Could the Vegas Flights Be Coming??

16 Responses to “Could the Vegas Flights Be Coming??”

1. on February 22nd, 2007 3:49 pm

   GREAT NEWS.

   I will repost to the Mahoning Valley Voice.

   AWESOME!

2. on February 23rd, 2007 6:27 pm

   Heck yeah!!! This is awesome news!! Great job, and keep up the good work. Hopefully the fruits of your labor will be tasted soon enough.

   Rock on.
   Drew

3. on February 24th, 2007 10:10 am

   Note to Chuck Johnson:

   Since you are now speaking for the Airport Director, could you please elaborate as to what airline was “soon and close” to making an annoucement last year about starting service at YNG? I still can’t believe no media or port members can remember this statement being made and have not followed up as to what happened? Inside rumors back then were Comair service to CVG or United Express service to either IAD or ORD. Why no more talk of this happening? What caused them to back away? Or are all other potential airlines waiting to see what Allegiant does? I understand the need to keep filling seats on AAY, but you can only support that market (Orlando) for so long. Not everyone that flies from this area only wants to go to Disney World on Mondays and Fridays! Last year, Delta added regional jet service to Atlanta from Erie, PA, a market that they had NEVER served. They now have 2 flights a day and the flights are almost always over sold. How can it be that YNG could not even support one flight a day to Atlanta where you can connect to hundreds of cities and almost every Florida destination that a YNG resident would want to go to on just about any day of the week? I surley hope that you guys running this show that appear to be so enamored with AAY, that you would hinder new service wanting to come in. Past history has shown that competition around this place tends to lead to personal “turf” wars. If I was a Port Member I would be asking at every meeting as to why there is no “daily” service at YNG yet? What is being done to attract service? Let me see the last months phone bill because it had better be high because you are burning up the lines daily asking airlines what can YNG do to get your service. Do you guys need outside help from professionals (like the Boyd Group) that can LAND air service for just about any community! Are you guys exhasting all possible ways and means to get service re-established. You had better get agressive, because you can and will be removed if we don’t see any results. Lose the “build it and they will come attitude”.

4. on February 24th, 2007 10:44 am

   Just to follow up on my last point. I’m sure my posts on this board seem to always appear negative. But it is frustrating to see what is happening to all the nearby cities as airlines are increasing and adding new service and YNG seems to want none of it!
   The appearance is that there is no “urgency” to get daily airline service started at YNG again. I hate to think that had the YNG Airforce Reserve Base been selected to close on the last BRAC list, this place would have no doubt turned into a concrete desert. The military is the only thing that is keeping this airport alive. The YNG airport has such great potential and it’s ashame to see it under utilized.

5. on February 24th, 2007 10:08 pm

   From the Business Journal’s Airport Article. I’d love to know how true this statement is:

   “”
   Chuck Johnson, manager of aviation services development for Winner Aviation, which operates Allegiant’s ticketing operation, said following the meeting that the remaining flights for February are sold out, and that sales look good for March and April as well. Solidifying the current service could allow the port authority make a good case to Allegiant to add Las Vegas as a destination, he noted. “Every time [Allegiant officials] talk about Vegas, Youngstown‘s name comes up,” he said. “”

6. on February 25th, 2007 8:37 am

   View_from_Above makes a good point about the urgency of doing anything NOW. Erie having two daily flights to Atlanta, Akron-Canton having non-stop service to four Florida cities and here sits Youngstown with a population base of 600,000 residents and we get Disneyworld on Monday and Friday. I have tried to work out trips to Sanford, FLorida using Allegiant but the days don’t work out and the location of the airport in central Florida is not the greatest. If we are finding enough people to go to Disneyworld twice a week, surely there is a need to fly to other destinations like hub cities to connect all over the country. Delta Connection, Comair, Spirit, United Express, Southwest, American Eagle, Norothwest Airlink, US Airways Express, Jet Blue sould be on the port authorities list of weekly telephone calls. I too don’t want to sound negative but come on…….. In order to win the lottery, you have tp play the lottery. Take a proactive approach, be agressive, and sell the airport…….

7. on February 25th, 2007 9:56 am

   I have to agree with both “View From Above” & “ChaseOH”. The key word in their respective texts is AGRESSIVE. I have observed airports that are in the shadow of large ones thrive because the management didn’t stop for anything.

   Case in point: FNT - Flint, Michigan - They had a small 1950s airport with one jetway. The airport director James L. Rice got in there and despite the clear lack of community support totally replaced the entire terminal with a brand new one with 3 jetways. That initial replacement terminal has been expanded 3 times to allow for more ticket checkin counters, more baggage pickup areas, and more jetways. He accepted ValuJet to ATL and ended up with AirTran which has been a LOW FARE MAGNET FOR PASSENGERS. That element alone has SPARKED significant additional growth in passengers using the airport and numbers of airlines and flights of same.

   My point here is that even in the shadow of DTW this guy puts the pedal to the metal. He doesn’t wait for anyone. RFD in Rockford, Illinois is in the shadow of ORD has bulldozed their way forward adding airlines left and right with terminal adjustment plans to follow. I don’t have to tell you guys what CAK had done in the shadow of CLE.

   In each of these cases it appears that two elements are required:
   1. Agressive Leadership that MARCHES FORWARD. They build, advertise on local media, and prepare professional presentations to airlines.

   2. They ACQUIRE a LOW FARE MAGNET that pulls in the passengers and other INTERESTED AIRLINES.

   I have also observed that there is airport management that:

   1. Are satisfied with “what we got”.
   2. Are not agressive is getting additional airline service BECAUSE they WAIT for an airline to OFFER something.
   3. Are not held accountable by anyone for achieving nothing.
   4. Haven’t any master plan or vision of the future of the airport.

   Now I live in Michigan halfway between FNT and DTW and this is the way I see it. YNG has a potential in a significant population base to make this work. The Allegiant element currently present shows that but much more SHOULD be offered.

   To simply hope for more Allegiant service and rely on that I believe would be a serious mistake. More is out there and more is available. If the guys at YNG have shifted into neutral and are gliding on what they have with Allegiant there should be a public outcry from the Youngstown-Warren area. This is an age of low-fare airlines up and coming. It has been proven that a LOW-FARE MAGNET pulls in the passengers for obvious reasons. A smaller airport has the close convience and less crowded conditions factor as well. There is no reason YNG can’t win and move forward too.

   Constant outcry from your populatiuon on these points with these support points will be a must in:

   1. The Tribune Chronicle
   2. The Vindicator
   3. WKBN-TV - Youngstown
   4. WYTV-TV - Youngstown

   Having said that sometimes the media (of which I am a part of) has the same ho-hum attitude just like airport management. A letter to the editor automatically gets published. That is a fast-track way of getting the message out and knowing that its going to get out there. Those of you that can attend the public monthly airport board meetings I urge you to at least try it out and make your pitch. Remember this is your airport.

   I support your cause and from what I have read in your posts you indicate a serious passion for the cause. Keep up the good work and keep pushing the YNG management forward. It looks to me like it needs pushing.

8. on February 25th, 2007 1:57 pm

   Thanks Karl, you know what you are talking about, YNG needs to talk to you too.
   And: I finally got the October Allegiant Numbers, once again loads around 75%. Year to date passenger totals now are over 20,000 with the December numbers still to come.

   Overall-good year.

9. on March 4th, 2007 7:20 pm

   You won’t “beat CAK for the LAS route”, FL flew CAK-LAS with a 737 and discontinued it due to poor load factors…

10. on March 4th, 2007 8:26 pm

    Dan.. The thing is I am not going to let “rumors” out about that route on my blog. The load factors were very good on that route from CAK-LAS.

    They discontinued it due to HIGH FUEL PRICES. Trust I would know, I had emails going between Krum at CAK about it, and I also have newspaper articles from the discontinuation that say: FUEL ENDS VEGAS FLIGHTS.

    Dan—Nothing against you, just get your facts straight before you post that on here. YNG is going to steal passengers from CAK the seconds they get LAS Flights. TRUST ME ON THAT.

11. on March 4th, 2007 11:02 pm

    Gimme a break-if load factors were so great then why haven’t they resumed the service now that fuel prices are down somewhat.

    And if you say fuel prices are still too high then why would YNG-LAS survive when CAK-LAS couldn’t?

    High fuel prices alone doesn’t end flights-that’s illogical!

    The thing that YNG has going for it is its distance from CLE, I’ve been watching CO matching every single FL sale, and it has definitely hurt FL’s load factors.

12. on March 5th, 2007 6:40 am

    Dan let’s end this one now before you make it any worse than it actually is.
    Here is an article link: http://news.cheapflights.com/airlines/2006/02/airtran_cancels.html
    ———————————–
    The low-cost airline started the flights on August 4 last year, but according to Kristie Van Auken, the airport’s marketing director, increasing fuel prices have made the flights uneconomical to run.

    According to The Beacon Journal, what Van Auken refers to as a “function of fuel and distance” has been affected by an increase in oil prices from $45 a barrel to $68 a barrel since August.

    The news will come as a disappointment to those who filled the Akron flights to around 85 per cent each day.

    AirTran plans to reinstate the flights as and when fuel prices drop by enough to make it economically viable, believed to be around $52 a barrel.
    ——————–

    I THINK ALL YOUR ANSWERS ARE IN THERE.

13. on March 5th, 2007 1:49 pm

    There’s really no reason for you to get so uptight about this, so take a chill pill.

    All I’m asking is if CAK-LAS wasn’t viable at an 85% load factor then why would YNG-LAS be viable?

14. on March 5th, 2007 5:51 pm

    I’m not trying to get uptight about this, but in almost all of the SCASD Grant applications, the O/D numbers from the 80s and 90s, and past charter flights out to Vegas have been filled. It is the #1 destination on the minds for those in Youngstown.

    And again. I know quite a few people out in Akron who have never flown from YNG, who will WHEN Allegiant offers this route.

15. on March 5th, 2007 5:57 pm

    I agree with you Dan. You seem to look at things from an objective perspective as opposed to being a “cheerleader”. I have a question for many of you on this board: The load factors in November, December, and January were in the 75% range. Is that considered a success for these months. I know that February has improved as the cold weather in Ohio prompted many to get away for some sun and warmth. I’m just wondering if the Youngstown area is making an impression with Allegiant with the numbers in November, December, and January.

16. on March 6th, 2007 4:19 pm

    YNGAir wrote “AirTran plans to reinstate the flights as and when fuel prices drop by enough to make it economically viable, believed to be around $52 a barrel.”

    A question for all of you: If Allegiant or AirTran needs more economic value to a flight to make it a reality would a one-stop picking up additional revenue passengers for the same flight do the trick in your opinion?

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