Several months ago, this column highlighted the progress being made at the Williamsport Regional Airport.

At the Lycoming County Commissioners Meeting on August 29th, Mark Cestari, Chief Commercial Officer and Vice President of Marketing for Southern Airways Express outlined the progression that has been made in the four months of service at that time. They offered ten weekly flights to Washington-Dulles Airport, and Mr. Cestari shared that the company was optimistic about the future.

Since then, things at the airport have been getting better and better.

Mr. Cestari was back at the Commissioners Meeting on Thursday, November 14th, to present in person and provide an update. He first noted that the number of passengers has been increasing to the point that the company is now adding more weekly flights to the schedule. Another change will be “overnighting” the planes at Williamsport, which will help improve the schedule.

Starting on January 1, 2025, the new schedule will be a Monday to Friday morning flight at 5:50 a.m., which will get the passengers to Washington, D.C.’s Dulles Airport at 7:20 a.m. The afternoon flight will leave at 2:45 p.m. and arrive in Williamsport at 4:15 p.m. There is also a ‘cleanup flight’ that will be at 5:25 p.m. and arrive in Williamsport at 6:59 p.m.

Mr. Cestari noted that this is an optimal schedule for business travelers, especially those who wish to go on to another destination, given that most flights leave at 10:00 a.m. It will also be helpful for those who wish to make a one-day trip to D.C., as they can make the trip down and back in one day.

The Southern Airways Express bean counters have crunched the numbers and believe that this new schedule will generate 25 percent more ridership and revenue. The goal is to increase ridership to 70 percent, and it appears this is happening.

Things are looking up not just for the Williamsport Municipal Airport but also for Southern Airways.

They are expanding their fleet by 90 new planes in the next five years, replacing the 46 planes that they currently have. Two new planes are to arrive very shortly for Williamsport. As Mr. Cestari puts it, like a new car, these new planes are beautiful, sleek, more comfortable, and more reliable.

I have not had the need to fly out of Williamsport, but I have known several people who have flown with Southern, and it seems some appreciate it, and others do not. Flying is quite different from other forms of transportation. Unless you can afford to fly first class, flying is not designed to be comfortable as much as it is to get the most seats possible on a plane.

Having flown over half a million miles in my lifetime (and that is not hyperbole; my passports will prove it), I can count on one hand the number of flights I can say I ‘enjoyed.’

From what I hear, it seems that Williamsport Airport has a worthwhile carrier that appears to be getting better with time.