NASA Astronauts fly T-38s back and forth to Cape Canaveral from EFD. 147th ANG Squadron is there. NASA has a Super Guppy as well as a Grumman Gulfstream designed to fly like the space shuttle. UPS flies 727 and 767s in there too. These are just a few examples of what is there.

I have read that having EFD CO service is mainly for NASA employees. NASA is about 10 minutes away.

On my flight in December, CAL's website is showing it full already . . . maybe this is why they are going to Jungle Jets? How are the load factors on these flights in the past? (the flights that not get cancelled)

Thanks for answering my question, ssulivan and atlas1126!

Atlas: Does NASA still have the Gulfstream I turboprop there as well? (I apologize for the off-topic post, but I didn't have a way to E-Mail the question.)

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The perfect ladies' man is a perfect gentleman.

Everything in hsmythe's post is correct. I live about 10 miles south of EFD and fly through it regularly.

Yes parking is plentiful and free. They do have regular police patrols and lights. It's plenty safe.

Checking in is less hassle than buying a hamburger at McDonalds. They have 2 counters and 1 eticket machine. You can safely arrive 30 min before departure time and will not have any problems checking in or through security.

You will get 500 miles and a segment, even if they put you in a cab.

They do cancel the flight often for weather and mechanical. However I have left IAH for EFD while they were sending the college station passangers on a bus. Weather was fine.

As for why they do it...One word...Southwest. They don't want guys like me taking Southwest out of Hobby..rather than dealing with the nightmare that is IAH.

They are going to switch to RJ's soon, and they're supposed to get a jetway and everything.

I flew there once during Wings Over Houston Airshow. They had to block a taxiway dividing the static displays to let us taxi to the "terminal" - trailer..in our little Brasilia.

Why do I use it?

The miles are nice.

It doesn't usually cost any more than the ticket fom IAH.

Very low hassle.

The flight across Houston on a clear night can be nice to see (if you like that sort of thing).

Time. A subject of great debate for people who frequent EFD. Counting faster checkin, the flight time, and average connect time at IAH...my gut instinct is that if you would have to drive it during rush-hour, EFD is faster. If it's only the 1 hour drive it should be, then it's close to break-even and maybe 15 minutes longer to go via EFD.

Actually, this isn't the reason. The main reason that CO continues to serve EFD is that they receive a federal government subsidy to do so (I'm not sure if it comes from NASA, DOT, DOD, or some other agency) which allows it to remain profitable. Note that prior to 9/11/01, CO also served HOU-IAH in a similar manner, although sometimes with a 737. This service never resumed after 9/11 because of lack of profitability. They had also recently started HOU-NYC service, but decided to drop all HOU service as of 9/11.