Air service

Air service for passengers who want to fly from the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport to a major hub has had a spotty record in recent years, even with multimillion-dollar federal subsidies. The most successful service ended three years ago when an average of 22 people a day took advantage of RegionsAir's frequent flights to and from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Most recently, there have been an average of two passengers a day on less-frequent flights offered by Great Lake Airlines.

Other considerations that have an impact on decisions to use the Cape Girardeau airport include local security checks, code sharing with a major airline for ease of booking flights and cost. These are among the options evaluated last week by the airport advisory board in making its unanimous recommendation to give the local air-service contract to Cape Air, an established company based in Hyannis, Mass., that uses smaller planes with more arrivals and departures on its schedule. The board's recommendation will be considered by the Cape Girardeau City Council at a special meeting Tuesday.

Cape Girardeau was fortunate to get bids from five carriers interested in provide service here. Providing good and reliable air transportation is an important goal for city services.