After almost one year without commercial air service, Mason City has a new airline touching down on its runway this week. Air Choice One is now flying eight flights a day between Mason City and Chicago O’Hare, with four flights daily between the cities on weekends. Shane Storz , CEO of the carrier, says they hope for a steady stream of business travelers as well as those who want to zip over to the Windy City for fun.
“We’re hoping for the daytime events in Chicago,” Storz says. “Folks can leave on the early morning flights and come back on the late evening flights and have a good time in Chicago.” While some travelers like to use discount online services to book flights, he suggests a lower-cost alternative, the company’s own site.
“The online travel agencies such as Expedia, Kayak and Priceline,” Storz says. “To save you money, to save us money, we highly recommend booking us on our website, airchoiceone.com.” One way flights are going for as little as $55.
The airline started flights to Mason City on Monday and was already serving Burlington. Air Choice One will start flights to Fort Dodge in the coming weeks. Great Lakes Airlines ended commuter flights to Mason City and Fort Dodge in January of 2014.
(Reporting by, Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City)