Countdown to end of regional air service

The sixth to last flight to leave Palmdale Regional Airport was scheduled to carry Mayor Jim Ledford's parents; a mother who probably has the Yellowstone County sheriff in Montana looking for her; and a businessman.

The pilgrims livened up Palmdale Regional Airport one day before the shutdown of service by United Express, the only passenger carrier operating with service to Los Angeles International Airport.

Mayor Ledford drove up first to send his parents, Jim Sr. and Lois, off to visit his sister, Pam Francis, in Richmond, Ky. They made the plans for the trip around Christmas assuming that their parents would fly in and out of Palmdale.

His next drive will be to Los Angeles International Airport to pick his parents up, or they will have to take a van.

"I'll come get them," Ledford said with a smile. He later talked about the impending airport service shutdown and said the future depended on the price of a flight to Los Angeles as well as the number of different airports serviced by Palmdale.

For a number of years Jim Sr. and Lois Ledford traveled around the country visiting family in their motor home. But now Lois Ledford prefers flying to five months on the road.

"We're going to miss it because it was very convenient," the elder Ledford said of the airport's pending service shutdown.

The Ledfords were among those fortunate enough not to have their flight canceled.

Eileen Eisenman, who arrived at the airport shortly after the Ledfords, had her 6 a.m. flight canceled. Because of the airport closure, a number of pilots have already left United Express for other jobs. United Express employee Priscilla Caballero said that there are only two pilots left and four flights have been canceled already.

Eisenman was headed home to Billings, Mont., after visiting her daughter Barbara Rodriguez in Palmdale. Eisenman lives 75 miles out of town in Hysham, Mont., and scheduled her flight to take a senior citizen van that comes into town every other Tuesday.

The flight change placed her in jeopardy of missing the van.

Rodriguez had already contacted her sister, Carol Klinken, the owner of the Hysham Echo, a weekly newspaper. But Tuesday is publication day, so Klinken didn't know if she would be able to pick her up.

Klinken put a call in to the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Department to see if the van could be alerted. And as she was about to board, Eisenman had no idea who would meet her at the airport.

"Chances are she'll get off the plane and see someone she knows," Rodriguez said.

"They would probably take me home," Eisenman said.

That leaves John Zelmer, who was traveling to Seattle for a business meeting. Service from the Palmdale airport allowed him to spend time with his family in the morning and fly out for his aerospace meeting in the afternoon.

"I would have to spend 2 1/2 hours going to the airport," he said. "I think I can spend my time better with my family."

The four marched through the security alarm, which decided it was closing a day early. For some reason, the alarm wouldn't stop ringing and each passenger had to be hand checked.

Once it quieted, Rodriguez walked over to the window to see her mother get on the two turboprop plane. She looked at her watch.

It was 12:15. Flight 7356 almost left on time - five more flights to go.