New Airline To Link Six Cities with Non-Stop Service at RDU

RALEIGH, N.C. – Travelers out of Raleigh-Durham International Airport will soon have more choices for airline travel, including non-stop access to six destinations, when ExpressJet Airlines formally announces service to and from RDU on Monday morning.

Destinations include New Orleans, San Antonio, Jacksonville, Fla., Kansas City, Birmingham, Ala., and Louisville, Ky., according to the airline’s Web site.

Service will begin in April.

ExpressJet, which is based in Houston, Texas, is announcing non-stop flight schedules to 24 new cities in the Southeast, West and Southwest. ExpressJet plans to operate as its own carrier with point-to-point service. ExpressJet’s parent traces its lineage to Continental Express.

“It is confirmed that the new airline is Express Jet,” said Mindy Hamlin, marketing communications director for RDY International. How many destinations will be announced remains unclear. There is a “possibility” more than one city will be included when ExpressJet launches RDU service in April, she said.

However, a spokesperson for the airline in Texas, said the announcement is more extensive than a report in The Wall Street Journal and local Triangle media this week that cited RDU-to-Kansas City service.

“It is much more than Kansas City,” the spokesperson said. “You definitely want to come on out Monday morning.”

The airline and RDU are planning a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Monday. A media advisory said “important business and vacation destinations” will be disclosed.

ExpressJet will operate smaller jets with 50 seats.

The airline and RDU have invited a long list of Triangle area officials to participate, including Rusine Mitchell-Sinclair, state executive for IBM, and Ed Willingham, chief executive officer of First Citizens Bank.