http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/bransonair_8161.mp3
The Branson Airport has announced it will be adding nonstop service to three new destinations. KSMU’s Jennifer Moore reports.
Reporter Standup: “Right now, I’m standing on the tarmac just outside the Branson Airport terminal...right behind me, an AirTran Boeing 717 is getting ready for takeoff. The news that AirTran Airways will now fly direct to Baltimore/Washington, D.C., Chicago’s Midway Airport, and Houston’s Hobby Airport comes at a time when many people are starting to think about summer vacation, as well as at a time that some might be thinking about air travel instead of driving, especially since the price of gasoline is expected to continue to rise, due to the turmoil in the Middle East.”[Sound: Jet engine]The new nonstop service is all on AirTran Airways. [Sound: Airport counter] Inside the terminal, the décor consists of a stuffed wild turkey, a mounted deer head anda couple of indoor trees. Jack Burch and his wife, from Berryville, Arkansas, are getting ready to board a flight to Atlanta, boarding passes in hand. They drove up from their home in the Natural State to make this flight—the couple will travel on to Orlando for business related to their plumbing company. Jack says he’s delighted, particularly about the flights to Chicago, where he also travels for business.“We went to Chicago last year to market, and we had to go, actually, to Springfield to get a direct flight. Otherwise, [it would be] AirTran to Atlanta then to Midway—which [is] a five hour flight against an hour and a half flight…so, that’s good news,” he said.Bethany Thomas of the Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce says she’s also eager about the service to and from Chicago, for the sake of the local economy.“Chicago’s a strong market for Branson already. But we’ve recently done a study that tells us there are 1.2 million households in Chicago that have a real positive impression of Branson and already want to visit this area. And that’s the largest number of any such potential visitors of any metro area in the United States,” she said.The Branson Airport currently hosts three airlines: AirTran, Frontier, and BransonAirExpress. The new flights to the D.C. area, Chicago’s Midway and Houston’s Hobby airport will begin running in May.
For KSMU News, I’m Jennifer Moore.