VERO BEACH — Regular scheduled passenger airline service returned to Vero Beach after a decade-long absence Thursday morning when Elite Airways’ inaugural flight left right on time for Newark, New Jersey’s Liberty Airport, just across the Hudson River from New York City, with an almost-full flight.
The 50-seat Bombardier CRJ-100/200 commuter jet was supposed to have been fully booked, but at the last minute there were three no-shows so the final passenger count was only 47. They included some invited dignitaries, like Vero Beach Regional Airport Manager Eric Menger, who was spending the weekend in the city attending a Rockettes Christmas concert and doing other typical touristy stuff before returning on Sunday’s flight to bring home a relic of the World Trade Center from 9/11 destined for a Melbourne museum.
All passengers gave a spontaneous round of applause both at takeoff from Vero Beach airport and upon landing in New Jersey.
“This is the first flight – hopefully 4,000 or more to go,” said Menger, who added that regular passenger air service to a major Northeast Metro center is very important for Vero Beach.
“We know that the airport restaurant was already happy this morning with the additional business they got,” said Menger. “Now we want the airline to be happy, too, and we want the whole community to be happy.”
One-way fares between Vero Beach (its call letters are VRB) and Newark start at $149 or $199, but, as is the case with just about all airlines these days, fares may go up with increased demand for certain flights.
Elite Airways, based in Portland, Maine, started out as a charter service for traveling sports teams and recently entered the passenger business from Melbourne. The airline is taking reservations for twice-weekly flights to Newark (Thursdays and Sundays) through April of next year.