A new airline and a renewed sense of hope for better service have arrived at the Chautauqua County-Jamestown Airport at Robert H. Jackson Field.

“I know you’ve had spotty service in Jamestown in the past, but we are here to tell you to give us a chance,” said Stan Little, chairman and CEO for Southern Airways Express. “We’re going to make this work and build this to what it was a decade ago.”

Tuesday marked the end of Sun Air Express and the beginning of Southern Airways Express, a Memphis-based company servicing the Gulf and Mid-Atlantic regions. In March, the airline company acquired Sun Air Express, which operated flights out of Jamestown since November 2014. Now, Southern Airways is ready to increase enplanements through frequency, reliability and price of flights.

“This is our only New York airport, so we are thrilled that Jamestown is our gateway to New York state,” Little said. “Jamestown is one of a few cities in our service area that is a destination city. A lot of our towns are not the picturesque destination that Jamestown is. It was important that we keep this in our system.”

Four flights a day from the Jamestown Airport to Pittsburgh International Airport will continue. Customers can book flights by visiting iflysouthern.com. Little said prices range from $29-$49 depending on availability and the time passengers book flights.

“Even if you get the last seat on the most expensive flight of the week, a round-trip price of $98 is the highest price you pay,” Little said.

If ticket sales rise, Little said it’s possible that a fifth flight to Pittsburgh could be added or a round-trip flight to Albany. But as of right now, Little said the contract with the U.S. Department of Transportation will remain at four flights to Pittsburgh.

“When we get that added frequency, we will look at those options,” he said.

Bill Tucker, county airports and parks manager, said Southern Airways will be a good partner that’s going to put the travelers’ needs first. Southern Airways employs their staff and owns their own aircraft, which is different from Sun Air Express, which contracted with an online reservation service and pilots.

“We do need airline service,” Tucker said. “We need to bring a service to our residents and our county that is affordable, reliable and meets their needs. That’s challenging in an area where the travel industry is going through so much change. It’s especially challenging to small airports like ours and that’s why it’s so encouraging that Southern is coming in and is actively moving forward to improve service for our travelers.”

Last month, County Executive Vince Horrigan threw his support behind Southern Airways after a recent airport study recommended to cut ties with commercial air service. Horrigan said the area needs access to air transportation for tourists, businesses and residents.

“We are gaining more and more confidence that Southern Airways will be able to provide the reliability and the customer service,” he said. “We feel we have a good airline.”

Sam Teresi, Jamestown mayor, said keeping the city on the airways map is critical to keeping the airport connected with the outside world for local residents and outside travelers.

“We’re trying to reposition the economy to bring more visitors in. Having an air service option is vital to what we’re working for,” Teresi said. “There needs to be other options other than highway options to get people here.”

With strong customer feedback and care for passengers, Little said people will see a difference.

“We actually care if somebody is stranded or if someone is left behind or if someone doesn’t make their flight,” he said. “If you actually care about each individual person, it’ll eventually change the whole mentality.”