Eagle has landed at Mobile airport

American Airlines to fly non-stop to Dallas/Fort Worth

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

By ANDREA JAMES

Mobile Press Register

Business Reporter

American Airlines is coming back to Mobile Regional Airport after a nine-year hiatus, bringing non-stop jet service to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport through its American Eagle regional affiliate, according to an official at the Mobile Airport Authority.

When Delta Air Lines ended service between Mobile and Dallas in January as part of a $5 billion cost-cutting plan, local officials began scrambling to find a replacement, according to Marc Pelham, spokesman for the authority.

"We pursued them aggressively for a long time," Pelham said.

The authority will operate the airline's ground station with American Eagle paying a per-flight fee. Such an arrangement "lowers the startup and operating cost to set up new service dramatically," Pelham said. "Otherwise it would have been hard for them to come in."

The authority estimates about 75 passengers per day will fly 1 hour and 45 minutes to Dallas/Fort Worth. Half of them will use the Dallas airport as a connecting point to other cities, Pelham said.

"It's a good schedule for Mobile," Pelham said. "We can go to Dallas, conduct a day's worth of work and come back that evening."