The Eastern Iowa Airport should see a real boost in business in the coming months.United-Continental started new flights from Cedar Rapids to Houston this week. And in June, Delta will add summer service to Memphis, and then in August those seasonal flights switch over to a non-stop Cedar Rapids to Atlanta connection.For us here at the airport, it feels like we’ve hit bottom and we’re on our way back,said Don Swanson, an airport business manager.

At a peak, the airport in Cedar Rapids offered flights to 13 different cities in 2009. After all the planned additions, the airport could be back at that number by August.For fliers, one of the big knocks against the airport was always the high price of tickets. Even though this addition isn’t a low-cost carrier” fliers hope more choices will eventually equal better prices.It’s so nice you don’t have to transfer planes and can get a direct flight,said traveler Ardell Moeller.Airport officials say the Houston service will offer one stop connections from Cedar Rapids to many new U.S. cities, Mexico and even international destinations.Even with the number of cities climbing back to where it once was, the Eastern Iowa Airport is still in a recovery mode. Through March, travel was down six percent.But airport officials are hoping more flights means more fliers.