Saying Goodbye to Another Airline

ExpressJet will soon be flying out of town permanently.

You'll have to forgive Colorado Springs residents if they start to develop some abandonment issues. Its airport is being left like a shinking ship, with airlines saying goodbye to the city at an alarming rate. The latest to leave Springers high and dry? ExpressJet Airlines.

If you were looking for a flight  to Los Angeles (thru Ontario) Sacramento or San Diego, ExpressJet was a great deal. All of the flights were non-stop and inexpensive. The flight attendants are some of the best, very attentive and personable and they served meals . But with fuel prices going through the roof, the airline didn't deem Colorado Springs as economically feasible and starting September 2, ExpressJet will no longer be servicing the city, not that they were the first to leave. 

In April Midwest ended service to Kansas City and Delta ended service to Cincinnati. in June U.S. Airways ended its service to Las Vegas and reduced its twice a day flights to Sacramento to once a week. And in August Northwest will end its Memphis run after only two months. Not that Colorado Springs should take any of this personally.

"If we had any other choice, we would not take this difficult action," said ExpressJet president and CEO Jim Ream in a press release, "However, rising fuel prices has made the operation impossible to sustain."

While knowing that the Springs did everything it could to keep ExpressJet in town offers some consolation (flights had a solid 77% load factor), it doesn't  take the sting out of losing yet another affordable travel option.