JetBlue Ad Page 9

For those out there who keep asking if there is a demand, let me offer page 9 (at least the 2nd time this week) as evidence there is. It is a five columne add, 18 inches and two colors. How much do you think that costs?? Answer- $9,000!!!!

Who do you think knows best, where their JetBlue customers are coming from?? Answer--JetBlue!!! My point is that JetBlue would not be spending monies like this in our market advertising JetBlue out of Boston.

This is great news, since we do not even have to convince JetBlue about the existence of the market here. Why?? JetBlue already knows the demand is here already as evidenced by the ads. We need to roll out the red carpet, explain the leakage to Providence/Manchester to SouthWest, drop any overhead charges to enter the ORH market, tell them we will call the terminal the JetBlue terminal and throw matching marketing dollars at them.

Now the most disturbing part of the ad. It says "DEAR BOSTON"!!!!!!! Someone at our airport (Director/Liaison) needs to call JetBlue and tell them an ad in the Worcester paper should not say "DEAR BOSTON", it should say "DEAR WORCESTER". Herein lies the problem, JetBlue does not realize there is a difference between BOSTON and Worcester.

We do not need another study, a consultant or a survey to get this done.. Somebody (the people getting paid to run the airport) has to actually pick up the phone and make a call... Take a look at the ad--$9,000!!

30,000 Visitors

That's right, we just passed 30,000 visitors on the blog!!! Considering we started this in September, that's alot of traffic. I know many blogs people may disagree with and I, in turn, may disagree with many of the comments. The only way we are ever going to make an educated decision on this airport is through dialogue like this..

Allegiant's Bankruptcy

For all of those bemoaning the fact that we were in negotiations with Hooters, let us not forget that Allegiant Airlines reogranized under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from 2000 to 2002.. Again citing my ValueJet example when their plane crashed in the Everglades, many industry experts thought they would never make it. Today they are Airtran.

We need to talk to any airline that we can offer them discounts on overhead (landing fees, free rent, etc) and matching advertising dollars, but we need to stay clear of any revenue guarantees. Many smaller airports end up owing millions with the types of deals.

Failure of Hooters

At this stage we need to target second-tier start-up carriers in a similar situation as us. For that reason, Allegiant was the perfect airline for ORH.

At the same time we need to face the brutal truth.... These start-up are private companies and can go out of business without any notice. TransMeridian and SouthEast went out of business without any notice. At least Hooters, for those of us watching, was showing signs of trouble when they stopped flying one route after another.

Does that mean we should not have been talking to Hooters, SouthEast or TransMeridian. Absolutely not!!! We need to establish the fact that people in the Worcester catchment area will fly from ORH; for example, at the demise of TransMeridian, Allegiant swooped right into 3 or 4 markets where TransMeridian had high loads. Lets say Allegiant went out of business tonight, it would be a bad thing but I bet you other airlines would come to ORH knowing that people will support a ORH-SAN route.

At the same time we should not get tied into contract with these start-ups that cover their losses up to a million dollars. We should merely offer discounts or not costs on overhead that they would incur at ORH and some matching marketing monies. More importantly we should not make out public officials be scared to take a chance by having negotiations with these airlines.

I am glad that we were in discussions with Hooters, but I ony hope we are in discussions with USA3000, JetBlue, Cape Air, Linear Air and charter airlines (Apple Vacations). The name of the airline is that as important as us supporting the flown route.

Hooters Stops Public Charters

It is official.. The public charter service from Hooters is done. They will be removed from our list and join the dead list with SouthEast and TransMeridian. These start-ups are quite risky and since they are private companyes, there is little to no financial information available. All the more reason why a company liek DJ Air Group was always such a stretch.



MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- Hooters Airlines in Myrtle Beach is stopping regularly scheduled air service. The airline said it will stop its public charter flights April 17 and will run only private charters out of Winston-Salem, N.C.

President Mark Peterson said Hooters Air will serve large groups such as sports teams and tour groups. Peterson said some of the airline's 350 workers will be laid off in Winston-Salem. About five workers in Myrtle Beach are being laid off.

Hooters started service between Myrtle Beach and Atlanta in 2003. It was serving 15 locations last July, but the airline began canceling holiday flights in December. It had stopped most flights in January but said it would resume service to Myrtle Beach in the spring.

Airport Liaison

I received the following e-mail response regarding the status of the information, that I have requested numberous times, from Airport Liaison Niddrie last night March 28th :


Got your letter on the 22nd. Reply in process.



My letter that he received on May 22nd asked Airport Liaison Niddrie for the following information:

1. the monthly parking reports from LAZ
2. the most recent qtrly filing to the DOT on how the Small Community Air Service Grant
3. has been spent operating numbers for the first half of fiscal year (2006).

Upon receipt I will post information on the blog and web site.

JetBlue/Cape Air

Harry--thanks for the story. I have it below... This is bascially a variation of our idea of have a plane from ORH to feed the JetBlue hub, not to mention NYC.


Cape Air seeks deal with JetBlue

Cape Air, the top year-round carrier from Logan International Airport in Boston to Cape Cod and the islands, has been facing a May 2007 deadline to clear out of Logan's Terminal C to make way for rapidly growing JetBlue Airways Corp.

But now both JetBlue and Cape Air are expressing hope they can work out a deal that keeps Cape Air at its current gate, operating as a kind of connector-feeder for JetBlue.
From Logan, Cape Air flies nine-seat propeller planes to Hyannis, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Provincetown. On summer weekends, when Cape Air has diverted extra planes to New England from winter operations in Florida and the Caribbean, it often ranks as the busiest airline at Logan -- measured by flight arrivals and departures, that is, not total passengers.

At Logan, Cape Air occupies a gate in Terminal C that is among four the Massachusetts Port Authority has agreed to lease to JetBlue by November 2008. JetBlue now uses seven gates to offer about 45 daily departures, and hopes to expand to more than 100 in coming years.
In separate interviews last week, the chief executives of both airlines said they hope to reach a deal that keeps Cape Air in JetBlue's terminal.

''We like the location, and we think our customers like being able to connect to JetBlue" without having to go through security again, said Daniel A. Wolf, who is president of Cape Air and, on summer Saturdays, one of its several dozen pilots. ''We bring potentially a lot of valuable customers to JetBlue." JetBlue chief executive David Neeleman, in an interview at The Boston Globe Travel Show Friday, agreed that ''it'd be great to see if there's a way to work that out. They run a really great operation."

Neeleman said that having Cape Air stay in Terminal C to feed passengers into JetBlue's network, and connect travelers coming from JetBlue cities in the United States to the Cape and Islands, ''would probably be a pretty good option for Cape Air. It would make a lot of sense for us." Thomas J. Kinton Jr., Massport's aviation director, said finding a home for Cape Air is just one of many gate-space problems at Logan.

Massport also is trying to find new gates for fast-growing AirTran Airways and to help bankrupt Delta Air Lines fill gate space at its half-empty $500 million Terminal A. ''In these discussions, it's always paramount for us what's best for the customer, and the customer is both the passenger and the airline," Kinton said. ''At the same time, it has to work for the airport from a gate-management standpoint."

A sixth Logan runway set to open late this year for small planes, called 14/32, is ideal for handling Cape Air's Cessna 402s, and that could argue in favor of moving Cape Air to Terminal A or B to be closer to that runway, Kinton said. ''A lot has to play out," Kinton said. ''We'll be in a lot of discussions."

Reports

This week I will have the following reports and will post on the web page and blog. Stay tuned:

1. the monthly parking report from LAZ
2. the most recent qtrly filing to the DOT on how the Small Community Air Service Grant has been spent
3. operating numbers for the first half of fiscal year (2006).

YNG Blog

Great blog on YNG today. It amazes me how similar we are. Read this, but keep in mind this is YNG that they are talking about not ORH:

Local Airplanes Not Housed at YNG

While I was looking for other information to contribute to this blog, I was searching websites and came accross the FAA website and found something interesting. At http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry There are 379 aircraft registered in the two counties that own our Airport. For agrument sake, we can throw about 79 of those out and end up with 300.

Of the other 300, only 40 or so are at Youngstown Warren Regional. WHY? Some of those are private jets in private hangars, some are for the flight schools, some belong to the FBOs, and some are corporate jets renting space from the Airport or the FBOs. What about the rest?Well, we called three of the owners from Mahoning County and three more from Trumbull County and asked them a series of questions to find out. They were all very helpful and may start even reading this blog. Here is what we found out.

First, none of the six were at Youngstown. One was at Warren "Skeets" Airport. Four were in Pennsylvania at small airports, and one was at Salem Airport. When asked "Why?" we got several answers that were repeated by almost all of the people. All stated that YNG needs more "T-Hangars" for small aircraft. Currently, there are only 12 T Hangars at YNG that the owners say are in poor condition for such a nice airport. One owner from Poland pointed out that there are more T-Hangars at Haski Avaition in New Castle then there are registered owners in that county. He said the same goes for Grove City and Greenville.

Next, they stated that the cost of maintenance and aviation gas at YNG has always been too high compared to that of other airports including "Skeets", Greenville, Grove City, New Castle, Ashtabula, and others. They pointed out that the prices are a little better in the last two years because the new FBO and the old FBO are fighting for business, but that the difference is enough to still go elsewhere. Some said that about five years ago, the price was almost $1.00 per gallon higher at Winner Air in YNG than at Franklin, PA.

They also pointed out that YNG needs a restaurant on the field and free parking for those who want to go to it. Many again pointed to Franklin Airport in PA. That airport has a thriving restaurant and the airport gets aircraft largely because of the cost of hangars, the restaurant, and the cost of fuel. Some airports even offer self service to the pilots to save even more money.

Lastly, the owners pointed out that the administration of YNG has not always seemed receptive to single engine aircraft owners. Many have said that they have not gotten the warmest feeling from YNG and felt like they were bothering the administration and the FBO with trying to hangar their planes at Youngstown. According to many of those asked, YNG may not even have "tie downs" any more for securing parked aircraft.

Another Analogy

Lets say Akron-Canton Airport is flying ten flights per day to a hub. It does not have to be JetBlue to JFK, maybe it is Delta to Atlanta or NorthWest to Detroit. The underlying carrier realizes that they have many passengers from the Youngstown catchment area and advertise heavily in the local Youngstown newspaper.

Now add the fact that the mgmt company running Akron-Canton has taken on the responsibility to run Youngstown's Airport by assuming a decling percentage of the operating losses for three years, while promising the ability to bring flights with their buying power. How difficult would it be for that mgmt company to ask JetBlue, Delta or NorthWest to divert a two of these ten flights to Youngstown.....

As a businessman, I know that it is all about the $$$$$.. If people, who read this blog, do not realize this then I am not doing a very good job. Please, these flights would not be a mission of mercy, but plain and simply--GOOD BUSINESS!! These two flights from Youngstown (or Worcester) would enable the trend-seting carrier the ability to forge a bond that a second or third airline would never be able to enjoy.

For arguements sake, lets assume JetBlue came to ORH and flew two flights per day to JFK, can you imagine the allegiance that this would create to JetBlue for the people in the ORH catchment area? Not only that, how many colleges are in Worcester?? We better not ask YNG, since he never heard of Worcester, but right now Holy Cross (for one) is in the final 8 of the NCAA college hockey championship.... JetBlue could create a lifetime bond with the students at Holy Cross, WPI, Assumption, Becker, Mass School of Pharmacy, Anna Marie, etc.

Now, what if I am completely wrong and Youngstown (or Worcester) does not support the flight?? Send the two flights back to Youngstown (or Worcester). Now, lets just say JetBlue diverted 2 of the JFK shuttles per day for 6 months and at the end we had abysmal load factors?? Well maybe that is what we need to find out once and for all..

I feel that we could support, other airlines would take notice and ORH would be on the road to recovery. If I was wrong ( I would not be happy), but I would agree that a downgrade to a GA airport is the only alternative..

My MassPort Story

Two years ago, we came up with the idea that we should approach JetBlue based on their substantial investment in the Embraer 190. Our idea was that we should talk to JetBlue about flying a shuttle from ORH-JFK, JetBlue's hub, where one could fly direct to their other destinations. At that time JetBlue did not fly from many destinations in New England other then Burlington, VT to JFK and a few, very few, flights from Boston to Florida (maybe some other locations).

Finally Tom Moore contacted Dave Ulmer, the strategic flight planner for JetBlue, and invited him to ORH and he accepted the invitation. One of my concerns was that, if this was such a good idea, then should we not be concerned about Logan/MassPort taking the idea. Our airport director, Eric Waldron, assured me that MassPort was not interested in the hub/spoke model. They would only do point to point routes.

At this point Tim DeSantis put together a great video, entitled the JetBlue Road, to show JetBlue how easier it could be to get to ORH on the JetBlue road. The day of the meeting at the airport, there was a great turn-out (40-50 people) including Tom Kinton from MassPort. What happened after that?? I have no idea , since when I asked questions about follow-up to JetBlue I was told to 1) stay out of it and 2) they had it under control.

In the end MassPort ended up getting a huge commitment from JetBlue, including 10 flights to JFK (our idea which Mr Waldron told us would never happen), and we ended up with nothing??? I do not blame MassPort for not helping us, we need to watch out for ourselves but MassPort, our "partner" could have negotiated two, of the ten flights, to JFK...

ORH-JFK Shuttle via JetBlue

I really thought when I bring up JetBlue diverting one of ten shuttles to JFK from Boston to ORH, everyone would agree. We went to MassPort, the owner and manager of Boston, for their expertise and leverage to help us get an airline. Is is really asking so much for MassPort to have JetBlue move one of their flights to ORH???

It is not like JetBlue will lose money... We would fill one plane per day very easy and help JetBlue increase their customer base. The Central Mass catchment area has alot of SouthWest fliers going to Providence and Manchester. I could go on and on, but this would be a good move for JetBlue. This is not a mercy flight.

This is the example of what we expected when we asked MassPort to take over the mgmt of our airport. If our sole reason was to simply help us pay the operating deficit so we could fly a couple of flights per week to Florida, lets give up right now and downgrade to a GA airport. This should be a very easy thing for MassPort and our airport mgmt to pull off.

Tale of Two Fitness Clubs

Lets assume Tim has a health club that is overflowing with members and for arguements sake, there are ten exercise bikes in the club. Now I have a fitness club on the other side of the city that has no customers, I am losing money badly and I have no exercise bikes.

Tim and I are friends and he offers to help me pay my bills for the next three years and tells me that he will try and help me anyway that he can. About 20 months into the three plan, he and I both realize that there are alot of people the live on my side of the city that drive across the city to his club. We figure that he could give up two exercise bikes to get people in my area to go to my gym.

What should Tim do??

a) Sending two bikes to my club will lessen the overcrowding at his gym and people will find parking spots easier. Also my increased profits will lessen the amount he has to subsidize of my losses.

b) What if he sends the two bikes to my gym and I start to turn it around. Maybe I bring in more equipment, start taking customers from Tim and when the current deal ends we are competing against each other?


Maybe this is an over-simplification but I see some inherent conflicts in our agreement.

Boston-NYC Shuttle --JetBlue

Think about this. Our partner, MassPort, is doing alot of business with JetBlue. Right now they have ten flights per day from Boston to New York. JetBlue realizes alot of people in the ORH catchment ares fly these flights as evidenced by their advertising in the Worcester Telegram.

How hard would it be for MassPort to divert two of these flights per day to ORH??? Wasn't that the whole reason we wanted to partner with MassPort. Their contacts and their experience would have spin-off benefits for ORH.

Think about it 2 of 10 flights?? How hard can it be???

Today's E-mail Message

How do I buy tickets online for the flight from Worcester to Sanford? I keep coming up with cheap tickets etc. and no flights listed from our own Worc. airport. It is very frustrating. When are the politicians going to stop blocking the essential access road to the airport? I have lived here near the airport for 50 years. What a shame that the politicians can destroy what could be an incredible money maker for Worcester, instead of a dead airport....

tammi

Hooters-More Bad News

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/14148527.htm

part of the story:

Time may be running short for Hooters Air. While Robert Brooks, a Loris native and owner of the Myrtle Beach-based charter airline, declined to say the airline would soon shut down, he cast doubt on its future. "I just hate to quit. I'm still fighting, but don't expect anything long term," he said Monday. "I dearly wished it could have turned out better."

Brooks is also chairman of Hooters of America, an international restaurant chain known for its scantily clad Hooters Girls. The company also owns a casino in Las Vegas that opened in February. In a wide-ranging interview with The Sun News, Brooks said he is "open for suggestions" over what to do about Hooters Air. "I haven't had any surprises in the casino business, or in manufacturing, or in the restaurant business, which we deal in worldwide, but the airline business is crazy," he said. "The airline business isn't my cup of tea."

He does have options - including finding investors to pump capital into the financially ailing airline or selling to new owners. Indeed, Brooks said the airline was contacted Monday by a potential buyer, though he downplayed a deal. Whether he sells or not, the airline industry hasn't been kind. "I've not been enamored with the industry in general," Brooks said. "You can't depend on anybody and anything. It's dog-eat-dog and one thing or another from one minute to the next. What I understand about it, I don't like what I see."

Leigh Fisher Associates

These are the guys working on our 20 year Master Plan. In December of 2004, we had a meeting up the airport but never saw them in 2005 and are waiting for some numbers from the New England Regional Study Plan.

They made the Herald today (http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=130893). Here is are a couple of small portions:


The free-spending Massachusetts Port Authority, fresh off another round of pay raises, recently dropped $154,000 on a self-congratulatory economic impact report that came to the obvious conclusion that Boston’s airport and seaport are economic engines for the region. “It’s absolutely absurd. It’s a complete waste of public money,” John Vitagliano, a former Massport board member, said of the study. The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce kicked in $35,000, putting the total price tag of the 33-page glossy puff piece at $189,000.



California-based airport consultants Leigh Fisher Associates compiled the report based on surveys of local employers and government agencies. The study, which took a year, claims Massport generates $8.7 billion a year in economic activity.


I wonder if the report had anything on ORH and the potential economic spin-off for ORH if there was more commerical service?? More importantly, is there a potential conflict with Leigh Fisher working closely with MassPort doing our Master Plan??

Today's letter to the Editor

Traveler recommends Allegiant Airlines



Traveling on Allegiant Airlines to Orlando in February was easy, comfortable and affordable. I was dropped off at Worcester Regional Airport, checked in and passed through security without delay. Thirty-five minutes from my front door to the boarding area. The flight was on a real plane and it left and arrived on time. Not needing a rental car, I paid $30 to Orlando Carriers for a van ride to my destination. Easy, comfortable and affordable. I recommend Allegiant Airlines from Worcester Regional Airport to all flying to the Orlando area.

Route 290 Billboard

There is a billboard on Route 290 that you can see coming from the West before the Holy Cross exit. My only comment is that although the sign advertises http://www.allegiantair.com, it should also have the website for Worcester Airport.

VLJ's

They are coming!! There has been alot of talk the past couple of years, but the future is here with the first VLJ's (Very Light Jets) coming on-line this year. Check out this story http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0603190291mar19,1,6227915.story?coll=chi-business-hed

Here is a section:


If the market takes off, Palwaukee (http://www.palwaukee.org/) figures to benefit. While it is home to several business jets because of its proximity to a number of corporations in the north and northwest suburbs, it can handle more traffic, Rouleau said. The little jets can land on runways as short as 3,000 feet, compared with the 5,000 feet needed by the smallest jets now being flown. Two of Palwaukee's three runways are shorter than 5,000 feet but longer than 3,000 feet.Rouleau is so excited about the prospects for the new jets that he has requested proposals to redevelop an empty terminal at the airfield to accommodate the planes and passengers.

He's been planning ahead because two manufacturers are on pace to gain final FAA certification for their very light jets this year.The first of those is the Eclipse 500 from Eclipse Aviation Corp., which hopes for FAA approval by the end of June. At $1.3 million, the six-seater is one of the lowest-priced twin-engine jets available. A combination of new jet engine technology and lower-cost electronics has helped drive prices down.