OAG Travel News

Review the latest thoughts from Laura Jackson.

A quick review of these 12 cities is included in this week’s article, and additional articles on air service in capitals around the world will be published throughout the month of December.
 
Annapolis, Maryland 
Perhaps it is fitting that Annapolis, home to the U.S. Naval Academy, does not have commercial air service.  Or perhaps it is due to the fact that Annapolis is a short 25-mile (40-kilometer) drive from Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI).  I would place my bet on the latter.

Carson City, Nevada
Nevada is the Silver State.  But the dome of the capitol building in Carson City was originally constructed of tin and today is made of silver-coated fiberglass.  This is an interesting story to ponder on the 29-mile (47-kilometer) drive from Reno/Tahoe International Airport – the closest commercial service airport to Carson City.

Concord, New Hampshire
Carriage manufacturing was once one of Concord’s best-known industries.  Perhaps carriages are still available to travel the 24 miles (39 kilometers) to Manchester Boston Regional Airport.

Dover, Delaware
Dover is the state capital that is the furthest distance from any commercial service airport.  The closest airport is Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico (Maryland) Regional Airport – 61 miles (98 kilometers) away.  Larger airports that are also nearby include Philadelphia International Airport (68 miles/109 kilometers) and BWI (89 miles/143 kilometers).  Interestingly, there are no airports in the entire state of Delaware with commercial air service – the only U.S. state with this distinction.  Delaware holds claim to the title of First State, but definitely not First in Flight (this honor belongs to North Carolina).

Frankfort, Kentucky
According to the State of Kentucky’s Web site, “A long and bitter quarrel among Lexington, Louisville and Frankfort over which city should be Kentucky’s Capital ended in 1904.”  The state legislature chose Frankfort, which today has no commercial air service.  Instead, travelers must go through the other two cities considered as the state capital – Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport is 24 miles (39 kilometers) away, and Louisville’s International airport is 54 miles (87 kilometers) away.

Jefferson City, Missouri
The closest airport to Jefferson City is the Columbia Regional Airport in Columbia, Missouri – a short 21-mile (34-kilometer) drive.  Since service from Columbia is currently limited to three-daily flights to Memphis, a better option for Jefferson City travelers might be a 121-mile (195 kilometers) drive to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

Montpelier, Vermont
Montpelier, with a population of just over 8,000 people, is the smallest state capital in the U.S.  Montpelier is a short 36-mile (58-kilometer) drive to Burlington, Vermont – home to the closest commercial airport.  In recent years, Burlington has become a very competitive airport, with service by multiple legacy and low-cost carriers, offering local residents many air service choices.

Olympia, Washington
Olympians enjoyed nonstop service to the eastern Washington city of Spokane on Big Sky Airlines until late 2004.  Since that time, travelers have had to use nearby Seattle/Tacoma International Airport, 49 miles (79 kilometers) the northeast.

Salem, Oregon
Between June 2007 and October 2008, Delta Air Lines provided nonstop flights between Salem and Salt Lake City International Airport.  With the cancellation of this service, Salem-bound passengers must choose between Portland International Airport (56 miles/90 kilometers to the north) and Eugene Airport (72 miles/116 kilometers to the south).

Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the highest state capital in the U.S. in terms of elevation.  But elevation isn’t the reason why Santa Fe does not currently have air service… An Environmental Assessment (EA) is the reason.  

Great Lakes Airlines did provide service from Santa Fe to Denver for many years until flights ended in January 2008.  Great Lakes cancelled its service due to the announcement by Delta of new service from Santa Fe to both Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, as well as American’s intention to serve Dallas/Ft. Worth nonstop from Santa Fe.  But Delta and American cannot begin service until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) completes an EA that will allow regional jets at Santa Fe Municipal Airport.  In the meantime, the closest commercial service airport to Santa Fe is the Albuquerque International Sunport, 66 miles (106 kilometers) to the south.

Topeka, Kansas
Topeka means “a good place to grow potatoes”.  Topekans are centrally located between two airports: 68 miles (109 kilometers) to the west is Manhattan Regional Airport, and 74 miles (119 kilometers) to the east is Kansas City International Airport.

Trenton New Jersey
Over the past five years, four airlines have provided commercial service from Trenton to seven different destinations.  The most recent services – by Pan Am Clipper to Bedford, Massachusetts, and by Delta Air Lines to Boston – ended in early 2008.  Today Trenton passengers need to travel across the state line to Philadelphia International Airport, 44 miles (71 kilometers) away.

Source: Official Airline Guide (OAG) Schedule Tapes; MapQuest.com; relevant state and city Web sites and news reports containing historical data.

Notes: Includes details on published carriers, not operating carriers (where appropriate); service comparison period of December 2003 through December 2008; closest commercial service airports are included.

Story By: Laura Jackson

OAG contributor Laura Jackson was just two weeks old when she took her first flight on Piedmont Airlines.  In junior high school, she developed a business plan for her own airline.  Today she manages strategy and policy issues at one of the world's busiest airports and provides original content and aviation industry analysis for OAG.