Fly Mission Air to launch Columbus-St. Petersburg service Business First of Columbus - 2:58 PM EDT Wednesdayby Brian R. BallBusiness First A new charter airline will begin service between Rickenbacker International Airport and the St. Petersburg market in early November. Philadelphia-based Aviation Technologies Inc., doing business as PublicCharters.com, plans to operate one daily flight Thursdays through Sundays beginning Nov. 3 under the Fly Mission Air banner. Sky King Inc. of Sacramento, Calif., will actually provide and operate the 124-seat Boeing 737 aircraft for the flights. Aviation Technologies contracts with a Hawaii-based sales agent operating as FlyMissionAir.com to market the flights and process reservations. Aviation Technologies President Jim Gallagher said the scheduled charter service marks a new business line for the 11-year-old company, which typically arranges private charter service for sports teams and tour operators. "We've now created our own tour operator for scheduled charter markets," Gallagher said, adding that the one-flight, four-day service "is not over aggressive where we're setting ourselves up to low passenger loads. "We have to walk before we run," he said. Flights will cost as low as $208 for a round trip, according to the FlyMissionAir.com. Mission Air also will serve an Indianapolis route to St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport on a separate schedule. A representative of Columbus Regional Airport Authority, the operator of Rickenbacker as well as Port Columbus International Airport, could not be reached for comment on Mission Air's plans. The authority has identified St. Petersburg as one of six leisure markets in Florida it will support through marketing dollars to advertise the service. The airline also may qualify for waived landing fees for six months. At least five airlines or scheduled charters have tried to make a go of it out of Rickenbacker since the terminal first opened in 2003. But those airlines, including Southeast Airlines Inc. and Hooters Air, have all suspended service, leaving the two-gate terminal at Rickenbacker without scheduled service. Hooters began serving the Atlanta and Myrtle Beach, S.C. markets then expanded its flight schedule from Rickenbacker to Petersburg in October 2005 before ending all service in December. Pan-Am Clipper Connection operated between those airports for just a few months beginning in mid-2005. But Gallagher said statistics from the airport authority shows significant passenger traffic between Columbus and Florida's Gulf Coast. "We think it'll be a year-round market," he said. If the market proves viable, Gallagher said his company will consider other Florida markets and resort destinations such as Myrtle Beach, S.C. _________________________________________________________________ Add fun gadgets and colorful themes to express yourself on Windows Live Spaces http://clk.atdmt.com/MSN/go/msnnkwsp0070000001msn/direct/01/?href=http://www.get.live.com/spaces/features