Commuting To Atlanta By Air?

ATHENS, Ga. -- How does the idea of traveling from Athens to Atlanta in 20 minutes sound? Virtually impossible, even if there were no traffic on the roads at all -- but a new concept coming to cities around the state is taking flight.

Maybe the trick in the future to getting around Atlanta's traffic patterns is to take to the air -- not just from Athens, but from all across north Georgia.

Starting Monday, the trip from Athens to Atlanta is the equivalent of going from Buckhead to Midtown -- on a good day, of course.

Hopping on a plane to take the 70 or so mile trip might at first thought seem a bit out of the ordinary, until you consider that traffic is not getting any better in Atlanta.

"TSA security lines aren't getting any shorter, so we were looking for a way to service what we call these bedroom communities, and give them an opportunity to skip the drive and any of the traffic hassles along the way; the parking," said Wings Air CEO Charlie Mintz.

Wings Air is a charter service company that is going to offer four flights a week from Athens, but their plan is to become a sort of mini-commuter airline.

"We're trying to give them an interim solution until the point in time we've got our final DOT certificate," Mintz said. "And we'll start out with at least six or seven flights out of Athens per day, move that same type of service down to Macon, and similar to what Rob told you before, we've got a growth plan in and around the Atlanta area."

The cost is only $49 for a one-way fare -- of course the executives want to consider the time saved, and compare it to the other alternatives.

"There's a large number of taxi rides that occur in Gwinnett County, and the drive down to Hartsfield every day, and the average cab is something in the $85 range," said Wings Air president Robert Rupard.

Wings Air is still just a charter company, so they are limited to four flights per week from one city -- Athens. Once they get their DOT certificate, then they can do as many flights as they want. They hope that can come in as short as 60 to 90 days. At that point, they would like to expand in other places like Lawrenceville, Rome, Chattanooga -- lots of places where folks could hop on a plane and get their commuting into the city a little faster.