizona.

United, the airport’s busiest air carrier, presently offers year-round service to Chicago, and seasonal flights to Denver, Newark, Washington D.C. and Houston.