People who fly from Gainesville will soon have another airline option.
Beginning Sunday, Silver Airways will offer passenger flights from Gainesville Regional Airport to Tampa International Airport and Orlando International Airport.
“We are in a nice growth period,” said Laura Aguiar, manager of public relations and governmental affairs.
Tickets are $49 one way, which is an introductory rate.
Passengers will be charged $25 for the first piece of checked luggage and $35 for the second. Flights last less than one hour.
Aguiar said the new flights will allow some passengers to avoid Atlanta International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world.
“Another airline gives them another connection option, another price point, another reason to fly their local airport,” she said.
Silver Airways moved its operation from Ft. Lauderdale to take advantage of an empty hangar at the Gainesville Regional Airport. The airline will bring about 100 jobs to Gainesville.
Laurel McKay, a 20-year-old civil engineering sophomore, uses the Gainesville Regional Airport about four times a year, at the beginning and end of each semester.
McKay doesn’t go home to Massachusetts very often. She said it’s too expensive to travel. A roundtrip flight costs up to $300.
She said she might find cheaper connecting flights through Tampa or Orlando compared to Atlanta. Because of that, she might be able to go home more often.
“It’s a more feasible option, and time-wise it’s not too much more traveling,” she said.
