this post is mainly directed at Houstonians flying through IAH (and therefore on CO) frequently:
Being new to the general Houston area (Galveston) and finding myself flying a decent bit, I can't stand the drive to IAH. How do those of you who live in the southern half of the Houston metro area get there most efficiently? I've tried the freeways through downtown, and it's traffic-dependent (so can never really guess how long it will take). 610 and the Tollway are usually OK with traffic, but represent the long way around. I find myself flying out of Hobby, but would like to take advantage of the some of the fares and flight options at IAH. Any chance they might revive the old Ellington Field flights to IAH? Those would be incredibly convenient.... Any chance that they might try to start a similar service to Scholes Field in Galveston to take advantage of the expected development boom along the beach and in Texas City/Dickinson? CO is missing out on a great deal of volume from Clear Lake and points south. A high-speed train would be so nice...but this is Texas...

Coming up from I-45, taking I-610 around the east side of town adds only a mile or two to US59. Construction of it is mostly done, I believe, and traffic is seldom bad. Same thing for US59 up to the airport.

Are you taking I-45 north all the way through Downtown to Beltway 8? If so, stop doing that.

EFD... ahh those were the days!

The free parking, the President's Corner, the being able to walk up to the plane... what an experience!

But still, w/r/t to air service to the southern part of Houston CO may want to review the options as they are getting those Q400's. Props have better economics than comparable regional jets on short haul routes so perhaps CO would consider scheduling in a few rotations to serve that part of the city.

<shrugs> than again, they might not.

Another black mark against EFD is the fact the terminal is in need of repairs/rebuilding (or at least that's what the staff said on the last days of operations there). Should CO want to return, that issue would need to be addressed.

Also, besides the HOU/EFD option there's also GLS (Galveston). Perhaps if there's enough O/D demand from the cruises to sustain service CO may consider servicing it with a Q400.

http://www.ridemetro.org/pdf/routes/102-iah.pdf

As much as we'd all love to see CO come back to EFD, or even HOU, I just don't see it happening, even with the Q400s. If they really wanted to be there now, they could have Colgan serving the route with the Saabs, which wouldn't be all that different from the old days when COEX flew to EFD with EMB-120s and ATR-42s.

I second the 45 to 610 east to 59 route. Other than the section of 45 south of 610, most of this route is pretty immune to major rush hour congestion. Once the last pieces of construction on 610 are finished, it will be an even faster route than it is now.

The President's Corner??? I flew out of EFD plenty and, while it was a great deal, there was nothing "Presidential" about it.

FWIW

DLM

Nope, that was the corner with the TV and magazines. Called it the President's Corner as I did not know what else to call it.

Welcome fellow islander! Have you tried looking at:

http://transportation.galveston.com/

They may be an alternative for you. There's also an air taxi service from the airport, but I'm not sure on the cost. I've been looking at the possibility of starting an air charter service, but the costs can be a bit overwhelming. Hopefully the rumours of CO starting up a GLS shuttle will emerge soon.

Fly direct out of Galveston and avoid IAH, Hobby and Ellington Field forever!

Who needs an airline?

^ ^ ^ ^

Heh, I live off 45 on the north side.. I have to go south to get to IAH. If I take hardy, it's all of 20 minutes, and that's if there's traffic

Seriously, EFD/HOU doesn't make much sense for CO or the customers (except for those trying to get 500 bonus miles). When you add in the extra time needed for connection at IAH, it's almost always better to just drive up there.

CO did try HOU-CLE and HOU-EWR; but they shut them down. I guess they are not successful. And I think most of us Houstonians will appreciate more frequent IAH-EWR, than getting a few-times-a-day HOU-EWR.

And really, it only makes a difference for those living in the SE side of town. NW and NE definitely prefer IAH, and even for those who live in the SW (like myself), the difference is only 10 minutes between IAH and HOU.

now if they'll just link in that line with the Galveston trolley system, I'm in business

rkkwan: I'm not in favor of CO flying out of HOU, as I agree it adds a few unnecessary flights that are better utilized at IAH. however, I think the old Ellington Field route made a lot of sense. for someone like me, it's 45 mins. to HOU from Galveston, and 90 mins. (avg.) to IAH for me. what's worse is that the IAH drive time depends heavily on traffic, so I have to leave earlier than I want in order to ensure enough time to handle traffic. if I go on the Tollway (picking it up at I-45 near Clear Lake), it costs extra money, takes a solid 80-90 mins., and I lose time at toll booths. further, working in Galveston, it's tough for me to make certain departure times at IAH if I have to leave so early to make it on time. with the heavy development in Clear Lake, League City, and Pearland, expected development in Texas City/Dickinson, and continued development of the beachfront in Port Bolivar/Crystal Beach, Galveston, and Jamaica Beach, it's in CO's best interest to find a way to capture that market who will gravitate to HOU purely to avoid a long drive.