Don Anderson didn’t know the Charlotte-bound flight he was about to board early Tuesday afternoon at Toledo Express Airport was the first ever on the route. Jackie McMurray, conversely, delayed a last-minute trip just so she could be on board.

Both were among 27 passengers who boarded the inaugural American Eagle southbound flight from Toledo, which the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority says will give local travelers vast new travel options while bringing more visitors into town through the local airport instead of the airport in Detroit. American Eagle is a commuter affiliate of American Airlines.

Paul Toth, the port authority’s president and chief executive, said that, if the route succeeds, it could also induce other airlines to begin service to Toledo — such as Delta from its Atlanta hub. 

But for that to happen, he said, “People have to step up, they have to make the commitment. They need to check [for flights to or from] Toledo, and use the service.”

The twice-daily flights in each direction, using 50-seat regional jets, mark Toledo’s first new route on a traditional, network airline since 2011, when Delta Connection began a short-lived service between Toledo and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Flights are scheduled to leave Toledo for Charlotte at 7 a.m. and 1:26 p.m., while Toledo-bound flights are scheduled to arrive at 1:01 p.m. and 11:43 p.m., except on Tuesday and Saturday when the evening flights are due in at 9:41 p.m.

The port authority used a $750,000 federal grant, matched by $250,000 in local funds, to guarantee revenue for American Eagle during the route’s first year of service.

And to promote the route to travelers, the agency is offering free parking at Toledo Express through Dec. 31 to anyone flying the route specifically to Charlotte or making international connections there, or via American Eagle’s Chicago hub, which has three daily Toledo flights.

Allegiant Air flights several times per week to three Florida cities account for the rest of Toledo Express’ scheduled service.

The first arriving Charlotte flight Tuesday afternoon had a local pilot at its controls.

“I bid on my day off to do it,” Gary McGinnis, 27, of Oregon said after Flight 5479’s arrival.

“He was flying before he was born— it’s always been his passion,” said his father, Mike McGinnis, who explained that his wife was a flight attendant for 42 years.

The father as well as Gary McGinnis’ wife and son all rode the inaugural Charlotte-Toledo flight as passengers.

Mr. Anderson, a pipeline engineer from Dallas, said he happened across an itinerary using the Toledo-Charlotte flight while booking a trip home from work on a pipeline project in northern Ohio. His previous flight into the area was into Akron-Canton Regional Airport.

“I didn’t know it was a new service until today,” he said while waiting to board. “I was looking for a way to get home, and I started searching and found this.”

Ms. McMurray, of South Toledo, said she has been driving to visit her son and daughter, who both live in Charlotte. She predicted those trips will be more frequent “now that I can just hop on a plane and go.” The daughter had called requesting help with something, she recounted, “and I said, ‘If you can wait until Tuesday, I can take the flight from Toledo.’”

Carolyn Stump of Oregon also was traveling Tuesday to visit a daughter who now lives in the Charlotte area — a trip she said she normally makes three times annually.

“Before, I would always have to go to Detroit or Cleveland [to fly], so this is very convenient,” she said.

The new flights will help Josh Young, of Hamler, Ohio, commute between home and his job as a traveling construction supervisor.

“I wish they had this 18 months ago,” he said, noting that his current project, a basketball arena at a college in Spartanburg, S.C., is about an hour from Charlotte.

His work will take him to Richmond, Va., next.

“I will also use this, rather than drive to Fort Wayne, Dayton, or Detroit, because this [Toledo Express] is just 30 minutes away,” Mr. Young said. “I try to get home at least every other weekend.”

Contact David Patch at dpatch@theblade.com or 419-724-6094.

First Published August 22, 2017, 4:12 p.m.