Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines(R) Invites Cities to Declare Independence from High Fares
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.-(Business Wire)-July 27, 2007 - Spirit Airlines is inviting cities to declare their independence from high fares and today announces a process whereby cities may submit proposals to Spirit in order to be selected for new air service and be part of Spirit's largest expansion to-date. The carrier will select up to 10 new routes from South Florida and will add up to three new international gateway cities. The selected cities will be added to Spirit's network in 2008, with all services initiated by summer, providing immediate economic benefit to the cities through lower fares, on-time new planes, and friendly service.

"Even though we are the largest and most successful Ultra Low Cost Carrier serving the Caribbean and Latin America from Fort Lauderdale, my phone still rings constantly from people asking us to save their city from high fares," said Barry Biffle, Chief Marketing Officer. "This next wave of expansion will be the largest in our history and will allow us the opportunity to free as many communities as possible from the shackles of high fares."
Spirit Airlines will accept proposals until Friday, August 10, 2007. Only complete proposals will be accepted. For proposal details please visit www.adioshighfares.com. Details on the web site also are available in Spanish and Portuguese.

About Spirit Airlines
Spirit Airlines, Inc. is the largest Ultra Low Cost Carrier in the United States, Latin America and The Caribbean. Its all-Airbus fleet, the youngest in the Americas, flies more than 185 daily flights to 35 destinations. The company is based in Miramar, Florida, and employs 2,300.

Land RFP

I have e-mailed our airport liaison, Phil Niddrie, to see if he can reveal the name of the one entity who bid on the most recent Land RFP from the Spring? Stay tuned.

Here is the response via e-mail this morning from Airport Liaison Niddrie:

"As of this time, we cannot."

15 Coppage Drive

In light of the announcement that Union Station the Restaurant lets take another look at 15 Coppage Drive again. The other day I saw a demand notice in the paper for this property. Remember this is the property that had a 20 year lease renewed about one year ago by the Airport Commission for something like $200 per year.

One of the terms of the lease is that taxes must be current. As of today the taxes due are $238,165, but whose counting.

Skybus Problem

As I see it the problem with Skybus is that there are no direct flights. Now add the fact you have to connect through Columbus where there are no other airlines. Here is a story from the Seacoastonline that drive this point home:


Skybus 'nightmare' sours local family

By Shir Haberman
shaberman@seacoastonline.com


Years ago, at the end of a commercial for Yuban coffee, an old geezer with the solid Yankee name of John Arbuckle would somberly intone, "You get what you pay for." For the Hunter family of Stratham, the lower fares and close airport proximity that Skybus Airlines offers are not worth the anxiety, frustration and anger they went through when the airline canceled a scheduled flight to Portsmouth last Thursday.

Hilda Hunter was supposed to be on that flight, and what went on due to that cancellation is indelibly etched in the minds of her family. "It was a nightmare," said Nancy Hunter, the 75-year-old Cincinnati woman's daughter-in-law. Hilda was among the 144 passengers scheduled to take off on the two-hour evening flight from Port Columbus, Ohio, to Portsmouth International Airport on July 19. Fog along the Seacoast that night first delayed take-off from Columbus, then forced the flight to land at Bradley Airport in Hartford, Conn.

The passengers were held on the plane without access to their luggage at Bradley for several hours until the airline made the decision to have the flight return to Columbus. The plane landed in Columbus at 5 a.m. on Friday, and those passengers who wished to continue to fly with Skybus were booked on an extra flight scheduled to take off for Pease at 8 p.m. Friday night. The scheduled two-hour trip wound up taking about 28 hours. Hilda Hunter's flight landed around midnight on Friday. While delays and cancellations are common in the airline industry, the problems created were exacerbated by Skybus' limited information network and nonexistent backup infrastructure.

"When they got back to Columbus, there was nobody to communicate what was happening," Nancy Hunter said. "The airline didn't offer the passengers anything — not a cup of coffee or something to eat. They were just told to sit and wait. "And there was nobody at Pease," Hunter said.

Skybus spokesman Bob Tenenbaum called what happened to Skybus' Portsmouth flight on Thursday "the perfect storm." He said it was a combination of bad weather and an inoperable flight tracking system that the company has been working on for months that would have allowed those waiting for the flight here in the Northeast to know its status. "The concerns (of people like the Hunters) are legitimate," Tenenbaum said. "There is supposed to be a flight status update system on the Skybus Web site, but it is not working properly."

Tenenbaum said the decision to have the flight return to Columbus was made to accommodate the majority of the people on the flight. "At least half the people were from the Columbus area," he said. "It was better for them to come back to a place where there were Skybus people who could help them then be dropped off at an airport where they were not supposed to be." However, there were some passengers aboard the flight who felt the problems on Thursday were systemic.

"They had no Plan B," Linda Cargill of Canal Winchester, Ohio, told The Columbus Dispatch. "It was kind of one of those things where you keep thinking, 'I'm just going to wake up and this will all be a dream.'" As for the Hunters, this experience has soured them on Skybus. "We have friends who bought Skybus tickets for December," Nancy Hunter said. "I'm worried for them. "God forbid, there's (bad) weather," she said. "They're up the creek."

Hunter said her mother-in-law will never fly Skybus again, nor will any other member of her family. "They lost not only my mother, they lost me and my husband, and he has told all the people at Osram, where he works, about it," she said.

Allegiant Leaves Portsmouth

Full story from the Manchester Union Leader. Here is part:



Allegiant Air LLC, the low-cost air carrier, said yesterday it would no longer offer its seasonal air service between Portsmouth International Airport at Pease and Orlando Sanford International Airport in Florida.

The airline cited competitive reasons as the key driver behind its decision. The air-travel market for the Seacoast and southern Maine has become increasingly crowded, as carriers such as AirTran Airways and JetBlue Airways have started offering service to the Orlando area from Portland, Maine. Skybus Airlines Inc. also offers service to Florida points from Portsmouth through its hub in Columbus, Ohio, although AirTran and JetBlue's operations carried far more weight in Allegiant's decision.

GIQ

How many ounces in a GIQ?

Kay's Wine & Spirits, Pawtucket, RI. September 30, 1948 copied from Gansett web site

Route Analysis

To date we have spent some $200,000 in IMG. I would imagine that they have prepared route analysis for ORH; for example, ORH to Orlando. I have thus asked our airport liaison to put all the route analysis on the City website. You never know who may be lookinig?

I have also made a public records request for this information so if it is not put up on the official ORH site, I will put it on FlyOrh.com.

Logan

Drove a friend of mine yesterday morning at 4:00AM to Logan for his flight to Orlando on JetBlue. It was his first flight on JetBlue and loved it, by the way. That is not the purpose of the blog,

First, he would have used Allegiant to Sanford from ORH if they were still here. Second the tolls alone from Route 146 and back cost $9.20. Now you add my time, inconvenience and cost of gas etc what would the cost be??? All I am trying to say is that a Cape Air flight code sharing with JetBlue would be quite attractive.

Skybus 1st Flight to Westover

For the complete story from the Republican click here, but here is part of it:

CHICOPEE - Skybus Airlines' inaugural flight to Westover Metropolitan Airport this evening was greeted by a rainbow and plenty of fanfare.
The orange A319 jet touched down at 6:43 p.m., 10 minutes early. The discount passenger carrier, based out of Columbus, Ohio, is the first regular passenger service at the airport since the late 1980s.
"I think it's wonderful," said Steve A. Baldwin, of West Springfield, who was traveling with his wife, Carin D. Baldwin. "It's much cheaper."
Baldwin, who works for an Amish furniture maker, was traveling to Ohio State University and then on to Holmes County to tour several Amish furniture factories. Golf was also on his itinerary.
Skybus will offer once-daily flights to Columbus from Westover. The airline will offer 10, $10 seats on each flight. Other ticket prices range from $30 to $150 and are cheaper when reserved at least a month ahead of time

City Council Meeting Tonight

Here is a quick summary of information on the airport for tonight's City Council meeting:

1. Master Plan should be released this summer.
2. Who the one one responder to the RFP for the land parcels is still not revealed. A meeting with the one reponder has occured and the City is waiting for answers to some questions before a recommendation is made.
3. IMG "continues to provide the city with analysis of potential carriers and the creation of specific marketing packages and strategies for these identified airlines." Who the airlines are and what it the status of any negotiations is not detailed.
4. Nothing on negotiations with MassPort regarding the next deadline, January 1st, 2008

Air Taxi Service

How does air taxi service like Linear Air work? Here is an example:

Client: ABC
Need: Frequent travel for teams between their office in Cambridge, MA and their parent company in NJ

What they were doing: Flying Continental from Boston to Newark, using car service for 40+ minute drive to corporate HQ in NJ. Paying $600 pp walk up rate on Continental shuttle

What they now do: Fly Linear Air from Bedford to Morristown and have a 10 minute cab ride to corporate HQ in NJ. They pay $3,400 roundtrip for the aircraft and take 6 or more pax for a pp price of $567.

Benefits:

• Cost savings in airfare
• Cost savings in car service
• Cost savings in parking and tolls
• Time savings in getting to and thru both airports
• Time savings in bracketing the air travel tightly around their work schedule, not around an airline schedule
• Vastly improved level of service with valet parking, pilots treating them as honored guests, unlimited free standard catering on the flights, and access to a flying conference room to work during travel.
• Streamlined billing, a single transaction for all pax.
• Stress free, quick, convenient and real dollar savings before the soft cost savings are even considered.
  

Allegiant Air Qtrly Update

LAS VEGAS, July 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Allegiant Travel Company will hold its second quarter 2007 financial results conference call Aug. 7, 2007. A live broadcast of the conference call will be available via the company's Investor Relations website homepage at http://ir.allegiantair.com. The webcast will be also be archived on the "Events & Presentations" section of the site.

    (Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060516/LATU102LOGO)

   When:  Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 10 a.m. (Pacific)

   Who:   Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr., Chief Executive Officer and President
          Linda Marvin, Chief Financial Officer
          Andrew C. Levy, Managing Director - Planning

   How:   Web Address: http://ir.allegiantair.com

About the Company

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Company , is focused on linking travelers in small cities to world-class leisure destinations such as Las Vegas, Nev., Orlando, Fla. and Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla. Through its subsidiary, Allegiant Air, the Company operates a low-cost, high-efficiency, all-jet passenger airline offering air travel both on a stand-alone basis and bundled with hotel rooms, rental cars and other travel related services. ALGT/G

For further information please visit the company's investor web site: http://ir.allegiantair.com.

Reference to the Company's web site above does not constitute incorporation of any of the information thereon into this press release.

June Airport Minutes

They are on-line, click here. Lots of information regarding rental agreements with Thrifty Car Rental and the renting of the parking lot to Worcester State College. Not much regarding the status of anything IMG is doing, are there any ongoing airline negotiations and nothing regarding the extention of the current operating agreement with MassPort.

Stewart Update

Just a review. Stewart is the airport in Newburgh, New York that was privatized about 10 years ago when it leased the airport to National Express for 99 years. This private company has done a great job and now the Port Authority of New York is buying it back for big monies. Here is a very interesting story and how if a major "Port" Authority owns a local airport can make huge improvements both to the airport and infrastructure.

Rail link eyed for New York-area airport

NEWBURGH, N.Y., July 10 (UPI) -- New York may build a commuter rail stop at Stewart International Airport after the city's major airport operator takes it over, a state engineer said Tuesday. The state Department of Transportation has begun a study into the feasibility of constructing a link to Stewart, 55 miles north of New York City, from an existing suburban train station, Department of Transportation Chief Engineer Robert Dennison said.

This would give passengers an express train trip between the airport and the city or Newark Liberty International Airport, he said. Metro-North Commuter Railroad, which operates the rail line, has pushed for the link, which would involve buying property and building new tracks, Mid-Hudson News Network reported. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans to take over the 2,400-acre airport in Newburgh, N.Y., in October to reduce congestion at Newark, LaGuardia and Kennedy International airports.

The takeover will also "prepare us for tremendous anticipated growth in air travel for years to come," Port Authority Chairman Anthony Coscia said. The Port Authority has budgeted $150 million for improvements, including additional parking and an international passenger terminal. Other plans include runway extensions, new taxiways, major cargo expansions and improved highway access.

Allegiant Link

Thanks Harry;

Allegiant Air Promo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7LI1GtMbyo

This director is good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBH6pdpyU4o

Master Plan

It has been about three years now that the 20 Year Master Plan has been worked on. Last I heard was that the final report will be due this summer??

Linear Lands First VLJ

This is huge for Linear, from the Boston Globe:

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Linear Air lands new "very light jet."

Linear Air, a Concord-based air taxi service, said today it has taken delivery of its first Eclipse 500, a so-called "very light jet" that's designed to reduce the costs of personal air travel.

Linear Air said that the Eclipse 500 will be ferried later this week to Hanscom Field in Bedford, where it will soon enter into service.

According to Linear Air, the Eclipse 500 cruises at more than 400 miles per hour, seats three or four passengers with two pilots, and has a range of more than 1,000 miles.

Linear Air said it has ordered 30 Eclipse 500 jets, which are scheduled for delivery over the next two years.

The Eclipse 500 is manufactured by Eclipse Aviation Corp. of New Mexico.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by Boston Globe Business Team at 07:58 AM

Allegiant 2nd Qtr Results

Why couldn't we get airlines like this? June of last year versus June of this year, passenger count is up 57.50. These guys are growing fast, now with three destinations (Vegas, Sanford and St Pete's and new destinations will surely follow. By the way, they still fly out of Portsmouth.


Allegiant Reports June, Second Quarter 2007 Traffic

LAS VEGAS, July 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Allegiant Air, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Allegiant Travel Company , today reported preliminary passenger traffic results for June and Second Quarter 2007.

                                Scheduled Service

                                 Jun. 2007       Jun. 2006       Change
  Passengers                      281,977         178,988         57.5%
  Revenue passenger miles (000)   263,091         183,590         43.3%
  Available seat miles (000)      296,982         214,359         38.5%
  Load factor                       88.6%           85.6%       3.0 pts

                                  2Q 2007         2Q 2006        Change
  Passengers                      753,716         476,174         58.3%
  Revenue passenger miles (000)   708,616         504,635         40.4%
  Available seat miles (000)      833,475         610,294         36.6%
  Load factor                       85.0%           82.7%       2.3 pts

                                Total System*

                                Jun. 2007       Jun. 2006        Change
  Passengers                      298,935         205,408         45.5%
  Revenue passenger miles (000)   281,855         204,230         38.0%
  Available seat miles (000)      324,308         247,940         30.8%
  Load factor                       86.9%           82.4%       4.5 pts

                                  2Q 2007         2Q 2006        Change
  Passengers                      810,555         535,499         51.4%
  Revenue passenger miles (000)   774,828         563,236         37.6%
  Available seat miles (000)      928,177         703,336         32.0%
  Load factor                       83.5%           80.1%       3.4 pts

   *Total system includes scheduled service, fixed fee contract and non-
    revenue flying.

Worcester Airport Name

Travis e-mailed me asking how Worcester got the ORH designation. I believe it has something to do with it being named O'Brien Regional Airport? Can someone enlighten me to the background.

Thanks

Bill

Rockford

I know this gets boring, but how many times do I have to say it?? Forget about the consultants and the studies-simply copy what Rockford Airport does!!! Story by Tom Bona from the Rockford Register. Couple of things to keep in mind, 1) why is this secondary airport able to succeed after 9/11 (common excuse), 2) able to keep Allegiant happy, 3) potentially reach 250,000 this year while ORH is on track for no passengers and 4) potentially expect 10 major announcements this year? Here is the link or you can read the whole story below:


Airport pushes to add routes
Use of current lineup grows, but not enough to hit goal for year.

By Thomas V. Bona
ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR
Click here for more information about Thomas V. Bona

ROCKFORD — Halfway through 2007, Chicago/Rockford International Airport has seen more than 100,000 passengers come and go — well ahead of last year’s pace. Still, officials who hope to reach the stated goal of 250,000 passengers for the year will have to convince an airline to add flights, because even if they filled the rest of 2007’s scheduled flights, they’d come up short.

“It’s still very doable, it’s still within reach, things are still lining up as we would hope,” Executive Director Bob O’Brien said Tuesday. “There’s a strong potential that we’ll be adding one or two airlines and/or destinations.” In June, 18,286 passengers flew in and out of Rockford, a 12 percent increase from last June. For the year, 114,575 passengers flew here, a 35 percent increase from this time last year.

Airplanes were on average 91 percent full, the most of any month so far this year and above the industry average of 80 percent. United Airlines’ Denver route was again the most popular with 5,215 passengers. Allegiant Air’s route to Orlando had 4,913 passengers, and its route to Las Vegas had 4,785. The Las Vegas planes were 94 percent full.

O’Brien said those numbers make good arguments for more flights a week on those routes. Allegiant actually is cutting flights to Florida throughout its system this fall. There won’t be any flights between Rockford and Clearwater/St. Petersburg from Aug. 24 to Oct. 18. Orlando will drop to 16 flights in September and 28 in October before returning to the mid-30s for the winter.

“We will have a seasonal reduction in service in August/September. This will also happen in Fort Wayne, Lansing, Peoria, Roanoke and Toledo and is based on traffic demands for Florida,” Allegiant spokeswoman Tyri Squyres said. “You will also notice on the Web site that we are already booking October through February for those flights.”

Also returning in December are weekly flights to Cancun. According to Apple Vacations’ Web site, the first flight is Dec. 22. O’Brien said airport officials are lobbying Apple Vacations to add a second weekly flight since last winter’s flights were on average 96 percent full. O’Brien said the airport could have as many as 10 major announcements with companies it works with this year, including airlines and development partners.

He expects an announcement on the airport’s “Charters for Starters” program in the next month or two. The airport plans to charter airplanes for yearlong routes to Fort Myers, Fla., and the New York City and Phoenix areas with the program. It would take about three months after an announcement to start any new service, O’Brien said.

Airport officials previously said they’re interested in flying to the Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip for the New York service in an effort to get Southwest Airlines to take over the route when the year is done. But with Southwest recently cutting three daily flights from Midway International Airport to Islip, O’Brien said officials are thinking about their plans.
Another possibility is for a Myrtle Beach airline to start service from there to Rockford in March.

Water & Sewer Connections

This has nothing to do with the airport , but I know Jahn will want to know this. Effective July 1st the new fees to connect to the water and sewer has risen to 1320 per bedroom. Two years ago the fee was 660 and last year it was 990. In total a new three bedroom will cost 4,960 (3 bedrooms times 1320 plus 1000 for sewer).

We can, however, waive 100,000 in fees for a Performing Arts Center?

Portsmouth Study

Story in the Boston Globe details how Portsmouth hired a consultant to do a study. Why?? Secondary airports like ORH and Portsmouth should stop wasting their monies on consultants and spend the money actually attracting airlines?? Seriously I could have written this report for Portsmouth. Here is the actual story:

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) -- A new study shows more than a million travelers might use New Hampshire's Portsmouth International Airport if it were to expand.

The airport commissioned a consultant's study to identify how to build the airport. It recommends adding chartered international flights, increasing the number of low-cost flights and creating a time-sharing program for corporate jets.

Airport leaders say they're open to those suggestions.

SkyBus, a new low-budget airline, announced last month it would flying in and out of the airport. The study was commissioned before SkyBus made its announcement.

------

Information from: New Hampshire Union Leader, http://www.unionleader.com

Westover

Another story from the Republican:

Chicopee's Westover Metropolitan Airport has received word that it will be able to roll out the equivalent of a $1.85 million welcome map to greet new discount-fare startup Skybus Airlines.
The grant money is good news for Skybus, which is planning its inaugural non-stop flight to Columbus, Ohio, on July 16. Skybus will also offer daily nonstop service between Columbus and San Diego, Calif., the St. Augustine, Jacksonville and Daytona Beach, Fla. area through St. Augustine Airport and a second daily nonstop flight to Fort Lauderdale. "It's very timely for us," said Allan W. Blair, president of Westover Metropolitan Development Corp

The grant money will be used to pay for utilities improvements, increased capacity for hangar upgrades, the reconstruction of Hangar Drive, finishing upgrades to Industrial Park Road and nearly doubling airport parking spaces. Airport improvements are expected to create hundreds of new jobs. With the first-class improvements, Westover Metropolitan Airport could be just the ticket for regional economic growth.

July 1st

Today was suppose to be the 1st day of a new era at ORH. Instead nothing will happen another six months, we will lose even more money the next 6 months to keep ORH open for no reason. Sad day for the airport.

USA3000

USA3000 was one of the first airlines that we ever mentioned on the blog and they are still around doing well. Maybe not as well as Allegiant, but much better then TransMeridian, SouthEast, Hooters or SkyValue. Right now they have 6 Florida destinations:

1. St Petes
2. Melbourne
3. Fort Myers
4. Sarasota
   
5. Fort Lauderdale
6. Orlando

Now add the fact that they are based in Philadelphia and they also work (maybe they even own) Apple Vacations.