http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060827/COLUMN22/608270512/-1/OPINION
Here are some highlights:
- "The planes were nearly full."
- "They are leaving is not the lack of passengers and that they carried an almost full load. This should be a selling point to the next airline that is coming to ORH"
Again nobody wanted 100% loads more then me, but the truth is the load factor was in the 75% and it was in fact one of the main reasons Allegiant pulled out of ORH. How can we keep denying that fact?
- "Excuse by Allegiant President Maurice Gallagher that the fuel-inefficient MD-80 aircraft used by the company cut its profit margin seems flimsy at best."
- "Losing what one aviation consultant described as a "cruise ship with wings."
We continue to hammer Allegiant, when we should be thanking them for trying ORH. By the way the reason Tyri from Allegiant stated for leaving ORH was that it was the worst performing city in their network, not the cost of fuel. In addition the aviation consultant cited was Michael Boyd, the same person who criticized the $100,000 IMG report last year.
- "Mr Kinton envisions ORH being active not just in the passenger service, but also general aviation, catering to the growing corporate jets."
- "Seeking private bids for the development of two airport sites suitable for new hangars and full-servicem, fixed based operators."
As we discussed earlier this week the emphasis will now be on General Aviation and the development of the empty parcels. Not saying this is a bad thing, in fact it might be the exact thing we should be doing, but we are not going to get any commercial airlines in the short-term.
- "The agency has invested about 45 million in capital projects at Hanscom."
- "Everything is on the table."--Kinton's response to if MassPort would take title to ORH"
Massport sank 45 million into Hanscom, because they own it. They will never sink money into our airport like this under the current short-term contracts, they will need to outright own ORH or lease it for 99 years to make this kind of a commitment. In the end General Aviation may in fact be the answer at ORH, I don't know. It really bothers me, however, that we are denying the fact the airline loads were one of the main reasons Allegiant pulled out of ORH.
8 comments:
That Bob Nemeth guy is so full of shit. Why must he lie, if your loads were 75% as you say on a 130 seat jet, you get just 98 passengers per flights, which really isn't that good folks.
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Not only were the loads bad, but you had the smallest planes of Allegiant!!!!! Almost every other city has to fill the larger 150 seat jet, and Youngstown for that matter is succeeding at it, averaging about 130-135 passengers per flight.
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This guy can't lie anymore, Allegiant is ripping them apart.
In addition to being a reporter for Telegram, Mr Nemeth has been on the airport commission several years, including being the Chairman.
After reading the Sunday T&G, both Bob Nemeth article in the opinion section and Andi Esposito's article in the business section it seems like some of the questions that have been asked are finally being answered. Add to that the post from "anonymous" from the August 25th "Allegiant Post Mortem"
blog and its plain to see Massport will be taking over the airport.
First Massport CEO Thomas Kinton,Jr has indicated Massport is interested in taking title to ORH .
Second , Worcester and Massport officials looking to develop parcels for further expansion for hangar space. This means either Swissport, the current FBO per Andi Esposito's article, is part of the deal or other FBO's or private parties are in play.
Anonymous blog clearly indicates they, the aviation elite whose been around ORH since the beginning of time, are on the chopping block.
I'm confident now Massport will be in total financial and managerial control ( not acting managerial consultants) by next June if not sooner.
That's bad news for ORH. Be skeptical of Kinton. His loyalties are with Boston, not the city of Worcester. Mike O'Brien needs to find a way to autonomously and efficiently run this airport. It can be the centerpiece of Worcester growth, but will never get there if it is run by people who are more concerned about the poor utilization of DL's new terminal than zero utilization of ORH.
Mr Nemeth does a great job telling us about Mr Kinton's credentials:
Aviation professional.
Civil engineer.
30 years with Masspsrt.
"Exp all phases of operation"
National leader in security.
Dev'ment regional strategies
Honest & effective.
Diplomatic & political skills.
Sure reads like a real stand up guy, BUT do we not need a marketing professional and NOT an operations guy?
We need a private sector aviations marketing guru and not an operations guy with a public sector bureaucratic background.
Yes, admittedly, we do need Massports Money, too.
Before we sell or lease anything, we need a private sector marketing pro whose job is on the line if they don't bring airlines and passengers to ORH.
Jahn:
Great point..
Bill
Do we need a marketing pro in charge of Massport, which is eventually going to takeover ORH. No. GA (corporate,air taxi ,VLJ)is what is going to save ORH with or without the current administration and tenants. You can market until the cows come home, but until the legacy airlines (not leisure )see there is a serious, professional entity in charge they will be hesitant to come to ORH. No more paralysis through analysis.
W.T.:
GA (corporate,air taxi ,VLJ)better save ORH since it sure in hell is not going to be commericail service now.
Bill
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