We've added another set of images to the midfield terminal photo album—the link is on the right, under the heading "Pictures."

Any feedback you have on the album would be appreciated. We're mainly concerned with how well it works. The slide show feature seems to be a bit finicky with some web browsers and download times are definitely on the longish side. Too long?

Still tweaking!

Cliff wonders:

"Has the airport noticed a decline in travelers since the recent economic problems. I wonder what effect this downturn will have on not only the airline industry but our airport as well. I fear we may lose service to some cities."

We haven't had a decline—yet. In fact, passenger numbers were up in January by five percent. If we're going to see a decline in passenger numbers, it probably won't happen for another month or two. That's because a lot of people flying right now booked their flights weeks, or even several months ago.

As for your concerns about losing service, there is that possibility. We'll be doing well this year if we get by without any service cuts. See previous discussions on this topic by clicking here and here.

Bronson has questions about ExpressJet:

"I see they fly out of Tulsa and yes I know tulsa has totally different demographics then us, but my question is, this is a different airlines, not low cost, and not a legacy carrier is this an airline SGF would have a shot at or would it be harder then one of the other airlines. I know your answers are limited due to any pending contracts ( I hope) but if you could please answer as best as possible that would be great. Thanks so much."

ExpressJet is a regional jet company that flies for other airlines. In April of 2007 it started flying under its own name at discount prices. Look at the airline's route map. With the exception of a couple of California markets, everyplace the airline flies is much bigger than Springfield. That's strike one against us. Look at the route map again—see where they fly? Which one destination would you want them to fly to? The only route that might make sense is service to Kansas City. However, history has shown that Kansas City-Springfield service is not viable. Sorry...

Bryan has some questions:

"I went back through and saw some good updates I had not read before. How far back do you go for updates before you make it a new post? At the new terminal will an airline be allowed to essentially buy/lease a gate to add info in the area for their airline. I am sure you know what I mean but in my traveling you notice certain gates are AA gates or Delta, etc. If traveling over easter out of SGF what time do you think would be the best to look for flights."

I haven't done this long enough (since August) to know how old a posting will get before it's made new. By the very nature of the beast there is some repetition in the blog—I've already quoted myself from older postings.

The gates at the new terminal will be "common use." This means that any airline can use them. As time goes on, I think you'll see more of this in other airports. The practice of having one airline brand a gate with its logo and company "look" is not very efficient from an operational point-of-view because it limits the airport's ability to jockey planes in and out of different gates. In the future you'll see more and more airports that have digital signs at the gates. Airline employees can flip a switch on the sign and change the airline name that is displayed.

As for Easter travel, start looking now and keep checking back every other day or two. You will likely notice that the fare will be stuck for awhile, but will then bounce around. The trick is figuring out when to buy. Take a look at our eight tips for finding cheaper fares. Pay particular attention to the 21 day rule that's in tip #2.