6 letters, rhymes with Boston

Well, we're a bit delayed here in Austin this morning. One of the greatest things about Internet access at airports is the ability to check flight info from airlines' websites rather than relying on the vague information that gate agents supply. The inbound flight from Boston departed 30 minutes late, hence the delay. The good news is that the plane, according to the flight tracker, is somewhere between Houston and Austin now.

With the chaos of travel, moving your current worldly possessions that fit into two bags around from place to place, through security checkpoints, making sure your gooey stuff fits into a small Ziploc bag, not bringing any vile, prohibited liquids such as coffee or spit through security, disrobing before walking through metal detectors, searching for an elusive power port to recharge the many travel gadgets Airworldians cart around - sometimes it's a tall task to stop and smell the roses a bit.

A few weeks ago, I learned that Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is unique in that all of the retailers are local - no Starbucks, no Dunkin Donuts, no Brooks Brothers, no L'Occitane. While none of the coffee brewers beyond security have yet to master a decent cup of joe, the local elements add to the charm of this airport. Rock and Americana music is pumped through the overhead speakers, and often live bands perform pre-security. There's even an interesting push to privatize the airport.

There is a display of model airplanes and accompanying historic photos about the airport, depicting its transformation from a key Air Force base established in 1942, to what it is today.

It even appears that ExpressJet is about to make Austin one of its key cities, flying point-to-point routes to Corpus Christi, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Tucson, LA/Ontario, and Albuquerque. ExpressJet was pretty much Continental's regional jet partner ever since I began flying Continental, but now it appears they are looking to diversify a bit and go it alone at some point-to-point flights throughout the South, West, and Northwest.