June 4th, 2009
Good news, snowbirds.
According to an email from Chicago Rockford International Airport to its MilesAhead members, when Direct Air resumes nonstop flights to Punta Gorda, Fla., in September, it’ll fly three days a week - Thursday, Saturday and Sunday - instead of just twice a week. Apparently Direct Air liked the numbers they got last winter. They’re only flying one-stop routes through Myrtle Beach this summer because of off-peak demand, but are coming back in force.
Hopefully those flights will mostly be in the snazzy Virgin America planes they’ve used. I’m almost tempted to run to Florida for the winter if I could fly in one of those.
Have any of you flown the Punta Gorda route? What was it like?
June 4th, 2009
With gasoline price careening toward $3 a gallon, I figure it’s time to get back on this daily feature.
So why have gas prices risen so much recently? The main thing is crude oil, which is near $70 a barrel for the first time since late October (thanks to seasonal demand increases, the falling dollar and other factors). But the Chicago area is particularly high right now, suggesting an issue with regional supplies and/or demand. I’ll ask around tomorrow and try to get up to speed.
Here are the prices from this morning (courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com):
Gasoline: The Rockford metro area rose almost four cents to $2.78 a gallon, up 18 cents in the past week and 67 cents in the past month. We’re second in the state and were tied at 38th of the nation’s 280 metro areas. That’s pretty high for us, though Chicago is ahead of us, we’re tied with Milwaukee and most of Michigan is ahead of us, suggesting it’s a regional - not local - situation. The Illinois average rose almost four cents to $2.77 a gallon, up 16 cents in the past week and almost 68 cents in the past month. The national average rose more than two cents to $2.57, up 12 cents in the past week and 48 cents in the past month. Illinois has the fifth-highest gas prices in the nation, including the District of Columbia
Diesel: A bit better story here, as diesel remains below gasoline. Rockford rose a cent to $2.46 a gallon, up almost 15 cents in the past week and 22 cents in the past month. We have the third-highest diesel prices in the state. The state average rose three cents to $2.52, up 15 cents in the past week and almost 23 cents in the past month. The national average rose more than three cents to $2.45, up almost 12 cents in the past week and 20 cents in the past month. Illinois has the 13th-highest diesel prices in the country, including the District of Columbia
