After 14 years, Youngstown reconnects with the world

By KALEA HALL

khall@vindy.com

CHICAGO

A rainy morning greeted the 36 passengers getting aboard the first Great Lakes Jet Express Embraer ERJ-145 flight from Youngstown to Chicago.

Within minutes after check-in and a quick walk through security, everyone was ready to go.

Those who worked to get a daily scheduled service from the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna to Chicago O’Hare International Airport have been ready for a while.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Mickey Bowman, chief operating officer of Aerodynamics Inc., the company bringing the service in partnership with Great Lakes Airlines. “Two years of work and today we are delighted that we are almost ready to board our first flight to Chicago. I want to thank everyone. Hopefully the community is as excited as we are.”

ALL ABOARD

Bowman welcomed everyone as they entered through the gate to board the first flight that was scheduled to take off at 8:55 a.m.

While passengers got settled into comfortable blue seats, placed bags in overhead bins and under the seat in front of them, the flight attendants also welcomed everyone and made some safety announcements before takeoff.

One of the two pilots announced a weight-balance problem led to a slight delay in takeoff. Most of the passengers did not bring luggage, which threw the weight off. After some adjustments, including shifting some passengers to the back of the plane,  the inaugural flight was ready.

As the pilot moved the plane across the tarmac, passengers gazed out of the windows dotted with raindrops at the Vienna countryside.

In one hour and 12 minutes, the view would change to Chicago.

THE PASSENGERS

Mark and Melissa Crissman of Newton Falls were two of the passengers aboard the first flight.

The parents will watch their 13-year-old daughter perform at the Croatian Fraternal Union Festival with the Happy Hearts Jr. Tamburitzans.

A tamburitza is an instrument in the family of plucked stringed instruments that are from South Slavic regions.

Their daughter took a bus to Chicago, but Melissa needed to head back from the trip early because she’s a nurse.

She searched and found the cheapest flight to Chicago was offered at the local airport.

“This worked out. It was kind of perfect timing,” she said of the flight launch.

The tickets were cheaper and the process of getting on the flight was quick, the Crissmans said.

“It went much smoother than other larger airports,” Melissa said. “It was three minutes instead of three hours.”

The flight launch on the Fourth of July weekend was also perfect timing for Veronica and Joe Viola of Champion. Their son, Travis Young, is a resident of Chicago and asked his parents earlier this week to come visit him for the holiday.

Instead of driving seven or more hours to him, the Violas purchased tickets to be on the historic first flight from Youngstown to Chicago.

It feels great to be a part of something historical,” Veronica said. “I’ll tell you what, it’s gonna bring a lot of revenue in.”

HISTORY MADE

The plan to bring back daily scheduled service after 14 years without it at the local airport has been in the works for years. In June 2014, Kennesaw, Ga.-based Aerodynamics Inc. applied to offer 10 flights a week between Youngstown and Chicago to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

A tentative approval was given to ADI in January this year and after further vetting, the air service was finally approved in late May.

“We have been working on this for two and a half years,” said Dan Dickten, director of aviation at the airport. “It reconnects the community to the rest of the world. They can take it right out of their own backyard.”

Once the passengers take the flight, they will land at Terminal 3, Concourse L at O’Hare.

The first flight arrived at 9:43 a.m. CST to the aroma of coffee from nearby shops, sounds of rolling suitcases and sights of a bustling travelers.

“It was a very smooth flight and a nice destination,” said Dan Polivka, a Trumbull County commissioner who was aboard the first flight.

“It’s a good thing it’s not only for vacation but for connectors. We hope it will boost our airport and our economy.”