Fly nonstop, O.C. to Austin in September

Travelers using John Wayne Airport will have another nonstop option beginning in September.

American Airlines is adding one direct flight a day between Orange County and Austin, Texas, the Fort Worth-based company announced today.

Beginning Sept. 5, a daily flight will leave Austin for Orange County each morning and make a return trip each afternoon. The flights are expected to have a capacity of 130 to 150 passengers.

“We’ve just had tremendous amounts of growth and interest in Austin over the last few years,” said spokesman Tim Smith. “And Orange County is another less-congested, convenient airport that we’ve done very well in, so we think that this has a great amount of opportunity.”

The company thinks links between the music and high tech industries in the two locales will drive traffic, along with tourism, Smith said.

American and American Eagle already fly nonstop from Orange County to Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago, St. Louis, San Jose and San Francisco.

Currently, John Wayne has about 23 destinations with nonstop flights, according to airport spokeswoman Jenny Wedge.

The airport itself is expanding. It began construction in December on a project that will add a new parking garage and a third terminal by 2010. The airport sees about 9.6 million travelers a year. The expansion will allow an additional 1.2 million.

To see a list of John Wayne’s nonstop flights, go to www.ocair.com/airlines/Destinations.htm. For details on the airport expansion, go to www.ocair.com/improvements.