Airline pulls out of airport 

Airline pulls out of airport

Jun 21, 2012 (Menafn - The Port Arthur News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --Of the estimated 1,600 people who travel by plane from Southeast Texas every day, those who want to leave from Jack Brooks Airport, starting July 1, will have to take a bus.

United Airlines announced Friday that they would be closing their regional jet service, Colgan Airlines, which flew five flights daily between Houston airports and Jack Brooks Regional Airport. The company has replaced the flights with United Express, a shuttle bus service.

The news surprised Jennifer Hogancamp, airport director at Jack Brooks Regional Airport, who said that, "There's definitely a demand for air service in Southeast Texas."

In recent years, the airport, which is run by Jefferson County, has only been able to garner 2.5 percent of the 1,600-person daily demand for air travel, the majority of which either drive or take a shuttle to Houston, according to a study done by Sixel Consulting Group.

"We've hit rock bottom and we got to get going up hill," said Hogancamp, during an interview at her office in Nederland.

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