American Airlines to fly nonstop route between Little Rock, D.C.

Nonstop flight service between Little Rock and Washington, D.C., is returning after a three-year hiatus.

American Airlines will begin daily service between Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport beginning April 3, officials at Arkansas' largest airport said Monday.

The service will mark the 13th destination travelers can fly to without interruption from Clinton National.

"Nonstop service to [Reagan National], which has been heavily requested by both business and leisure travelers, is essential to connecting Arkansas to the nation's capital," said Ronald Mathieu, executive director at Clinton National. "We appreciate American's continued investment in Little Rock as we have worked together for three years to restore this route."

Tickets are now on sale for the nearly 2½-hour flight that will be operated by American Eagle. A round-trip ticket on the American website costs $358 for main-cabin service. Service will be provided on an Embraer 175, a 76-seat aircraft that provides two-class service and includes Wi-Fi.

The schedule will include a 7:20 a.m. departure from Clinton National that will arrive at Reagan National at 10:40 a.m. The flight will leave Reagan National at 5:55 p.m. and arrive at Clinton National at 7:35 p.m.

The flight times will allow business travelers, in particular, to fly to Washington in the morning, schedule meetings before noon and until 3:30 p.m., and still be able to return to Little Rock the same day, said Jay Chesshir, president and chief executive officer of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Now, it is almost a two-day turnaround for a round-trip flight to Washington, a frequent destination for the business community, not only to meet with members of the state's congressional delegation but with officials from various federal agencies.

"The ability to get back and forth to D.C. in a day is going to be a huge time-saver," Chesshir said. "My hat's off to Ron Mathieu and his team for listening to the concerns of the business community."

Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin, a former member of Congress, also welcomed the announcement.

A direct flight eliminates not only the extra time needed to change planes at another airport but reduces the potential for flight delays.

With a direct flight, "you can just be more productive and be more rested when you get there," Griffin said. "As a matter of convenience, business travelers are looking for that. Make no mistake, this is a big deal for business travelers.

"It makes the airport more attractive and makes the city more attractive."

Little Rock has been without a direct connection to Washington, D.C., since 2014, when US Airways announced it was canceling its nonstop service between Clinton National and Reagan National. The service began in 2012.

Little Rock was one of 17 cities with nonstop service out of Reagan National that US Airways agreed to give up as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in exchange for the agency dropping an antitrust lawsuit that jeopardized a merger between US Airways and American.

American is the largest carrier at both Clinton National and Reagan National, which serves as a hub for the airline. Although it is in Arlington County, Va., Reagan National is 3 miles from downtown Washington, D.C., and is the closest airport to the nation's capital.

American, which has served Little Rock since 1931, also provides nonstop service from Little Rock to Chicago, Dallas and Charlotte, N.C.

The airline began operating a direct flight between Northwest Arkansas and Washington, D.C., in April, the third such nonstop flight that Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport has had to the nation's capital.

"We think the third time is the charm," said Kelly Johnson, airport director at Northwest Regional. "It seems to be working pretty well."

Business on 10/31/2017

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