intra-state flights
 

How many intra-state scheduled passenger flights have you been on? I'm sure California and Texas will be very common.

My list of states with examples of intra-state flights and whether I took any:

Florida: flew TLH-FLL
Georgia: flew ATL-BQK
South Carolina: none
North Carolina: flew AVL-CLT
Virginia: there is IAD-CHO
West Virginia: flew BLF-BKW
Maryland: none
Delaware: none (no airports with scheduled flights at all!)
New Jersey: none
Pennsylvania: flew PIT-PHL
New York: flew JFK-BUF
Connecticut: none
Rhode Island: none (just one airport with scheduled flights)
Massachussetts: there is BOS-MVY
New Hampshire: none
Vermont: none
Maine: flew RKD-AUG
Ohio: there is CLE-CMH
Kentucky: flew CVG-SDF
Indiana: none
Michigan: there is DTW-AZO
Illinois: there is ORD-SPI
Wisconsin: there is MKE-RHI
Minnesota: there is MSP-BRD
Iowa: there is MCW-FOD
Missouri: there is STL-MCI
Arkansas: there is HOT-HRO
Louisiana: none
Tennessee: there is MEM-BNA
Mississippi: none
Alabama: none
Texas: flew AUS-HOU
Oklahoma: there is WDG-PNC
Kansas: there is MHK-SLN
Nebraska: there is CDR-AIA
South Dakota: there is ATY-ABR
North Dakota: there is DIK-ISN
Montana: there is FCA-HLN
Idaho: there is BOI-PIH
Wyoming: there is CYS-WRL
Utah: there is SLC-CDC
Colorado: flew DEN-DRO
New Mexico: there is ABQ-FMN
Arizona: there is PHX-TUS
Nevada: flew EKO-RNO
California: flew LAX-FAT
Oregon: there is PDX-RDM
Washington: there is SEA-PSC
Alaska: there is ANC-FAI
Hawaii: there is HNL-OGG

So, 38 of the 50 states have intra-state flights (of which I flew in 12). I'm sure all 50 have at some point in the past (except maybe Delaware; it's just too small!).

Shoot, it wasn't all that long ago that Delta flew MLU-SHV and OKC-TUL (mainline, too!), and Air Midwest dba US Airways Express flew MSY-SHV. I faintly recall flying LYH-CHO on a Piedmont F-28 around 1980.

Some additions from the past -

Connecticut - Pilgrim flew between Hartford, New London, New Haven and Bridgeport

South Carolina - Air South flew between Charleston and Columbia

I've flown CHO to IAD once...but never again until UA Express gets out of the awful G terminal at Dulles.

United Express also flies from IAD to ROA, RIC, and ORF...all intra-Virginia.

US Airways Express does the DCA-ORF route.

The only way to get around our state is with an intra-state flight... I've taken too many to count.

thinking aloud, there is a significant market for intra-state (USA) flights in:

Alaska (just look at Alaska Airlines routes!)
California
Hawaii
Texas

Alabama is listed as none. This may or may not be true, but I flew BHM-HSV on UA (mainline!) in 1992. Louisiana is also listed as none but there is (or recently was) Shreveport-New Orleans flights on Mesa/US Airways Express.

As mentioned, airport hubs often have flights to other cities within that state.

I've flown IAH-HOU in Texas, not only intra-state, but intra-city! I've also flown ATL-SAV a bunch of times. A friend of mine needed to fly from ATL to columbus, ohio, but he was a little wasted when he made his reservation on the internet so he ended up flying from ATL to Columbus, GA, CSG. Only about a half hour drive. I guess that counts.

The concept of Intra-State airlines (not just routes but whole carriers) had a different meaning until the 1980s when their routes were outside the control of the Federal Civil Aviation Board (CAB), although on the technical side the FAA was still responsible (different legislation). Some states had significant operations, particularly California, where the much-missed PSA and Air California ran large operations. The additional bureaucracy required to fly out of state kept them inside for a long time. Likewise Southwest Airlines began as an Intra-State operator in Texas, and Air Florida did the same in its home state.

Alaska and Hawaii had their own geographic reasons of course why they had extensive Intra-State airlines as well.

In Texas. (scheduled commerical)

DAL-LBB
DFW-LBB
DAL-HRL
LBB-IAH

That doesn't include stopovers on some of those flights. If you allow me to include those, then add AMA and CRP (or was it SAT??)

I've flown so many intra-California flights there's no way I could count them all. It must be in the hundreds, by now.

Ed

In Texas: AUS-IAH, IAH-AUS.
In California: BUR-OAK, BUR-SFO, LAX-SFO, OAK-BUR, OAK-LAX, SAN-SFO, SFO-BUR, SFO-LAX, SFO-SAN.
In Virginia: CHO-IAD, IAD-CHO, IAD-SHD, SHD-IAD.

I think that's all of them, but I wouldn't swear to it.

I just remembered two more --
In Wisconsin: MKE-MSN, MSN-MKE.

Interesting! When did you fly that? Today SHD has service only to PIT, which is kind of strange now that PIT is barely a hub any more (a "focus city" according to US Airways).

Don't forget EFD-IAH.

I know, Continental no longer has this, but they did in the late 1990's when we lived there...

I don't know if the CO bus ride from HOU to IAH qualifies, though! :) :)

A few interesting notes:

I flew IAH-EFD last May. I had a ticket to fly HOU-IAH in 1999 but CO canceled the flight, and I had to take a taxi to IAH.

11 years ago I flew SBA to BUR on AA (mainline, not Eagle).

As far as I know, there are only two intra-co-terminal flights remaining: LAX-ONT and LAX-SNA.

The only inter-state, intra-co-terminal flight, IAD-BWI, is gone. :(

The Great Lakes flight from GRI to DEN stops in MCK. I flew that this past summer and two people from GRI got off the plane in MCK, so I assume that is or was a scheduled intrastate flight.

I also know US Air Express used to fly a bunch of little hops out of MCI to places like ICT, HYS, DDC, and SLN. I know MCI is in Missouri, but it's pretty close to an intrastate flight.

Also, you may be interested to know that TZ announced, in the midst of their recent bankruptcy reorganization plans, that they will begin providing intrastate service in Indiana early next year. These will be with Chicago Express turboprop flights between IND and FWA, SBN, and EVV, respectively.

This post also reminded me of another article I read years back in USA Today, about state capitals without jet service. This was before RJs really came on big. I recall that several states had no scheduled service at all to their state capitals, including Trenton, Montpelier, Dover, and Frankfort KY.

But for a while in the mid-90s, Trenton (TTN) did have scheduled service, on Eastwind airlines. The discount airline had a bee as its "mascot" or logo and flew between TTN and GSO, then on to MCO and other vacation spots, mostly in Florida.

This doesn't have much to do with the intra-state airline post, but I thought it interesting to point out that for a while, there was a third airport in NJ with scheduled service (EWR and ACY being the other two). While you can fly from EWR to ACY, I don't think you could ever fly between TTN and EWR. CO had bus service from TTN (and ABE, for that matter) to EWR that had a flight number, earned FF miles, and was inside the security curtain. You would screen thru security at TTN or ABE, check luggage, board the bus, and the bus would take you right into the airport and drop you off airside, inside security, at a special gate in the C terminal.