SkyValue USA

Within hours of opening its call center Tuesday, SkyValue USA booked 500 reservations for flights from Gary/Chicago International Airport to five sunny tourist destinations."We call this the wave," said Gabrielle Griswold, SkyValue senior vice president. "The demand for Gary airport and to fly out of Gary is phenomenal."

That is raising hopes the arrival of SkyValue will live up to its advance billing two weeks ago, when airport officials and SkyValue execs said it will help show the world Gary -- currently without passenger service -- can fly.One thing that will not live up to its advance billing is the departure date for the first flights. That has been moved back to Dec. 15. Two weeks ago, airline officials said flights would start Dec. 1.The first day of flights will see flights departing for Orlando and Williams Gateway Airport, in Mesa, Ariz., just outside Phoenix. In the following days, the first flights to Las Vegas, St. Petersburg/Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale will take off.The airline moved its start date back to take advantage of the greater punch packed by pre-Christmas travel, Griswold said.

Gary airport director Chris Curry said he had just learned of the two-week delay when contacted Tuesday."It's very important to us that they are consistent with what they say they are going to provide," Curry said.The rush to get tickets Tuesday was a good sign, Curry said."That's a great response considering we haven't yet focused on a heavy-hitting marketing campaign yet," Curry said.

The greatest demand so far is for flights to Phoenix and Orlando, Griswold said.By mid-afternoon, 1,500 calls had come in to the call center and 889 reservations were booked for all five destinations, Griswold said.Fares are as promised, with a one-way ticket to Las Vegas, Orlando and Phoenix costing $79. One-way to St. Petersburg and Ft. Lauderdale costs $129. Planes will be 174-seat Boeing 737-800s in an economy-class configuration.

The airport plans to aid the new airline in a number of ways, including paying up to 75 percent of its marketing costs in Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland. It is also considering waiving some airport fees.SkyValue plans to operate out of Gary on a seasonal basis. The last flights out will be April 30, but those could be extended through the summer if demand continues, according to Griswold.SkyValue plans to start its marketing campaign soon, working in concert with area casinos and other businesses.

Hammond resident Catherine Bollhorst said she plans to be one of the first in line for SkyValue tickets from Gary, with children to visit in Orlando and a brother in Phoenix. Until now, she has been flying Southwest out of Midway Airport in Chicago.She had seen news the new airline was coming to Gary, but didn't know they had already started taking reservations on Tuesday."I would go to Gary because we can just walk right out, we don't have a line of 100 people we have to stand in line with," Bollhorst said. "And parking is free, it's well lighted, well patrolled and I feel very safe there."