Demand is low, ExpressJet says
Corpus Christi will lose its short-lived nonstop air passenger service to Austin on Oct. 1. ExpressJet Airlines, which started the service April 30, says it doesn't have the ridership to keep the service going.
"We just didn't see the demand was there," ExpressJet spokeswoman Kristy Nicholas said. "If the traffic isn't there, there's not much you can do to generate it."
Nicholas said marketing and promotional efforts were made by both the Corpus Christi International Airport and ExpressJet locally and in Austin for the two non-stop daily flights.
Airport spokeswoman Amy Gazin said the company's departure is not indicative of the national trend or that passenger numbers are down.
"There are a lot of reasons why a company makes a decision like this," Gazin said. "We don't foresee any changes from the other four airlines."
The other four airlines are regional carriers ASA Delta, Continental Express, American Eagle and Southwest Airlines. According to the airport's monthly general activity report, passenger figures for January through July were 61,639 for the four airlines, down 2,632 compared with the same time in 2006.
Air travelers can book flights to Austin on American, Continental and Southwest, but the flights on Continental and Southwest go first to Houston and the flights on American go first to Dallas.
Gazin said it was disappointing to see ExpressJet leave.
"Our staff went through great efforts to help promote and market this service," she said. "We don't want the community to lose confidence in our ability to grow our air service."
The airline's departure isn't expected to affect city business in the long term, but it will be an inconvenience for people who regularly conduct business in Austin, said Keith Arnold, president and CEO of the Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Arnold said he and his staff used ExpressJet, a tool he said was important to conducting business with Austin, the headquarters of many state organizations. He added that the company understood it would take time to build passenger numbers and four months is not a lot of time.
"One commitment they made to us when they came here was they were going to give us time to build the traffic," Arnold said. "We didn't get a lot of time. I'm sorry to see them go."
Nicholas said that because the airline has already serviced the area and plans to keep employees at the airport, returning would be easy if the demand for its service increases.
ExpressJet, once owned by Continental Express, employs between 10 and 15 people in Corpus Christi who do the ground-handling for Continental Express. Nicholas said the employees will remain at the airport. The company went public in 2002.
Its flights to Austin will continue through the end of the month. For more passenger information, call 888-958-9538.
Contact Fanny S. Chirinos at 886-3759 or [email protected]
