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Tyler Texas Jet Center

August 28th, 2010

Tyler has a surprisingly active aviation community. While Pounds Field is only a regional airport, it is one of the larger of its type outside of the Dallas Metroplex. In fact the Tyler airport is home to a number of Fixed Base Operators (FBO). An FBO is a company that is either privately or publicly owned, which provides any number of services to aircraft owners and pilots.

These may include every thing from aircraft washing and refueling, to mechanical repair, often charter flights and hanger space rental, or any number of other potential services. Of the three or four FBOs in Tyler (or east Texas for that matter), the one with hands down, the most high end, quality customer support, is the Jet Center of Tyler (JCT).

Jet Center offers the full range of services, including a lounge for pilots and passengers, and an on- site car rental agency. The Skyline Café is housed in a neighboring building within the Historic Aviation Memorial Museum, (beneath the control tower). The staff there can provide nearly any kind of assistance the customer requires.

Some very famous names have passed through their doors, but the company is careful to protect the privacy and anonymity of its customers. Discretion is the better part of public relations you might say.

Despite the name, the Jet Center of Tyler is there for all types of aircraft, including medical, military and defense department aircraft. (I’m no expert but it is my understanding that the requirements of government equipment makes servicing them a very selective process that very few FBOs are equipped to handle). Any number of curriers and air delivery services of varying sizes make regular stops here as a part of their normal routes.

Numerous pilots attest to the fact that the staff of JCT is enormously helpful regardless of the size of the aircraft or the names on the passenger manifest. For those of us Tylerites who can afford to operate our own planes, (and I’m not one of them by the way) I would recommend choosing JCT as your regular FBO. The quality of their staff and service is by all accounts impeccable.

For more information on the Jet Center of Tyler visit their webpage at http://websmart66.net/cgi-bin/p/w66p-home.cgi?d=jet-center-of-tyler. Also, to read some revealing customer reviews go to http://www.airnav.com/airport/KTYR/JET_CENTER.

Tyler Pounds Airport

May 4th, 2010

700 Skyway Blvd
Tyler TX 75704
Phone: 903 531 2343

Tyler has a regional airport – just 6 miles East of Central Tyler on Hwy 64.

Currently, only American and Continental Airlines fly into and out of Tyler – to Dallas Fort Worth and George Bush Airport in Houston respectively. There are 3 runways.

Tyler Pounds is a really nice airport. It is very accessible with a large parking lot and a drop off area right outside the front doors. The City of Tyler keep it looking really nice with neat, colorful floral displays and a well kept outdoor paved area with fountain.

The terminal building is light, airy and modern with a spacious feel.

Everything for the traveller is at entrance level, with offices on the second floor – accessible by stairs and an elevator. After entering through the automatic doors, on the right side is the check-in desks for departures and on the far left is the arrivals hall with baggage reclaim. There are 4 rental car desks at the arrivals. In the center is the departure lounge and security followed by the departure gates. Restrooms are clean and wheelchair accessible. There is plenty of seating for passengers. A TV plays news for those waiting to fly.

There is no café at Tyler Pounds. There is space for one and tables and chairs available so hopefully, when the airport expands, there will be an eating facility in the future. Currently, there are 3 vending machines – one for hot drinks, one for cold beverages and another for snacks. If you are at the airport for an hour or longer – a local café called Skyline will deliver a meal to you – menus are available on site. There is no shop or newsstand.

The staff at Tyler Pounds are polite and friendly. The check-in is never busy and the security staff are relaxed.

All in all travelling through Tyler Pounds is a very pleasant and easy experience, if a little un-interesting!

Tyler Pounds Regional Airport

September 25th, 2009

Growing up next to Tyler’s Pounds Field airport, I used to walk half a mile into the terminal because the restaurant served good hamburgers. The old terminal was always quiet and run down, with a small smattering of tired travelers stretched out on the worn seats, waiting for one of the four or so flights out to DFW that day. It was a small town airport, and it knew it.

Today, almost twenty years later, the restaurant is gone, the name has changed, the terminal has moved a new and beautiful facility, but the airport is just as quiet as it was before. It is still a small town airport, but it doesn’t know it anymore.


Tyler Pounds Regional Airport flies to 2 locations: Dallas and Houston. American Eagle (part of American Airlines) carries passengers in and out of Dalls Fort Worth International Airport just 4 times every day, and Colgan Air (A Subsidiary of Continental Airlines) makes 6 trips to Houston’s George Bush International Airport on weekdays, plus 3 trips on Saturdays and 5 on Sundays. That’s a maximum of just 10 flights in and 10 flights out every day.

Last year, Tyler Pounds Regional serviced 139,000 travelers. That’s an average of just 380 customers flying in and out every day. When you consider the size and quality of the terminal, you wonder why the numbers are so low. Certainly, it has the potential to handle at least three times that much business.

As embarrassing as it might be for Tyler’s city managers, the airport still has its merits. The terminal houses 3 rental care companies under its roof (Avis, Hertz, and National Care Rental), and offers very attractive prices for its flights.

For example, I just ran an Orbitz search for a round-trip flight from Tyler Texas to San Francisco (via DFW). The cost around $324. If you eliminate the Tyler flight and go straight out of Dallas, the costs drops to $260. Similarly, you’ll pay $363 round-trip from Tyler to Chicago, and just $299 from DFW to Chicago.

In both cases, the Tyler flight is around $65 more. But that would mean you’re driving to Dallas instead. DFW is a 2 hour drive each way. You will have to go through long lines at DFW. You’ll be buying gas for 240 miles of total driving, plus paying for long-term parking. For a 5 day trip, you would be paying at least $85, which is $20 more than flying out of Tyler, in addition to dealing with ten times the hassle.

In my experience, this is a common phenomenon. If you schedule your flights directly out of Tyler to your final destination (in other words, do it as one itinerary without entering DFW at all), you will generally find the Tyler airport to be a good option. Even if it does cost more, the sheer convenience of having someone drop you off right in Tyler and avoiding big city driving is well worth the extra cash. Houston trips will usually reflect this even more, since the drive to Houston is so much longer, and the airport so much more inconvenient.

Yes, Tyler Pounds Regional Airport probably is too big for itself, and it may be a little embarrassed because of it. But it is, nevertheless, a nice outfit. It is spacious and relaxing, the lines are non-existent, and the lobby is right at the gate, so you can spend those last precious minutes with loved ones before you have to say goodbye. All in all, Tyler Pounds is an excellent option for travelers looking to save time, money, and headaches.