After months of waiting, the Victoria Regional Airport finally has air service again. And we are excited to see what this will do for Victoria.

The process of starting a new air service took lots of time as the airport worked with the new carrier, Sun Air International, the Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Security Administration, as well as ironing out the booking system with Hewlett-Packard. Now, as of Oct. 1, the airport offers four flights a day back and forth from Victoria to Houston Intercontinental Airport.

We've said it before, but why not say it again: This service offers lots of great options for travelers to and from Victoria. Here are the three main reasons we think Sun Air's service will be a major boon to Victoria.

Convenience. The previous air service offered by Colgan Air only offered two flights a day to Houston and only had one plane in Victoria. Sun Air is offering four, as well as keeping a spare plane here in case the primary aircraft has any problems. That way, if a flight is delayed or canceled, passengers won't have to wait an inordinate amount of time to get to Houston.

Better pricing. One of the major failings of the previous system was inconsistent pricing that sometimes charged passengers hundreds of dollars, making it cheaper to just drive up to Houston and fly from there. The new system has consistent prices of $29 to $69 each way. When passengers factor in the cheap cost of parking in the Victoria Airport versus Houston, as well as the price of gas, it's actually about the same amount of money, if not cheaper, to fly from Victoria.

Less hassle with security and baggage. The security lines in Victoria are much shorter than in Houston. And Sun Air also has a connection with major airlines, so once you check your bags in Victoria, they will be transferred to your connecting flight in Houston, instead of having to recheck your bags like passengers had to do under the previous system.

As with any new system, there may be a few minor glitches, but we expect to see this new carrier operating smoothly and efficiently in the coming years. Just considering these three improvements, we see some major advantages when using the Victoria Regional Airport for travel now. We hope residents will take the opportunity to try this service for themselves.

This editorial reflects the views of the Victoria Advocate's editorial board.