For students from Iowa City, the Quad Cities or Chicago who are wary of flying, there’s a new way to get home for the holidays.

Des Moines resident Dave Helkenn turned the months following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks into a business he said will benefit ISU students looking to get home for the weekend and holidays – Airline Ground Alternative.

Passenger vans will pick up students at 2:30 p.m. each Friday and arrive at malls in the Chicago area around 9:30 p.m. The vans will also stop in Iowa City and the Quad Cities.

Return trips will reverse the route, leaving Chicago at 5 p.m. Sunday and arriving in Ames about midnight.

The idea for Airline Ground Alternative, Helkenn said, evolved from “traveling quite a bit to and from” Chicago to see his son after the Sept. 11 attacks.

“I did the math,” he said. “By the time you get to the airport, park, check in, get on the plane, get in the air, get to O’Hare, land, get off the plane, get your bags and arrive at your destination in the Chicago area, you can drive it quicker.”

Helkenn, who said he has been in the transportation business all his life, said he started driving businessmen back and forth to Chicago during the week. He said he never considered students until a parent from Iowa City called him.

He said he came up to Ames and looked at the Ride Board posted in the Memorial Union.

“There were seven people asking for rides to the Chicago area,” Helkenn said. “They asked in advance, but there may be people who might need to run home on really short notice for the weekend.”

Helkenn said he immediately noticed a need for weekend trips for students and decided to add the service. He said he monitors airline and bus fares to offer competitive rates. The rates fluctuate, Helkenn said, based on the fares of other transportation businesses.

“It’s just another option to get home on the weekends,” Helkenn said.

“It’s definitely cheaper and just as fast as the airlines and quicker and a lot more comfortable than the bus.”

Students interested need to make reservations for the trip. Helkenn said several openings remain, but the sooner people call, the better.

Although the company uses 15-passenger vans, he said luggage takes away a couple seats. Helkenn said he will add vans if the need arises.

He also said he expects a large demand for Christmas break because of the airline situation.

“A lot of people are leery to get on planes right now,” he said. “My personal belief is the airlines are going to be harder and harder to deal with, especially from Des Moines.”

Suzanne Galluzzi, sophomore in pre-advertising, is from in Park Ridge, Ill. Last year, she said there was a “snow-in,” and she and the other passengers were stuck in Ames for nearly 10 hours.

Still, Galluzzi said the bus is “better than nothing.” She usually takes it home for the holidays, but avoids going home on weekends because she doesn’t have a car, she said.

“There were a couple of times I wanted to go home and didn’t because I didn’t have a ride,” Galluzzi said. “People told me, `Go Greyhound,’ but I really didn’t want to.”

Galluzzi said she is considering Helkenn’s service.

“Being in a van would be more comfortable,” she said. “I don’t like sitting in a stuffy bus.”