July 13, 2008

Rockford Airport Daytrippers

They have done it again. Instead of waiting around for reports from consultants, they actually do things that bring business to their airport. Here is a story from the AirportBusiness.com:



A planeload of "day trippers" from Rockford, Ill., will arrive at Niagara Falls International Airport on the morning of July 3 and depart that same evening in a first-of-its-kind tourism blitz.

The "all in one day" sightseeing experiment is the brainchild of the Greater Rockford Airport Authority to beef-up business at the underutilized Chicago Rockford International Airport. Tickets for the whirlwind trip to the Falls went on sale at 1 p.m. Wednesday and were sold out by 10 a.m. the next morning.
"People were really excited about having an affordable way to get to Niagara Falls," said Zach Sundquist, the Rockford airport's special projects coordinator. "It's a convenient and cheap way for a whole family to make the trip without the added expense of an overnight stay."

Rockford is located about 90 miles northwest of Chicago. Round-trip tickets for the charter flight, arranged through Southern Skyways Airlines, were priced at $154 for the first 40 passengers, with the remaining 91 seats going for $192 each. The pilot flight will depart Rockford at 7 a.m. (CDT) and arrive in Niagara Falls at 9:15 a.m. The return flight will leave Niagara Falls at 8 p.m., giving the day-tripping travelers some 11 hours to experience Niagara Falls and related attractions.

"We are delighted about the "day trip" concept, with hopes of discovering a potential for regularly-scheduled seasonal service in the not-so-distant future," said Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Chairman Greg Stamm.
The NFTA will accommodate the Rockford tour group with $10 shuttles from the airport to downtown Niagara Falls. An evening return shuttle will also be offered. The visitors are on their own to plan activities while in Niagara Falls.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080713/britain_canada_bombardier.html

Harry Tembenis
Worcester, MA

Anonymous said...

Interesting story. Somehow, I can't picture the Airport Commissioners putting together something like this.

Rockford to Niagara Falls is 450 miles.

Someone should be able to put together a trip from Worcester to Niagara Falls, Bar Harbor, Washington DC, or Atlantic City, for a similar price. All of those destinations are less than 450 miles.

Myrtle Beach is 613 miles, so that flight would be a little longer, and more expensive. I also don't know if they planned on 131 sets of golf clubs.

This certainly sounds possible. I don't know who is capable of putting together such an event.

Bill Randell said...

Not too sure about Niagara Falls for ORH, but what about a day trip to Nova Scotia or Canada?

Last month I went on a day trip to Roger Williams on the P & W Railroad. The train was sold out.

Anonymous said...

Bill:

Sell it as a package deal to the Niagra casino and see how much demand there is!

:-)

I had to get that point in !!!

Harry Tembenis
Worcester, MA

Bill Randell said...

never knew there was a casino at Niagara Falls?

Anonymous said...

sHOULLDNT ANY DAY TRIP FROM wORC aIRPORT be heading in a general southerly direction...............otherwise you're going to be bumping up against colder weather for at least 6 months of the year....unless the trip is to an indoor venue like a casino or or unless the day trips are only planned for Apr. to Oct., for example?

Sorry guys i cant see going to Niagra Falls in the dead of winter.........i am sure it is still beautiful...........does the water still flow in the winter......

Dittos for Nova scotia

Now a day trip to Washington where it's 1/2 way warm for 9 months of the years...or to NYC...I would think is more doable??????

I am not much of a traveler, so I cant speak from personal experience

Anonymous said...

http://www.fallsviewcasinoresort.com


Harry Tembenis
Worcester,MA

Bill Randell said...

Jahn:

Wherever the location is not the point. Fine say it should be DC. Point is that Rockford is always doingh pro-active things to bring people to their airport.

Bill