New Airline Could Change So. California Travel Plans

There's some good news coming for Arizona travelers who like the occasional quick getaway to Southern California: The Cranky Flier reported that a new airline called California Pacific (which sounds a bit more like a railroad) is hoping to begin service to various spots throughout California, Arizona, Nevada and eventually into Mexico.

That's great for us Arizona types, because one of the proposed routes is from Phoenix to Carlsbad's Mclellan-Palomar Airport. I love this idea because my destination is usually Carlsbad, anyway. I've had enough of San Diego proper. I don't really care about Sea World or Old Town - or even the Gaslamp District.

This will save travelers 35 miles, some navigation and traffic hassles. I would imagine it will also benefit travelers by giving them a chance to go a little further north than they otherwise might. So a potential little tourism boost for the northern towns, too. It seems California Pacific is angling more for business travelers. Fair enough, but I have a feeling it'll also hit a decent vein of tourism ore, too. Also cool - California Pacific will fly the Brazilian-made Embraer 170. It's a nifty little plan with no middle seats. And it actually looks sleek and modern. Yeah, that sort of thing is actually kind of neat to me!

I'm hoping to hear more about California Pacific. I don't know which airport in the Phoenix area will be its base. I'm definitely hoping it's not Williams Gateway. That would shoot a nifty plan right down, since I'd rather drive from Lindbergh Field to Carlsbad than from central Phoenix to east Mesa. At least the drive to Carlsbad is kind of nice, traffic aside. At the moment, the California Pacific Web site doesn't have much.

But be sure to visit The Cranky Flier post that I linked to in the first paragraph, especially if you want a bit of aviation geekery, like debating runway length and class configurations.