The small plane with the cartoon sun on its tail took off today into the morning clouds, headed from the Lancaster Airport to Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.

Sun Air's first flight took off from the local airport at 6:30 a.m. with four passengers, including a magazine editor ultimately bound for Chile and then London, and a businessman headed to Atlanta.

"It's really convenient for the business traveler," said Bryan Kepner, 44, of Lancaster, the guy headed to Atlanta. "I'm saving time and saving money."

Sun Air replaced Cape Air as the  airport's commercial feeder-route service, which takes local passengers to larger hubs for connecting flights. Cape Air had flown daily to Baltimore-Washington International Airport since March 2009.

This morning, pilot Mark Reichard, who also is Sun Air's chief operating officer, greeted the passengers as they boarded and then ducked his tall, slender frame inside the eight-passenger plane's door to take his seat in the cockpit.

Sun Air initially will fly two 55-minute flights a day, the 6:30 a.m. and a 1:15 p.m., from Lancaster. The flights eventually will double to four a day.

The one-way fare is $45, if booked on the airline's website.

Mary Kirby, 37, of Lititz, booked her flight Sunday night on the airline. She planned to get a connecting flight from Dulles to JFK International Airport in New York.

Kirby, a magazine editor, had planned to take a train to New York but, due the disruption caused by Hurricane Sandy, she did not have as many choices as she anticipated.

Kirby estimated she saved $200 by going from Lancaster, to Washington, D.C., and then to New York, rather than taking a nonstop flight from Harrisburg. She said she also saved on parking, which is free at the Lancaster Airport.

Kepner, who works for a chemical company and owns the Lancaster restaurant, Pour, had been a regular traveler on Cape Air, along with 10 to 20 other business people he often saw at the airport and on flights.

He was disappointed when Cape Air discontinued its service to Baltimore-Washington but wanted to see what the connecting flights to Dulles will be like, in terms of convenience and location of gates.

Like several other people at the airport, Kepner said he does not think many people in the county or region are aware of the connecting flights offered out of Lancaster.

"I think there is enough demand for this," he said, noting that business travelers can save the time, hassle and expense of driving to a larger airport.

Reichard, the pilot and Sun Air COO, said Sun Air can connect local travelers not only to domestic flights but to international markets. He hopes to see 30 to 40 people a day take the flights out of Lancaster on the service, which will run seven days a week.

Sun Air, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., won a $2.5 million annual federal Essential Air Service subsidy to provide service here.

cstauffer@lnpnews.com