Orange Air departs, Elite Airways picks up Branson flights

Last edited 2:47 p.m., Oct. 6, 2015

Cutting its flight schedules short by around six weeks, Sanford, Fla.-based charter airline Orange Air announced yesterday it was discontinuing service in Branson.

Effective immediately, Orange Air no longer operates Branson AirExpress flights from Branson to Cincinnati, New Orleans and Cancun. Airport officials quickly secured Elite Airways to begin offering service today from Branson to New Orleans and Cancun, Mexico.

“Orange Air has moved on to other things,” Jeff Bourk, the airport’s executive director, said this morning. “It’s not doing that type of flying any more, but Elite has some aircraft and flights it’s routing, so … it’s really not that big of an issue.”

Bourk said service to New Orleans and Cancun would continue with Elite Airways through Nov. 29. Elite also offers flights directly to Houston, Texas, and Denver, which Bourk said was scheduled to continue through Jan. 3.

According to an Orange Air news release, projected numbers for flight service were met via the partnership with Branson Airport. However, the company is making a strategic move to phase out its McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series aircraft within six months in favor of a new fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Route changes are part of the plan.

Branson Airport continues to fill service gaps left by Southwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines, which both pulled out of the financially struggling airport last year.

“I expect Elite to be back next year, and I expect it to do some flying through the winter, too,” Bourk said. “Then, we’ll see what its schedule looks like in the spring. We’ll probably know that in the next 30 days or so.”