Boston Traffic

I had an appointment in Wakefield at 1:00PM yesterday. Driving up Route 128, there was a rather large back-up of traffic for counters onto Route 128 trying to get onto Route 93 South. Later I noticed a a temporary sign stating that this was the "Best Route to Logan". Again let me stress early afternoon traffic was jammed. Keep in mind this is still about 45 minutes away including a trip through the Callahan Tunnell and finding a parking spot at Logan.

This is a huge opportunity for Worcester!!! Maybe we should be asking for more flights per week from Allegiant, advertise that fact and make ORH to place to go for a flight to Orlando. This can be done note the story below. Before you read this please review our on-line petition (if you have not already).

http://www.petitiononline.com/ORH/petition.html

http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/wb/xp-75311

Two months after launching service from Roanoke to Orlando, low-cost carrier Allegiant Air announced Tuesday plans to double the number of weekly flights on that route starting in November. The Las Vegas-based airline currently flies nonstop to Orlando's Sanford International Airport twice a week from Roanoke for about $100 each way, and according to airport officials, those flights have stayed consistently full throughout much of the summer.

Allegiant will add flights on Monday and Friday to its existing flights on Wednesday and Saturday. The flights leave Roanoke at 6 p.m. and arrive in Orlando at 7:50 p.m. The airline flies twin-engine MD80 jets that carry 150 passengers. "We generally don't add service so quickly," said Allegiant Air spokeswoman Tyri Squyres. "But from the beginning, we've gotten such a good response from the Roanoke community." She added that Roanoke was among the airline's best booking markets for flights to Orlando. The airline also flies nonstop to Orlando from 14 other cities including Allentown, Pa., and Newburgh, N.Y.

Sherry Wallace, a spokeswoman for Roanoke Regional Airport, said that while airlines have cut capacity nationwide this year, more people tend to be flying this summer than several years ago. Allegiant Air has been selling out many of its flights, she said, and probably will continue to as the summer traffic dies down. Orlando is ranked fifth on the airport's list of top 10 destinations and stays popular throughout much of the year, Wallace said.

Las Vegas, the airline's home base, is ranked 10th on Roanoke's list, but Squyres said it is doubtful that Allegiant Air will begin flying nonstop between the two cities -- at least not in the short-term.
"For the aircraft we fly, fuel would be an issue," Squyres said, adding that the 150-seat plane would have to make at least one stop to refuel. The farthest east Allegiant Air flies, she said, is from Las Vegas to Lansing, Mich. Allegiant Air specializes in taking passengers to Orlando and Las Vegas from smaller-city airports such as Roanoke. It saves money by flying into Sanford International Airport, northeast of Orlando and about 35 miles from Walt Disney World.