May 5th, 2010 11:34am
Thomas V. Bona
From an email from Chicago Rockford International Airport officials:
RFD is in serious conversations with two separate airlines about providing air service via RFD. The destinations being considered include:New York City, Denver, Washington D.C., Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), Montego Bay, Jamaica, and San Diego (or different west coast city). We have computerized our MilesAhead membership list “BY ZIPCODE” with hopes of impressing these airlines –graphically– how far and strong our MilesAhead Program following is. This helps them to see that our support is very strong in Rockford and Winnebago County and that our marketing penetration and consumer pull is regional in nature.
Officials are asking their MilesAhead members to update their zip codes online to help (to join MilesAhead, visit flyrfd.com).
We’ve reported on this upcoming campaign, where RFD officials develop grassroots support for one or a few destinations and woo airlines with the data. This is the first we’ve heard of specific destinations under consideration.
New York, Denver and D.C. are obvious choices. RFD had Denver service for a while, and there’s been steady clamor for New York and DC. I booked a ticket to New York on the ill-fated Air Azul when it announced last year, though never got off the ground. Would love a chance to do it for real.
Punta Cana is beautiful, and Jamaica is a nice vacation destination. Those would likely be seasonal options, much like Apple Vacations’ service to Cancun, Mexico.
San Diego? No clue. First I’ve heard of it as an option. Allegiant Air flies there, but not from the Midwest.
I have some educated guesses on who the airlines are, but I don’t want to post them til I follow up with some research. Here are my questions for you readers:
1. What do you think of these destinations?
2. What airlines do you think these are?
May 4th, 2010 11:59am
Thomas V. Bona
The Continental Airlines brand is disappearing, with yesterday’s announced merger with United Airlines. But, really, United is the one disappearing … the name will remain, and the headquarters will (thankfully for the people of Illinois) remain in Chicago. But the logo will be Continental’s, the top people will be Continental’s and the branding will be Continental’s.
Personally, I have mixed feelings on this. Continental was my favorite legacy carrier, mainly because the two times I flew them were very wonderful and important trips (including a summer in the Dominican Republic in college). Admittedly that’s not a big sample size, but I always liked the airline and wished I could fly them more. But since moving to the Midwest, the routes I take are owned by other carriers.
United I’m less in love with, but I don’t have the problems others have. It’s the legacy carrier I’ve flown the most on, and I’ve had some really good customer service at times, and never any major problems. I also love their “Channel 9″ feature that allows fliers to listen in on air-traffic control. And they never broke my guitar.
I think we need to see this play out more before knowing how good the merger will work. But it’s clear that airline consolidation will continue - US Airways and American don’t make much sense … but I could someday see and AirTran/Frontier merger, and JetBlue is looking for dance partners - and other names will go south. We’ve already lost the Northwest and Midwest names. Who’s next?
And what does this mean for airports like Rockford’s? As the number of airlines decrease, does that also decrease the potential RFD tenants? Or do the merged legacies focus on hubs, leaving secondary airports for the low-cost carriers? I’m not sure the latter will happen - the U.S. government will surely force the new United to give up slots at major airports, and AirTran for one is salivating at getting some of those. Do other new airlines pop up when the economy rebounds, or do we see a steady charge toward a few airlines?
A lot of rambling there, and I know the blog has been silent for too long. What are your thoughts, readers?
February 1st, 2010 01:36pm
Thomas V. Bona
Last week, Allegiant Air officials said that Chicago Rockford International Airport was not one of the candidates to be its new base for aircraft and crew. This after the airline had previously said it pulled back a bit on service from RFD in light of crazy competition up in Milwaukee, which has made competing fares really cheap. That made me interested in seeing which of Allegiant’s other “small city” airports would be good candidates to be a base, and also where RFD ranks among those cities. So I went to Allegiant Air’s Web site and checked out their published schedule, which runs through September.
What I found was interesting. First of all, RFD is still pretty important in Allegiant’s network - it’s scheduled for the 12th most flights out of Allegiant’s 57 small cities (not counting Bellingham, Wash., which is already a base). Not one of the top few like it once was, but still pretty solid.
More interestingly, though, is where the top 11 cities are. I always though RFD’s big problem with getting more Allegiant service was its distance from all the airline’s focus cities -1,000 miles or more from Florida, Vegas, Phoenix, etc. But if you look at the top 11, many of them are clustered in the Midwest with somewhat similar distances…
(more…)
December 24th, 2009 12:07pm
Thomas V. Bona
Things are “all clear” on state highways, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation’s road condition report. Same with I-90, according to the Illinois Tollway’s road condition phone line (1-800-865-5394). Obviously, both are subject to change with the rains coming today and snow over the weekend, so keep checking when you hit the highways.
For those heading somewhere in the Milwaukee-Chicago-Gary corridor, check out this site for live congestion reports.
Things are fine at Chicago Rockford International Airport. Allegiant Air’s flight from Las Vegas came in on time this morning, and the outbound flight is only a little bit late, according to Flightaware.com. For those flying over the weekend or welcoming arrivals, keep tabs at RFD’s weather conditions page.
Things have calmed down in Chicago after Wednesday’s craziness. If you were affected by cancellations, Today in the Sky has a helpful roundup of airline itinerary change policies. Hopefully nothing happens over the weekend to make this information needed.
Stay safe out there!
December 23rd, 2009 12:28pm
Thomas V. Bona
People heading from Chicago Rockford International Airport to Florida got a bit of a late start today. According to Flightaware.com, Direct Air’s flight to Fort Myers/Punta Gorda and Allegiant Air’s flight to Orlando/Sanford left about 40 minutes late.
Allegiant’s inbound flight from Phoenix/Mesa, due in at 1:10 p.m. appears to be on time, and the return trip out is thus still on schedule. RFD also has flights from and to St. Petersburg/Clearwater tonight.
For more information on how weather conditions are affecting operations at Rockford, follow along on their site. Call your airlines or check their Web sites if you have questions - contact info is here.
According to the FAA, flights into O’Hare are on average two hours delayed, though no significant outbound delays are reported.
December 23rd, 2009 12:07pm
Thomas V. Bona
…it could get the illustrious (and hilarious) Red Sparrows!
(Thanks to friend of the blog Ben R. for the heads up)
December 22nd, 2009 05:29pm
Thomas V. Bona
Unless you’re Santa Claus, you might run into some delays.
As the weekend blizzard in the Northeast showed, bad weather can wreak havoc on the nation’s air-traffic control system. And the National Weather Service predicts a wintry mix throughout Chicagoland Wednesday and Thursday, including lots of ice.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s Flight Delay Information site is a good general guide (hey, look, O’Hare has delays!).
The Chicago Airport System says “During inclement weather, passengers traveling through O’Hare or Midway International Airports, or picking up passengers are advised to check their airline’s Web site or call to confirm the status of their flight. It is also suggested that outbound passengers arrive at the airports at least two hours in advance of their flights.”
Chicago Rockford International Airport has set up a weather-information site listing flight status, road conditions and other information. Also, here are the flight status sites for Allegiant Air and Direct Air.
Finally, here’s an excellent post by our friend, The Cranky Flier outlining what to do when a snow storm strands you. My favorite tip:
Bring Snacks
This may sound funny, but you’ll thank me later. As was the case with this storm, some airplanes pushed back, deiced and headed toward the runway only to have to come back when conditions deteriorated. Only one problem, airplanes were landing and taking up gates so there weren’t enough to go around. That happens a lot when conditions shift, and it means that you may spend a long time on the plane. The airlines don’t want to keep you there and neither does the airport, but it’s not always possible to get you out quickly. Snacks will help – and they’ll make you popular onboard. (Think of it like prison – you can trade for cigarettes or nudie magazines as well.)
Any other air-travel tips, readers? Personally, I’m going to go by car, and take my sweet time.
Happy (and safe) holidays!
December 10th, 2009 11:54am
Thomas V. Bona
Just got a call from someone looking to travel on I-90 from Rockford to Chicagoland and wondering if the blowing snow was making it hazardous. There are some good resources out there to see if major highways have problems, between weather, construction and general congestion:
- The Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee Travel site keeps tabs on congestion throughout the region. It has specific live maps for Rockford, Chicago, Madison, Milwaukee, the Quad Cities and other areas.
- The Illinois Department of Transportation has a continually updated road condition report. As of 11 a.m., I-39 south of Rockford and U.S. 20 between Rockford and Freeport are 25 percent snow or ice covered, for example.
- The Illinois Tollway has a phone number for road conditions - 1-800-865-5394.
Safe travels!
December 10th, 2009 11:38am
Thomas V. Bona
Chicago Rockford International Airport just announced its slate of holiday musical performers and visits by Santa Claus. Presumably, Santa Claus will not be Bob O’Brien in costume (”Thomas, you’ve been a good boy this year, here’s your flights to New York!”).
RFD also has a big tree in the terminal that will be decorated with pictures of people who took trips using the airport.
“Holiday travel is one of the most hectic times of the year,” said airport Executive Director Bob O’Brien. “We pride ourselves on the hassle-free experience that we provide travelers when they use RFD and having this entertainment is just one of the many things that we do that makes traveling during this season that much more enjoyable.”
Chicago’s airports pipe in music, often from Chicagoland artists, throughout the year. Right now, there’s a Christmas theme going on.
Of course, when I think of Christmas music at O’Hare, I think of the family in “Home Alone” running to “Run Run Rudolph”. Probably not what Chicago is trying to evoke.
Personally, I never fly over the holidays. That’s pretty much because I’m usually not high enough on the seniority list to get those weeks off. But I also don’t like the idea of dealing with all those crowds or with the inevitable snow delays going from Chicago to New York. And I’m never going to fly through Denver around Christmas.
Does holiday music make travel more manageable? Any other holiday flying tips you have?
December 9th, 2009 02:08pm
Thomas V. Bona
Kudos to the Airplane Geeks podcast for this…
You’ve of course heard about Northwest 188, the flight that overshot its destination in Minneapolis because the pilots were “distracted”. They say they were trying to figure out the new computer scheduling system, but comedian Steve Goodie has his own take:
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