MERIDIAN —     Passengers flying in and out of Meridian Regional Airport at Key Field this fall will see a change in carriers, Tom Williams, executive director of the Meridian Airport Authority, announced Friday afternoon.

    Williams said Silver Airways, an airline currently operating 100 daily scheduled flights between 29 gateways, will be the airport's primary carrier, taking over for Delta.

    "This is an exciting time for the airport," Williams said. "I think this will be a very good thing for our customers and the new carrier as well."

     Williams said Silver Airways brings enthusiasm, eagerness to serve customers and flight expertise that has impressed him.

    "They are not newcomers to this business but they are new enough to want to get better and better," Williams said. "I'm looking forward to the service and relationship with Silver Airways and I think our passengers will enjoy some of the aspects of this new service as well."

    Williams said Silver Airways will still serve Atlanta just as Delta has in the past, but ticket costs will be less expensive. Williams said the average ticket price for a one-way trip to Atlanta will be approximately $100. That, according to Williams, is $200 to $300 less than the current cost.

    One reason for the lower cost is the type of aircraft Silver Airways will operate. The airline operates a fleet of Saab 340B-plus and Beechcraft 1900D aircraft, each powered by fuel-efficient jet-turbine engines. Airport officials said an added benefit is that the plane cabins are outfitted with noise reducing insulation for a quieter flight.

    Silver Airways will also interline with Delta and other carriers, which means luggage does not have to be offloaded back to the passenger but is instead transferred to the connecting flight.     

    Delta has decided to pull out of the smaller markets such as Meridian, Laurel/Hattiesburg and Tupelo, prompting the switch in carriers, Williams said.

    The expense of maintaining Delta aircraft that consume lots of fuel didn't make economic sense in the smaller markets, so Delta passed on renewing their Essential Air Service contract, Williams said.

    "The contracts are for every two years and we have had them since the airline industry was deregulated in the late 1970s," Williams said. "When we asked for bids recently Delta said they were pulling out, which lined up perfectly for Silver Airways."

    Under the EAS program, the federal government pays airlines and carriers a certain amount for providing service to smaller airports. Each community air hub has a determining minimal service level.

    Williams said the flight schedule will remain the same as before, with the first departure leaving around 6:15 a.m. daily and arrivals due back around 2 p.m.

    "We are hoping this will increase our traffic in the terminal as customers will want to take advantage of these low fares," Williams said.

    According to records provided by Williams, the terminal serviced 18,605 passengers in 2011.

    Silver Airways is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The company is owned by Victory Park Capital, a Chicago-based investment firm.