The dawn of a sunny day

After a weather-related delay, the first Vacation Express flight left for Florida.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
SANFORD, Fla. -- Children on board burst into applause when the inaugural Vacation Express flight from the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport left a surprise snowstorm for a red-tinged Florida sunset.
All but two seats on the 120-passenger jet had been sold for this first scheduled commercial flight from the local airport since Northwest Airlines pulled out 18 months ago.
With the help of $300,000 borrowed from Trumbull and Mahoning counties, Vacation Express began four-times-weekly service to Sanford, a short drive from Orlando, Fla.'s theme parks and resorts, on Thursday.
On Saturday, Vacation Express of Atlanta will add semiweekly service to Myrtle Beach, S.C. So far, more than 13,000 one-way tickets have been sold for both the flights. Tickets start at $69, and the company has run promotions that make them even less.
"It really is cheaper to fly than to drive," said Kim Driscoll, a salesclerk from Masury, as she waited in line at the security gate with her husband, Jim.
A few months ago, they made the drive to Clearwater, Fla., to visit relatives, and it cost them $170 in gas alone. This time, they are flying to Sanford and renting a car for the final leg.
"We gotta go where the sun is," Jim said.
Inexpensive
Many on the flight said the cheap ticket prices persuaded them to make a trip they otherwise might not have.
Cheryl Wright, a school accountant in East Liverpool, said the opportunity to fly inexpensively prompted her and husband, Ray, to take their second trip to Florida in the last five months.
"This is so much easier, and you don't have all the hassles," she said as they waited in the Vienna Township airport's pre-boarding area. "Parking isn't a problem; you don't have to switch airplanes; you don't have the layovers; [and] you don't have to worry about your bags getting on the wrong flight."
The airport offers such amenities as short walks, easy parking and a single waiting room served alongside regular irritations of 21st century flight.
Like everywhere else, passengers stand, take off shoes and spread their arms for a search wand, and security personnel with gloved hands go through bags. A section of the airport's secure waiting area has been partitioned off with black curtains for more invasive searches.
Delay
To get on the plane, passengers go through an enclosed walkway, just like at larger airports. The Boeing 737-200 offered the standard fare -- rows of seats three across on both sides of the aisle, restrooms, beverage service and a bag of pretzels, along with the standard frustration of a more than hourlong departure delay as the plane's wings were being de-iced.
The delay was taken in stride by the passengers, which included a large number of children. Some sang to pass time. Others cried.
"We are going to visit Mickey tomorrow," said Margaret Melnek of Poland, whose daughter, Emily, 6, curled up in the window seat with a Disney coloring book.
Emily originally wasn't going to come on the trip, which had been planned primarily so Melnek, an education student at Youngstown State University, could help her snowbird parents drive their car back to the Mahoning Valley for their summer stay.
But Melnek said the deal was too good to pass up.
"I couldn't find a flight to Florida for under $300," Melnek said. "When I called out here, it was $89 for two people."
Orlando airport
The flight takes passengers to the Sanford Orlando International Airport, which is decidedly larger than the one in Vienna, but it is still small enough to appear empty if you show up between flights.
On some days, it offers as many as 28 flights.
The airport has a gift shop, restaurant and two baggage carousels, one more than at Youngstown-Warren, and 12 labeled gates. It is a short walk from plane to baggage claim, with one escalator along the way.
Perhaps more important to passengers on the first flight from the Mahoning Valley were the clear skies, balmy weather and palm trees swaying by the taxi stand.
siff@vindy.com