ExpressJet begins flying as a standalone carrier ExpressJet's first flights as a standalone carrier took off Monday at eight airports: Austin, Boise, Kansas City, L.A./Ontario, Omaha, San Antonio, Spokane and Tucson. The carrier, which hopes to make its mark by offering non-stop service between mostly medium-sized markets that are currently not connected to each other, will phase in about 15 additional destinations between April 9 and May 14. ExpressJet has been the long-time Express affiliate of Continental. Now, it's opted to launch the standalone unit after Continental ended deals to use 69 of ExpressJet's planes that it had been flying under contract for Continental on its regional routes. ExpressJet still does a significant amount of regional flying for Continental and also has signed on Delta as a partner. As for ExpressJet's newly launched standalone service, the carrier is focusing on point-to-point flying but will have its biggest base at L.A./Ontario International Airport in Southern California. ExpressJet's flights there began yesterday, with the carrier debuting 13 daily flights to seven destinations from Ontario. By May 14, that number is expected to jump to 29 flights to 14 cities. For Ontario, that represents a 25% increase in daily departures and a 63% rise in non-stop destinations, according to the Daily Bulletin of Southern California. So, how was ExpressJet greeted on its first day as a standalone carrier? The Daily Bulletin sets this scene at Ontario: "Michael Baumgartner walked to his gate at L.A./Ontario International Airport on Monday morning expecting to simply board a flight to Omaha. Instead, the Lake Elsinore man found himself surrounded by balloons, catered food and a small sea of smiling people in suits. His flight, it turned out, was the maiden voyage out of Ontario for ExpressJet Airlines, which over the next month is rolling out the largest single expansion of service in the airport's 84-year history. 'Hopefully, this won't be as bad as the inaugural journey of the Titanic,' Baumgartner, 45, joked as he prepared to board." Kansas City businessman Jeff Orr tells the Daily Bulletin that the airline's new non-stop options will help him save time by eliminating layovers. "I love it," he tells the paper. "Otherwise, I'd be getting here three hours later. I can get a lot more work done." Posted at 10:12 AM/ET, Apr 03, 2007 in ExpressJet | Permalink | Comments 2 TrackBack <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".