Flights to Memphis will begin Aug. 19

By Steve Oslica
May 9, 2008

(Click graphic to enlarge)

Graceland and Beale Street will be a little closer to Columbia in August.

Mesaba Airlines, a subsidiary of Northwest Airlines, was chosen by the U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday to provide service to Columbia Regional Airport when the current airline, Mesa Airlines, leaves on Aug. 19.

Under the plan, Mesaba will operate three flights per day to Northwest’s Memphis International Airport hub with an average one-way fare of $95, which was recommended by the Columbia City Council on April 21.

Tickets go on sale May 24, Northwest Airlines spokeswoman Kristin Baur said. The flights will be on 34-seat Saab 340 airplanes. The current service is on 19-seat Beechcraft 1900 airplanes.

City spokeswoman Jill Stedem said the airlines would work together for the transition.

“We were told it would be about 90-120 days for the new airline to start,” Stedem said. “They’ll transition with the current carrier and when they leave, Mesaba will pick up the airline service.”

The City Council expressed concerns with the other air service proposals during its meeting last week, with members predicting that only having flights to Kansas City would be unsuccessful.

Mesa Airlines flies four times a day on weekdays to Kansas City. Before Mesa, Trans States Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines, flew only to St. Louis. Trans States left Columbia in October 2006.

The airline decision was made under the federal government’s Essential Air Service program, which gives government subsidies to airlines that fly to smaller cities such as Columbia. Joplin and Kirksville also receive EAS service and were affected by the airline change, Stedem said.

Baur said several factors go into choosing a market for the airline.

Council members also expressed interest in having an airline fly from Columbia to one a central hub to allow travelers connections to more destinations. During the council meeting, some members expressed concern about Memphis’ status as a hub for Northwest after it merges with Delta Airlines later this year.

Stedem said because the flights are under the EAS program, the merger is unlikely to affect the flights, but that the city will keep an eye on the situation.

“That’s always going to be a concern with any carrier you choose,” Stedem said. “We’ll just have to wait and see on what happens with that.”

Baur said a lot of issues with the merger still must be worked out.

“We’ve got at least 6 to 8 months before the merger process concludes, and until then we’ll be putting together our transition plans,” she said. “Everybody really wants to know what will happen, and we won’t really know until the approval process goes through.”

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Flights to Memphis will begin Aug. 19

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