Airline to fly to KC, St. Louis
Mesa Airlines will begin flights out of Columbia in September.
Published July 12, 2006
Though a final schedule of flights is still in the works, Columbia residents and visitors now know there is another option for flying out of Columbia Regional Airport.
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Mesa Airlines and Essential Air Service a grant last month to begin flights from Columbia to both St. Louis (STL) and Kansas City (MCI). In the past, flights only went to St. Louis.
The Columbia City Council endorsed Mesa's proposal to provide four flights a day at its June 7 meeting.
Although the Missouri Students Association was not consulted by the city on the agreement, MSA President John Andersen said it seemed like a good deal.
"It's something you'd think the city would consult with us on, since we're the most transient group around," Andersen said. "Students are traveling all the time, and there are a lot of students from St. Louis and Kansas City. But I think it's great if they're lowering prices and expanding service. I don't know what more you could ask for. Maybe that's why they didn't ask us about it. It was a no-brainer."
Jeff Hartz, a senior planning analyst for Mesa Airlines, said the opportunities Columbia offered the airline made it a good market to enter.
"We see Columbia as a great opportunity, both with the demographics of the city, with the university and with the proximity to Jefferson City," he said. "And we saw an opportunity to expand into a market that would have successful expansion to multiple hubs and expand the number of passengers."
Airport manager Kathy Frerking said the final start date for service and schedules for flights had not been finalized.
She said the airport and airline are hoping for a September start date.
"We've been in contact with Mesa and told them times that have worked best for Columbia Regional in the past," she said. "But scheduling is pretty much up to them, although the Department of Transportation order for Essential Air Service states flights will be well-timed and well-spaced to ensure full compensation."
Hartz said the scheduling would also depend on arrangements for ground handling at both airports, and that they were working to finalize the handling in St. Louis.
"We hope to have that out in the next week or two weeks," he said.
Hartz said that there would be no problems connecting to other flights because of low fares and agreements with other airlines.
"We have electronic ticketing agreements that allow passengers to purchase one ticket through to your final destination," she said.
Hartz said that if someone wants to search for flights on the Internet, the search engine would set up the connections, except for Southwest Airlines.
Hartz said most people didn't fly out of Columbia before because it was too expensive.
Mesa plans to charge $59 for one-way flights and $118 for roundtrip.
This would be added onto whatever fare a person would pay from St. Louis or Kansas City to the final destination.
Frerking said she didn't know if the new service would mean more people flying out of Columbia instead of driving to St. Louis or Kansas City.
"We'll find out," she said. "That hasn't happened from Columbia Regional in a long time."
