AIRPORT SHOWS SOLID INCREASE IN USE

In view of the city's recent investment in renovations at Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport, announcement of record Trans World Express boardings in April comes as good news.

TWE boardings in April reached a five-year high of 510, topping April 1993's total by 23 percent. Equally significant is the fact that daily flights have improved from an average of 14.3 in 1992 to an average of 20 in April.

Randy Holdman, who on June 1 will complete his first year as airport manager, can be proud of those improvements. He attributes the successes to the new terminal building being open for a year and knowledge obtained from a survey of local travel agents. Holdman learned from the survey that if he changed the departure time to early in the afternoon he could get more customers for TWE. The flights that normally left at 6:30 p.m. Sunday now depart at 1:30 p.m., and they have become TWE's biggest money-maker.

Holdman has other plans: He'd like to see two banks of flights instead of one, thereby offering an alternative flight in instances where destination cities are hit by bad weather; he'd like to offer a direct flight to Chicago; and he would like to advertise the offerings on billboards placed strategically along Interstate 55.

With a new look and other improvements, airport use is on the increase, and Holdman can be proud of the achievements during his first year. We look forward to future achievements under his management.