MidAmerica Airport Lands Pan Am Airways
Pan Am Head Sees Bright Future
Predicts Airport Will Grow In Next 10 Years
- When: Pan Am begins operating from MidAmerica on Aug. 16, 2000.
- Where: Direct flights to Sanford, Florida, near Orlando, and Gary, Indiana, near Chicago.
- How much: One-way fares are $59 to the Chicago area and $129 to the Orlando area.
- How often: Twice daily during weekdays to the Chicago area (7 AM & 5:30 PM), with one flight daily on weekends. Once daily to the Florida area (10:15 AM), except Tuesdays.
 MASCOUTAH (June 7, 2000) - Beginning August 16, Pan Am will begin 727-200 Clipper Class service from MidAmerica to Gary-Chicago and Sanford-Orlando Florida airports. Fares to Sanford-Orlando will begin at $129 each way and Gary-Chicago fares will start at $59 each way.
Pan Am President Dave Fink doesn't know how much it will cost to operate his airlines out of MidAmerica or how many passengers will board the sleek 727 Clipper Class aircraft. What the former Belleville resident does know is offering flight service out of MidAmerica is a money-making opportunity.
"In the next 10 years, this airport will double in size," Fink said Tuesday as he announced that Pan Am would fly out of MidAmerica. "We see this as a real opportunity to offer people something different. We would not do this if we didn't see an opportunity here. It will be a success."
"I'm not the cheapest. I'm not the most expensive," Fink said. "But I am the best." Is there a risk? "Absolutely," Fink said. "If I can't make it work, I lose my money, I lose my airport and my boss fires me."
On Tuesday, about 450 people packed into the MidAmerica Airport terminal building to hear the long awaited news that an airline would be coming to the airport.
"It wasn't easy to get here," said U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, a Belleville Democrat. "There were a lot of naysayers that said you will never get a passenger airline. Well, we are here today to announce our first airline." Costello and other county and state officials have been working with Pan Am for about 18 months. No financial incentives were offered the airline, said St. Clair County Board Chairman John Baricevic.
Fink said one of the things that attracted Pan Am to MidAmerica was the MetroLink light rail system, which is expected eventually to connect MidAmerica to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
Pan Am is owned by the New Hampshire-based Guilford Transportation Industries. Guilford bought Pan Am in June 1988 after the original Pan Am went bankrupt. The new company has sought out underutilized airports, such as MidAmerica, to start air services. Its first services were offered out of Portsmouth, N.H., from the old Pease Air Force Base, which was closed in 1991.
Pan Am's fleet of airplanes includes several Boeing 727's, which have been reconfigured to give passengers more leg room. No carts are in the aisles: Food is brought directly to the passenger.
"We're giving people something different," he said. "No lines, no hustle and bustle and you can be in the air in 30 minutes."
Information provided by the Belleville News-Democrat
Marilyn Vise Article
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