Archive for December, 2007
December 27th, 2007
Been a tough December for Midwestern air travelers.
On Friday, Allegiant Air had to delay or cancel several flights in and out of Chicago Rockford International Airport. One flight was diverted to Green Bay, Wis., for several hours. Passengers in St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Fla., had to wait until Sunday to get a flight back to Rockford, and one called to complain that Allegiant didn’t give them good information about rebooking that flight. It was certainly a bumpy weekend for the fast-growing discount carrier, which generally only has ground staff at its Las Vegas base and doesn’t have the infrastructure of the major carriers.
Of course, being a big carrier at a big airport doesn’t always save you, either. At least 170 flights were canceled at Chicago O’Hare International Airport Saturday because of the Great Fog of 07.
Meanwhile, ultra-low-cost-carrier Skybus had to ground two of its planes for repairs on Christmas and Wednesday, canceling flights that affected at least 1,000. Milwaukee flyers were among those affected.
Finally, United Airlines canceled dozens of flights today due to snow in Colorado, including the morning flights between Rockford and Denver. For now, the 1:55 p.m. flight from Rockford to Denver is scheduled to leave on time, but the evening return flight may be a little late.
December 26th, 2007
Apple Vacations’ winter flights to Cancun, Mexico, are packed, Chicago Rockford International Airport officials report. Saturday’s first flight appears sold out, according to Apple’s Web site, and at least five other flights are 90 percent full. There are 16 flights for the season, running through April 12.
“We know we have people from Green Bay to Bloomington taking advantage of our non-stop international service to Cancun, which is truly remarkable,” said Mike Dunn, chairman of the Greater Rockford Airport Authority, in a press release. “We are very pleased with the services provided by Apple Vacations and encourage those in the region who have still not tried our airport, to give it a shot; I think they will be truly impressed with our world-class facilities.”
Airport officials are hoping to parlay that success into twice-weekly flights to Cancun or summer service. I have a call in to Apple officials to see what they have to say.
December 19th, 2007
Looks like Peoria is temporarily losing some Delta flights to Atlanta because of high fuel prices.
This comes not long after Allegiant Air said it was pulling Las Vegas service from several Illinois markets for the same reason.
The bright side for Peoria is it was spared the Allegiant cuts and still faces a record year for passenger service. Rockford also was spared Allegiant’s cutbacks.
RFD Executive Director Bob O’Brien keeps saying that the airport’s growth in spite of the sluggish industry says good things about what they’re doing. At the same time, you have to wonder if and when fuel prices will ever slow down RFD’s growth too.
December 19th, 2007
I just did a five-question interview over at Bill Randell’s Worcester, Mass., airport blog. Bill’s a passionate advocate for ORH, an airport not unlike what Chicago Rockford International Airport was a few years ago: No regular passenger service, stuck in the shadow of a large metro airport and seemingly spinning its wheels.
Bill’s a big fan of RFD, and thinks it can be a model for ORH. He’s always reading and posting my articles, and it’s always an honor to have readers far away. He also interview RFD Executive Director Bob O’Brien back in March.
December 12th, 2007
Important tip from Sally Truitt, owner of Truitt Travel in Rockford:
Allegiant Air, as you may know, charges passengers extra for checked baggage. It’s their way of lowering the base fare and, as they say, making it so you don’t have to pay for other people’s bags. The fee is $5 per bag.
But recently, Truitt said, the airline started charging $10 per bag at the airport if passengers didn’t pay ahead of time when booking. Truitt said the change was made quietly … and when some of her clients went to the airport, they were stuck paying twice as much as they planned.
So if you’re booked on Allegiant but didn’t pay to check baggage, call them at (702) 505-8888 and adjust your reservation.
UPDATE: Talked to Allegiant spokeswoman Tyri Squyres. She said the extra fee at the airport has always been there, it just hasn’t always been strictly enforced. Now it is being enforced. She also said people who book online or on the phone are told about the fee up front. Those who book with travel agents might not always get the message, she said.
“We go overboard to make sure customers know,” she said. “We don’t want to surprise anybody at the airport.
December 10th, 2007
Chicago Rockford International Airport is running a promotion called:
That’s not to be confused with:
Anyway, why pay people to fly out of RFD? To get first-time customers in the door, said Executive Director Bob O’Brien. He compared it with spending money on newspaper, radio or television advertising, but with more quantifiable results: for every cash-back award made, they’re guaranteed a seat sold.
O’Brien believes that once people see the airport for the first time - with its free parking, free wifi and short lines - they’ll come back for more, even if they get no money back. But it takes incentives, he said, to get them to give RFD a try over O’Hare, Midway and Milwaukee’s Mitchell airport.
His other goal is to pack planes during the winter months to show airlines the routes can do overwhelmingly well here. He said they just care that seats are filled, not how the airport does it. In his mind, it’s no different than spending thousands of dollars on advertising.
Are you a MilesAhead member? Do the airport’s promotions make you more likely to fly out of there? Let me know.
December 5th, 2007
Ultra-low-cost airline Skybus seems like the kind of airline that could work at Chicago Rockford International Airport if Skybus wants a “Chicago” destination.
Right now, Skybus has two main destinations - Columbus and Greensboro, NC - that get flights from multiple cities. The Chicago area might make a good third one, and Skybus has shown it prefers smaller secondary airports away from the major hubs. For example:
- Its “New York” airport is Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, about 55 miles north of the city (and 70 miles from Midtown).
- Its “Boston” airport is Pease International Airport in Portsmouth, NH, 63 miles away.
- Its “Seattle/Vancouver” airport is Bellingham International Airport in Bellingham, Wash., 94 miles from Seattle and 49 miles from Vancouver.
- Its “New Orleans” airport is Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport in Gulfport, Miss., 77 miles away.
- Etc., etc. and so on.
Rockford is 85 miles from downtown Chicago but, more importantly, 71 miles from O’Hare International Airport and even closer to the western Chicago suburbs. There are 2.5 million people who live within an hour of the airport.
Some critics say RFD is too far from Chicago to draw much passenger service - this writer says “‘Chicago’ is a real stretch here” - but the airport isn’t aiming for people in downtown Chicago, it’s aiming for those in the western suburbs and southern Wisconsin who want an alternative to O’Hare.
With low-cost Allegiant Air already here, something like Skybus could help RFD become a Midway International Airport for the western suburbs. Not as big, but a magnet for airlines looking for a cheaper and easier entry into this region.
December 5th, 2007
Ultra-low-cost airline Skybus, known for one-way fares as low as $10, starts service between Milwaukee and its base in Columbus, Ohio, today. Right now, there are flights once a day from Milwaukee, leaving at 4:46 p.m. Fares tend to be around $25 each way (some midweek flights are $10, others cost more because of demand), plus a host of ancillary fees. Basically, Skybus is gunning for people who want to pay as little as they can for bare-bones service, with additional fees for additional services, such as checked baggage, food/beverage, a chance to board first to choose your seat. If you don’t use it, you don’t pay for it.
There’s no connecting service. If you want to go beyond Columbus, you have to book a second trip from there to your final destination, and good luck finding a flight leaving after the Milwaukee flight gets in. Really, this is if you want to get to Ohio on the cheap.
So my question is, do any of you readers plan to use Skybus? What are your thoughts on its model? Let me know.
December 3rd, 2007
Got an angry e-mail from a reader today who didn’t like the publicity we gave Citgo in ourstory about a local independent Citgo gas station with a unique marketing plan. The reader was upset because Houston-based Citgo is ultimately owned by Venezuela’s national oil company, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has had quite a war of words with the Bush Administration.
The reader said if his car ran out of gas in front of a Citgo station selling gas for $1.50 a gallon, he would have his car towed to a non-Citgo station.
That reminds me of people I know who, at one time or another, boycotted other gas companies because of alleged bad business practices.
Which makes me wonder, do any of you readers also choose your gas station by the brand it sells, either for political reasons, quality reasons, rebate/credit card reasons or other reasons? Let me know.
