Hi-
The United Airlines flight between Springfield and Chicago that is operated by SkyWest flies right over the Jefferson City area. I would like to know do you think it is possible to create an en-route stop at the Jefferson City Airport? Currently the airport is not certified as a commercial airport and would only need a few upgrades if at all to handle commercial traffic since years ago it was served by a commercial carrier. Having 2-3 arrivals and 2-3 departures would I think is very practical to serve Jefferson City, the Lake Area, Columbia, other communities along the highways 50, 54, and 63 that all interchange next to the Jefferson City Airport . Would you mention this idea to some officials at the Springfield Airport and SkyWest to see if this can happen?

not trying to sound rude here, but we have few enough flights as it is and i hate having to change planes i would have zero interest in having to stop in jeff city en route. on top fo that i doubt the airline would want to foot the bill for the extra cost to land and take off from jeff city. I'd much rather see us use our city to push for a united flight to the east coast like nyc or washington dc area.

Any general news on the airport regarding construction on the new terminal, new serice, or announcements regarding what may be in the new terminal. i had a questino regarding our contract with the restaurant and store in the terminal. is there a clause in there contract regarding transfer to the new airport or that was not discussed when the contract was signed.

To the blog moderator and Greg-
An en-route stop means no change in change of planes. Southwest does it frequently as well other airlines too. I’m not sure what the average capacity the flights from SGF to ORD average, but the mid-Missouri market could help fill whatever void there is and make the route more profitable. Also, consider people in the mid-Missouri area could also start taking flights into SGF to flight to destinations like Denver, Dallas, and the destinations served by Allegiant Airlines. In addition, the possible increase traffic through SGF could make a flight to New York, New Jersey, or D.C. more viable for an airline to add. SGF looking to attract new markets now within Missouri would be a good thing since Branson is building a new airport that would likely take away passenger numbers from Springfield once a commercial carrier comes and could jeopardize some existing service to Springfield.

To the JeffCityLocal... As someone with personal inside knowledge of the United/Skywest operation at SGF, most days our passenger loads to/from ORD would not allow room for any extra passengers. ORD is, on most days, only a 55-60 minute flight to begin with, adding an extra stop enroute means adding a new flight segment to the schedule, which adds workloads to the dispatchers who have to generate the flight plans, load plans, and fuel consumption plans. Secondly and most importantly right now, it would greatly increase the consumption of fuel, which in this day and age costs an arm and a leg. Jet aircraft burn far less fuel cruising than while descending/landing and during take-off/ascent. If you ever fly our ORD route with any frequency, you would know the nightmares and headaches that ORD causes with their delay programs and ground stops. Most days, having another stop along the way would only further complicate the issue making it even more difficult to get that aircraft back in to ORD. This could also mean lengthy and extended delays and layovers in Jeff City and lets face it, who really wants to get stuck there for any length of time. Getting stuck in SGF for 3 hours is bad enough. It's not something United wants to get in to. It's not something Skywest wants to get in to. As far as the airport wanting to attract other cities and destinations in Missouri.. maybe, but I doubt they're really all that concerned about flying destinations in Missouri. There are much bigger fish to fry here. Besides, the airport has no role in deciding routes and destinations. That is solely at the discretion of the individual airlines.

Now, with all that being said. You are fortunate in that you live in Jeff City, which is pretty centrally located. I don't know if you fly from Springfield or if you just want one of our flights to stop in Jeff City.. however, if you drive to Springfield to use our airport.. you actually have more options if you haven't explored them. Jeff City is actually much closer to St. Louis-Lambert.. equal-distant to Kansas City International.. and lest we not forget the 20 minute drive to the Columbia airport which I'm sure most people don't know is serviced by USAirways Express (operated by Air Midwest, which is fixing to get out of the market) and offers 2-3 times a day service to Kansas City and St Louis.