Embraer at airport, too

embraerAn article in the Sunday Eagle about the strong competitive challenge that Brazil’s Embraer poses to Wichita’s planemakers brought to mind one frustration of flying certain routes in and out of Wichita Mid-Continent Airport: The American Airlines flights operated by American Eagle (to Chicago) and Chautauqua & Trans States (to St. Louis) and the Continental Express flights operated by ExpressJet Airlines (to Houston) all use Embraer regional jets. The flights and equipment help support Mid-Continent service, but it always feels wrong to be leaving or returning to the Air Capital of the World on a plane with no local ties. At least, as the article noted, Wichita planemakers also sell planes to buyers in Brazil.

3 Comments

  1. Jed
    Posted November 3, 2009 at 10:09 am | Permalink

    Hey, Jobs! Sure beats our plane-maker settin’ up shop in China or Mexico!

  2. mrcontroversy
    Posted November 3, 2009 at 1:24 pm | Permalink

    Worse is having to fly on one of those danged sardine cans.
    Apparently, nobody in Brazil has more than a 32 inch waist.

  3. Monkeyhawk
    Posted November 3, 2009 at 1:50 pm | Permalink

    “mrcontroversy” –

    If the airplane industry had any sense they’d think in some terms beyond trying to bribe politicians into keeping things the way they are rather than inventing the future. That’s what Clyde Cessna and Lloyd Stearman and Walter and Olive Beech did. That’s what the Carney brothers did. That’s what Bill Coleman did.

    To hearken back to a previous thread, the NCAA tournament in Wichita is gonna hurt the city if everyone needs to fly a puddle-jumper into town.

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