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ViaAir News

8th May 2018

Via Air makes inaugural trip from Tulsa to Austin

Tulsa International Airport’s first nonstop flight to Austin, Texas, in a decade took off Monday.

Via Airline announced in February that it would be offering the Tulsa-to-Austin route. TIA’s last nonstop to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport was operated by ExpressJet from June 2007 to March 2008.

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The addition brings to seven the number of airlines flying out of TIA and expands its nonstop service to 24 airports in 21 cities.

Jeff Stava, Tulsa Airport’s Improvement Trust chairman, said in February, “Tulsa businesses have recently ranked Austin as the top regional destination for new air service.”

7th May 2018

ViaAir To Celebrate Austin - Tulsa Flights Launch On May 7

Inaugural ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. and will include a live music performance by Jenny Reynolds, ribbon cutting,, cake.

1st May 2018

ViaAir inaugurated new nonstop service from Austin’s South Terminal to Little Rock, Arkansas on May 1. 

Inaugural ceremonies included a live music performance by Michael Fracasso, a ribbon cutting, cake and remarks from airline and airport officials. The Austin to Little Rock route marks the fourth nonstop added by ViaAir since December.  

The flight will operate six days a week, Sunday – Friday between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport’s South Terminal (AUS) and Clinton National Airport (LIT) in Little Rock, Arkansas. The ViaAir AUS to LIT nonstop will depart Austin’s South Terminal at 8:30 a.m. and arrive in Little Rock at 9:42 a.m. Flights will depart Little Rock at 10:17 a.m. and arrive at Austin’s South Terminal at 11:41 a.m. 

“ViaAir is expanding their service and we welcome their growth at the Austin airport,” said Jim Smith, executive director, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. “The new service to Little Rock links Austin, the Live Music Capitol of the World, to the capital city of Arkansas.” 

Along with new service to Little Rock, ViaAir’s nonstop options from Austin include Tucson, Arizona (TUS), Oklahoma City (OKC), and winter seasonal flights to Steamboat Springs/Hayden, Colorado (HDN). ViaAir also announced it will start service from Austin to Tulsa, Oklahoma (TUL) on May 6 and seasonal service to Branson, Missouri (BKG) on May 25. 

“Austin is an amazing, fast-growing city. We are thrilled to bring the convenience of direct flights to the markets of Little Rock, Oklahoma City and Tulsa as part of our expansion as we hope to be known as Austin’s hometown airline,” said Matthew Macri, vice president of operations.  

15th January 2018

Discount carrier ViaAir plans to boost Austin presence, add flights

ViaAir will begin nonstop service from Austin to Oklahoma City, Okla.; and Tucson, Ariz.

The carrier already offers seasonal service from Austin to Branson, Mo., and Steamboat Springs, Colo.

An airline you’ve probably never heard of has big plans for Austin in 2018.

Florida-based ViaAir will begin nonstop service from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Oklahoma City, Okla., and Tucson, Ariz., on Jan. 18.

The discount carrier already offers seasonal service from Austin to Branson, Mo., and Steamboat Springs, Colo., operating out of the airport’s South Terminal.

Other carriers that operate out of the South Terminal, at 10000 Logistics Lane, include Allegiant Air and Sun Country Airlines. All other carriers operate out of the airport’s main terminal.

The two terminals are on the same property, but are not connected.

ViaAir plans to expand its presence in Austin, with some of its flight crews and maintenance operations eventually being based at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Matthew Macri, ViaAir’s vice president of operations, said in the airline’s announcement.

“Austin is an amazing, fast-growing city,” Macri said. “We are thrilled to bring the convenience of direct flights to the markets of Tucson and Oklahoma City as the start of expanded service in the region. We will roll out additional cities throughout (2018) as we hope to be known as Austin’s hometown airline.”

Some other cities across the nation that ViaAir serves include Dallas, Houston, Charlotte, N.C., Chicago, Denver and Orlando.

ViaAir, which was founded in 1997, operates a fleet of aircraft that includes Embraer’s 50-seat ERJ-145 and 30-seat EMB-120 models.

“ViaAir’s continued growth, connecting two new nonstop destinations to Austin, is welcomed,” Austin-Bergstrom International Airport executive director Jim Smith said. “These Oklahoma City and Tucson additions bring more options for customers and can ease new business and tourism connections for Central Texans.”

ViaAir said it is teaming up with Embark Aviation to expand its Austin service, with Embark handling marketing, network planning, pricing and revenue management duties.

In addition to ViaAir, Delta Air Lines is also in expansion mode at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. It was revealed this week that, starting in May, the airline will kick off nonstop flights to Cincinnati, Ohio.

December 2017

ViaAir: From Charter Airline to Scheduled Commercial Carrier

Based in a small town in the heart of rural West Virginia, charter airline ViaAir has undergone a stark transformation in its three years of operations, primarily due to its transition to a scheduled commercial carrier.

An offshoot of Cleveland-based charter airline Charter Air Transport, the airline initially flew a handful of scheduled routes from its base in Beckley, West Virginia and numerous charters on behalf of casinos and air tour companies. Since then, the airline has expanded, opening up hubs in cities outside of West Virginia across the country.

In the early days of its operation, the airline primarily flew Essential Air Service (EAS) flights across Appalachia, connecting cities with little to no regional air presence. The U.S. Government subsidizes these flights as a way to provide travel opportunities to those in remote areas. The airline made a name for itself as the airline of West Virginia, sponsoring events in local communities and connecting people to larger cities.

Via’s operations were mostly centralized in West Virginia, serving the cities of Beckley, Parkersburg, and Lewisburg and connecting them to Charlotte in neighboring North Carolina. Outside of West Virginia, ViaAir served Farmingdale Republic Airport on Long Island, NY. From Farmingdale, the airline would fly casino charters to Atlantic City as well as air tour charters to Niagara Falls for its in-house “AirCruise” tour company.

The AirCruise flights to Niagara Falls were sold as a tour package, including round-trip transportation from New York City, breakfast on-board and a tour bus service upon arrival at Niagara Falls International Airport. The tour would take passengers to the attractions on both sides of the U.S./Canadian Border, returning to the airport in the evening to take passengers back to New York City.

In addition, the airline also maintained an EAS flight from Clarksburg to Baltimore. However, the route is now discontinued as the airline is pursuing other opportunities across the country. Its first non-EAS flight was from Charlotte to St. Augustine, targeting vacationers. West Virginian travelers could reach the Floridian city with a stop in Charlotte. All other Via flights were unscheduled charters.

The airline is known for its inexpensive fares. While it offers low introductory fares for its newest routes, some EAS routes were known to be less than $20 one-way. Even fares on the unsubsidized longer flights were still comparable to those of a low-cost carrier.

In the first two years of its operation, the only aircraft type in the Via fleet was the Embraer 120 Brasilia turboprop aircraft. These aircraft were operated by Via’s parent airline, Charter Air Transport, doing business as ViaAir. These 30 seat aircraft were and still are, the backbone of Via’s operations. It wasn’t until 2015 when ViaAir upgraded to the larger and longer range Embraer 145 aircraft, its current workhorse.

Via currently has six Embraer 145 aircraft, all featuring its new paint scheme, which fly the high demand and longer routes for the airline. The airline also uses one of its aircraft as a sport’s charter for the Jacksonville Jaguars football team during the football season. The Jaguars charter is one of Via’s few remaining charters, as the airline is moving towards a solely scheduled commercial operation.

Moving away from the mixed charter and scheduled commercial operation that the airline started as to a mainly scheduled commercial carrier, the airline expanded westward. Currently, the airline has three hub cities: Charlotte, which serves the East Coast and Appalachia region; Austin, serving the Southwest, Midwest, and Rocky Mountain region; and Branson, serving airports in Texas, Illinois, and Colorado.

From Branson, Via operates to major cities and airports including Denver, Chicago-Midway, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston-Hobby and its hub in Austin. Branson provides the airline with a centrally located connection point, while also bringing tourists to the popular vacation hub.

Via’s Austin hub is the airline’s most recent, switching from just two seasonal routes to announcing two new full-time routes to Oklahoma City and Tuscon which will begin next year. Recently, the airline also made it clear that it plans to base crews in Austin and plans to announce more destinations from the city next year.

The airline is continuing to expand, announcing new routes every few months from new and existing hubs. What was once a small charter airline operating a solely turboprop fleet is now a full-fledged scheduled commercial carrier operating from major airports across the country. Via, however, has not forgotten its roots, still flying the same EAS routes to and from West Virginia.

With three hubs in key locations around the country and options for an additional two Embraer 145 aircraft, the future is bright for ViaAir as they continue to grow and complete their transition from a charter airline to a scheduled commercial carrier.