The Iowa Caucuses ...

... are over!

No longer will my relatives and friends be inundated with 5+ phone calls per evening. But I'm not a political commentator.

I'm an airplane commentator.

So what does this mean for aviation?

Well, if you're the Des Moines International Airport, it means a huge vacuum.

D.M. airport plans good show amid post caucus surge - Des Moines Register

Thousands of volunteers, journalists and consultants will be flooding out of Iowa starting tomorrow. Des Moines, where the majority of candidates are headquartered, will see most of the travelers. The article mentions that the airlines flying out of DSM have brought in bigger airplanes, but that's not really true. United has replaced one 737 to ORD with a 757, and that's pretty much it in terms of capacity upgrades (about 50 seats) for that airline.

Here's the makeup of flights, airlines and aircraft tomorrow out of DSM (not including Allegiant Air, a tourist airline not likely to carry many business/political pax):

Atlanta: 3 flights on Delta, 3 CRJ-200s

Chicago: 15 flights on UA and AA, 2 CRJ-200s, 2 CRJ-700s, 2 737-300s, 1 757, 1 Emb. 175 (UA) and 7 ERJ-145s (AA),

Cincinnati: 3 flights on Delta, 3 CRJ-100s

Dallas/Ft. Worth: 6 flights on AA, 6 ERJ-145s, 1 CR-700

Denver: 5 flights on UA, 2 A319s, 2 737-500s and 1 CRJ-700

Detroit: 4 flights on NWA, 2 CRJ-200s and 2 CRJ-900s

Houston: 2 flights on Continental, 2 ERJ-135s

Memphis: 3 flights on NWA, 3 CRJ-200s

Milwaukee: 4 flights on Midwest Airlines, 4 Dornier-328s

Minneapolis: 7 flights on NWA, 4 CR-200, 2 Saab 340 and 1 CRJ-900

New York LaGuardia: 2 flights on NWA/AA, 1 CRJ-200 (NWA) and 1 ERJ-135

Phoenix: 2 flights on US Airways, 1 CRJ-200 and 1 CRJ-900

Salt Lake City: 1 flight on Delta, 1 CRJ-200

St. Louis: 4 flights on AA, 4 ERJ-135/45s

Washington National: 1 flight on NWA, 1 CRJ-900

That's a lot of flights, but basically no extra than what is usually flying out of Des Moines. So, that means that there are NO open flights whatsoever out of Des Moines on Friday, January 4. All the seats are filled.

Good for the airlines, and good for the airport.