Rick Moeller has his grandson's second birthday party to attend on Saturday in Orlando, Florida.
It worked out perfectly that Red Way, "Lincoln's airline," according to its CEO Nick Wangler, began flying out of Lincoln Airport on Thursday.
"This just coincided with my schedule," said Moeller, a Nebraska native who retired after a long warehouse management career in Los Angeles and was back in town to visit some family.
Every traveler has a story, a reason for boarding an airplane, and Thursday was no exception as the Lincoln Airport's new terminal was bustling with activity — most of it having everything to do with Red Way's first day of operation.
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"Not everyone is going to Disney World," said Nick Cusick, a member of the Lincoln Airport Authority Board of Directors who was flying to Orlando on Red Way's maiden voyage.Â
Make no mistake, there were families in Lincoln Airport's fancy new terminal dressed for a day or two with Mickey. Others were ready for some sunshine with an ocean view. And there were a few businessmen in the mix as well.
And then there were officials like Cusick, Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and David Haring, the executive director of Lincoln Airport, who were showing support to the city's newest air endeavor.
There was a festive mood with snacks and swag. Heck, even the flight crew members were treated like rock stars as they posed for photos and chatted with passengers.
"This is a big day for the Lincoln Airport," Gaylor Baird said. "We're so excited to have expanded air service for our community. So many families and travelers are headed to Orlando and all the wonderful things to do there.
"It's exciting for Lincoln."
For the mayor, it was a day trip. She flew to central Florida and made the return flight later in the day.Â
Red Way will fly there — and to Las Vegas — twice a week, meaning the next flight back to the Lincoln Airport is Sunday.Â
That works perfectly for Moeller, who plans to spend a couple of weeks with his daughter in Orlando before returning to Lincoln.
"It's good for Lincoln the way it's set up," he said.
Thursday's flight was sold out, while the afternoon flight to Las Vegas was about 70% full — a good sign, Wangler said.
Over the next two weeks, Red Way will start flying twice a week to Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Dallas; Minneapolis; and Nashville, Tennessee.
The flights are three and four days apart to mirror the average stay at a destination, Haring said.
Lincoln's dive into the leisure travel industry was a creative approach to landing another air carrier — something that's been a need for all of Cusick's 11 years on the board.
"This is a very entrepreneurial sort of arrangement," said Cusick, CEO of Bison Inc. "It's not the norm, so absolutely, we'd love to see American, United and Delta service, but this model will work. The flight is full. That shows there is a big pent-up demand. I think it will satisfy that need."
But there will be some necessary traveler adjustments, Haring said. He made the trip to help fliers navigate the return flight. For example, before boarding Thursday's flight, he perused the Red Way website and found a tab for the airport in Orlando and determined the gate out of which Red Way will operate.
"That was one of the questions that I had about it," Haring said. "When we're coming back, and I've got to tell my Uber driver where to drop me off, that's helpful."
These are uncharted waters, Haring said, but the more people who use the leisure travel carrier, the more comfortable they will become with the concept.
And having more direct flight choices is a big thing, the mayor said.
"Now we have even more affordable flights to desirable destinations for our community," Gaylor Baird said. "That's good for families. That's good for our businesses. We want people to be able to connect to places they want to go and we want to bring new people to our community."