I recently planned a trip to Texas to visit family living near Dallas. In the past I have opted to fly non-stop from a large metropolitan airport about 50 miles from where I live. To make that connection requires either paying a $9 per day long term parking fee at the airport or making a “park and fly” reservation at an airport hotel (for an early morning flight). I also have to consider rush hour traffic in scheduling departure and return flights.
There has been another option. At a closer municipal airport there is a commuter airline that serves a larger, “international” airport from which I could get flights to/from Texas. The parking is free at this smaller airport, travel time is shorter, there is no rush hour traffic to worry about and clearing security is much quicker.
This time, I decided to give this option a shot using the commuter service called “Cape Air”. This little airline serves several other spots in the Northeast and in the Caribbean. It flies a couple of different airplanes and uses Cessna 401’s and 402’s for my local service. The photo here is one of their planes at the airport (taken and posted on line by someone named “Zverzver”.
In order to get reservations on Cape Air and a connection on a preferred “major” carrier, I had to schedule 3-4 hour layovers each way, but I was hoping that the advantages of flying out of the closer, smaller airport with Cape Air would outweigh the layover times and the additional cost of these “extra” legs.
By the time I got to the airport to start the trip, I had already learned that it was not possible to check in for either connection on line but I was able to get boarding passes for these flights when I arrived. The one and only attendant was cheerful and helpful. I had to have my carry-ons weighed and give my own weight (since we would fly in such a small, nine passenger plane). The TSA folks did their thing quickly and professionally but since I was the only passenger taking this particular flight, they didn’t have much to do.
So I got to the airport easily, got the free parking and I was right about quick security clearance. However I also learned that since Cape Air uses a different terminal than by my connecting airline, I would have to clear security again when I changed planes….a bummer.
The flight on Cape Air was fine. It was great to see a lot more on takeoff and landing (I was right behind the co-pilot seat but there was no co-pilot. Instead that seat held the fire extinguisher!). The day was hot and the AC consisted of the lady pilot opening her cockpit window while taxiing for take-off and after landing.
The young man at the end of the Cape Air flight was helpful and told me where I needed to go to get to my connection for the flight to Texas. The second security was not bad since there were not many folks wanting to go through when I did.
After my 3 hour layover ended, I boarded the plane to Texas, on time and with no real problems. Hooray! The flight was smooth and the folks in the seats next to me and close by were congenial. I arrived in Texas a few minutes early, but since there was still another plane at our gate, we had to wait on the tarmac until our scheduled arrival time. My “ride” from the airport was waiting for me and we got away from the airport in good order.
After completing the visit, I discovered that once again, I could not check in on line for either leg of my return flights for some reason. Thus I decided I would need to add 15 more minutes at the airport to stand in line at the ticket counter to check in. I was pleasantly surprised to find no line and I got my boarding passes in about 30 seconds after walking up. Sweet, but lucky.
I got through security and to my departure gate well in advance. My flight out left on time and the passengers and crew were all very good to fly with.
I arrived at my connecting airport on time. In fact, I saw that Cape Air had a plane leaving in 20 minutes so I trotted through the terminal hoping to catch that one rather than waiting several hours for my scheduled flight. However this time, the requirement to clear security between terminals was a plan-killer. There were many, many folks waiting now to show TSA their baggies of liquids, laptops and holey socks. I got to the gate about 5 minutes too late so I settled in to while away the 4 hour layover reading and eating dinner.
When it finally came time to board the Cape Air plane for the final leg the young attendant told us that one of the 7 passengers scheduled for the flight was delayed but “on the ground” but we had to wait for her and her luggage before we boarded. This amounted to a 30 minute delay before we headed out. The late passenger looked like she had had a rough time and was very appreciative that Cape Air waited for her. It was their last flight out for the day.
We got going, arrived in good shape and I drove on home only about a half hour later than I had planned.
Soooooo…..What have I concluded from this little experiment?
1.Cape Air is a nice little airline that does what it does in a professional manner.
2.If I do this again, however, I will try to schedule any connecting flights with airlines that share the same terminal with Cape Air (there are a couple of possibilities) so I won’t have to fight security more than once.
3.I will book the Cape Air reservations separately from any connecting airline so I can check-in on line for the connector leg(s).
4.With these considerations, the Cape Air option with its convenience for ground transportation and parking is viable. I’m just hoping that long layovers between Cape Air and other carriers are exceptions and not the rule.
