TWE REINSTATES ROUND-TRIP SUNDAY FLIGHTS

Trans World Express will reinstate a round-trip Sunday flight between St. Louis and Cape Girardeau Feb. 4.

TWE officials said Friday they would reinstate Sunday flight service for Cape Girardeau even though weekend flights are no longer covered by the Essential Air Service federal subsidy program.

The round-trip flight will arrive from St. Louis around 11:45 a.m. on Sundays. The plane will depart for St. Louis around noon.

The St. Louis-based commuter airline cut back on weekday flights and eliminated weekend air service to Cape Girardeau on Nov. 27 because of federal subsidy cuts.

TWE's annual subsidy for serving the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport was reduced from $254,525 to $164,000. But TWE officials agreed to restore Sunday service on at least a trial basis at the urging of Cape Girardeau city and civic leaders.

A group of local officials met in St. Louis Dec. 6 with the president of TWE, Hulas Kanodia.

The local delegation included Mayor Al Spradling III; City Manager Michael Miller; Airport Manager Greg Chenoweth; John Mehner, Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce president; and Mitch Robinson, director of the Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association.

TWE officials said earlier there weren't enough passengers on Saturdays and Sundays to make it profitable without a federal subsidy.

In October, nearly 40 percent of the seats were filled on TWE's flights to and from Cape Girardeau. That amounted to an average of just over 7 passengers per flight, Chenoweth said.

Chenoweth and other Cape officials believe there are enough passengers to warrant the Sunday flights.

"After meeting with Cape leaders, it became evident that there was a commitment from the community for weekend air service," said Bill Mishk, director of marketing for Trans States Airlines, which operates TWE.

In reinstating the Sunday flights, TWE executives said they will monitor the situation to see if there are enough passengers to make Sunday service profitable.

Cape city officials said they would encourage area residents to fly TWE as part of efforts to market the airport.

Mehner said the Sunday flight to St. Louis will benefit area businessmen who want to reach their destinations in advance of Monday business meetings.

Chenoweth said, "Everybody has an interest in seeing this works."