Flying Cape Air

Cape Air began service earlier this month as the new federally subsidized carrier between Cape Girardeau Regional Airport and Lambert Airport in St. Louis. So far, it looks like the right factors are in place to rebuild passenger numbers that have fallen dramatically for a variety of reasons.

Here are the main concerns of flying customers who have a choice of taking a Cape Air flight, driving to the St. Louis airport or using the shuttle service provided by BART: frequency, on-time record, parking, security and code sharing.

Cape Air is offering four arrivals and departures Monday through Friday and two on Saturdays and Sundays. It's too early too tell about the carrier's on-time record here, but the Hyannis, Mass.-based company has a good on-time record in most of the markets it serves. Parking at the Cape Girardeau airport is a breeze: close to the terminal and free. Going through security at the local airport is quick and easy. Code-sharing, which is an agreement with a major carrier that allows flights to be booked to a passenger's final destination and avoids another security check in St. Louis, is coming. Cape Air has announced it has an agreement with American Airlines and expects to implement code sharing by next spring.