Fly Youngstown Blog

Breaking: YNG-CVG in the Hands of Bowser and WRPA

An unnamed airline, which I have identified but won’t mention in this article, has sent forth the documents for YNG to receive 3 daily flights to Cincy and back. The flights would offer connections to other cities with lower fares than another carrier out of that airport.

I know a lot more, but I can’t say all that much more. I had someone else email me “in the know” and he too can confirm it is in the hands of KYNG.

I will be the first to inform everyone about a potential announcement before the news gets it if one is made in the coming weeks…

Thanks

YNG-Allegiant Succeed with High Oil Prices!

FROM THE BUSINESS-JOURNAL | VIENNA, Ohio – Allegiant Air, the sole passenger regular carrier serving the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, reports its flights were nearly filled to capacity during June.

Airport director Steve Bowser told the board of the Western Reserve Port Authority Wednesday morning that Allegiant’s average load factor on flights from Youngstown-Warren stood at 97% last month, three points above its national average of 94%.

“The numbers are very good,” Bowser said. “It’s tough right now, and the airline industry is in a position to re-invent itself. I think this is a huge opportunity for Youngstown.”

For the quarter ended June 30, Bowser said Allegiant’s load capacity from Youngstown-Warren was roughly 92% compared to 91% nationwide. “Allegiant is one of the more profitable airlines operating now,” Bowser noted.

The airline books two flights each week to Orlando, Fla. Allegiant is in a better position than most airlines because it relies on revenues generated from other sources such as hotel bookings and vacation packages.

Allegiant’s encouraging passenger rates out of the airport could encourage other airlines to take measures to consolidate or reduce the number of direct flights, Bowser said, that there is a strong aviation market in the Mahoning Valley.

The port authority is seeking to recruit new air service to Youngstown-Warren.

“Allegiant is one of the top-25 low-cost carriers in the world,” Bowser related. “There’s a lot going on in the industry and we should see how things shake out in six to 12 months.”

The port authority also allocated $258,394 toward a new de-icing machine. The funds were made available through a federal grant. Matching funds of $13,600 were provided by Winner Aviation Inc., the airport’s fixed-base operator.

And the board approved spending $79,069 for maintenance work on the airport’s fence line that includes lighting and signage upgrades.

Bowser reminded the board of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station’s open house scheduled for Sept. 13. The open house is part of the 60th anniversary of the Air Force Reserve.

Several World War II-era aircraft, as well as an F-22 stealth fighter, are scheduled to be part of the event.

I am officially on Airliners.net

The YNG Airport finally has some representation on the best aviation forums on the net, those are the Civil Aviation Forums of Airliners.net. YNGguins is the name and I have immediately brought up YNG in a number of my posts. I am not going to do that in all my posts, but I will try to keep us a topic of discussion; esp. if we are awared the SCASD grant, which could be announced within the next few weeks.

Once Castoff by YNG, Vacation Express still flying.

Perhaps, the administration should have forgetten what happened in the past and contacted Vacation Express about Myrtle Beach service.  I really think that the valley could support two flights a week to Myrtle Beach, don’t you.  But, it looks like our neighboring airports beat us to the punch again. 

A charter service kicks off $99 one-way, direct flights to Myrtle Beach.

By Kim Leonard
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, March 9, 2007

Carrying suitcases and golf bags, passengers booked for Myrtle Beach Direct Air and Tours’ maiden flight from Pittsburgh International Airport headed for the ticket counter Thursday morning.

“We’re really happy about this,” Martha Ghelarducci said after she and her husband, Fred, checked in at the counter.

The Bethel Park couple travel to the South Carolina resort town about three times each year. This time, Fred Ghelarducci plans to stay for two weeks, while his wife will return home Sunday and head south again next Thursday — flying the new air service each way.

“It is very convenient,” she said, and at $99 one-way, it’s affordable, too. The privately owned Myrtle Beach Direct started operations Wednesday with a flight from Newark, N.J., to Myrtle Beach, and offers service from Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Yesterday’s flight took off with 83 passengers plus Ed Warneck, the Myrtle Beach-based air service’s president, and Robert Keilman, the chief financial officer.

The spring schedule has flights leaving Pittsburgh on Thursday mornings and Sunday evenings, and returning Thursday mornings and Sunday afternoons. Saturday trips will be added for summer, and the schedule will taper off for the fall before service ends for the year after Oct. 31.

And that, said Judy Schuyler, the air service’s project manager, is the key difference between Myrtle Beach Direct and airlines that offered direct flights there in the past.

Hooters Air, to name one, ran nonstop flights from Pittsburgh from February through early December 2005, then announced a few months later that it wouldn’t resume service for 2006. The airline since has ceased business.

Other carriers tried to keep flights going almost year-round, but, “People in this city kind of roll up the sidewalks” after the prime tourist season, Schuyler said.

Brad Dean, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, said, “There are thousands of Pittsburghers who visit here each year.” And when direct air service is offered, he said, spring and fall traffic tends to pick up because of lower hotel prices.

Myrtle Beach Direct is a public charter service and doesn’t own planes or employ pilots, flight attendants or mechanics.

Sacramento, Calif.-based Sky King Inc. runs the flights, using Boeing 737s with capacity for 124 passengers. Continental Airlines Inc. was hired to run ticket counter and ground operations in Pittsburgh. Reservations are handled through the air service’s center in Beckley, W.Va.

The flexibility of running an air service mainly through contracts has helped public charter businesses to grow in recent years, Schuyler said, as traditional airlines have struggled. Based on demand, “We could add trips at Thanksgiving or Christmas, start earlier in the year or even schedule an outing.”

Several passengers waiting for yesterday’s flight said air travel to Myrtle Beach is a better option than the laborious trip by car — part of it via two-lane roads.

“I went a month and a half ago for my sister’s 21st birthday. The drive down was 10 hours,” said Mike Counahan, of McCandless, a LaRoche College graduate student on spring break. “This is so much better.”

Kent George, executive director of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, said the service gives Pittsburgh golf enthusiasts and families heading for vacations a new choice.

“We only had one carrier on a limited schedule going to Myrtle Beach,” he said, referring to US Airways, “and now we have another carrier with Myrtle Beach Direct, which is offering this service and at low cost to the passengers.”

Schuyler said Myrtle Beach Direct teams with a car rental service, U-Save, plus hotels and attractions to offer packages that can be tailored.

A $499 per person “March Madness” special from Pittsburgh sold out, she said. For April, there’s a $789 deal — four days and three nights including airfare, a car, a stay at an oceanfront resort and two rounds of golf, with a cart.

We NEED Spirit Airlines!

When I did the petition I wanted daily service, then I looked at Spirit and said, if we got them we’d get daily service. I still want all of you to continue signing our SURVEY, but I think that petition must target Spirit and not United. That is even from a someone up in Vienna at the airport.

Let’s look how big Spirit Air COULD BE FOR US. Let me say this, Spirit Air knows about YNG, and YNG knows about Spirit, they have talked quite a bit from what I was told, and I will stop there. I won’t go on with what else I do know.

Regardless, its important for Steve Bowser and Chuck Johnson and the Port to put together a package to entice Spirit to come here. Let’s face it, they aren’t going to go back to CLE, they have shown NO interest in PIT, and their competition is at CAK with AirTran, so if they want to come to this region, they will come to YNG.

Spirit Air would fly daily out of YNG, with flights to Detroit and Fort Lauderdale with connections into the Caribbean. We may also see a Myrtle Beach flight or New York Flight. I am speculating, but I’d love to see a marketing roar with this if it would indeed happen.

I am sick of CAK’S ad’s in Youngstown and we must counter with lower fares!

Fly Allegiant-Fly Youngstown

PS… Keep buying Allegiant tix, they are making schedule changes and if tickets keep selling well, we should get an additional flight or two this holday season.

How about a Regional Port Authority?

This idea first came up from the CAK Blog by CAK Director Fred Krum to get some comments going on their site: LINK

How about we examine the positives of a regional port. Let’s call this port, NEOPORT, the Northeast Ohio Port Authority. For now the 2 airports it operates are CAK and YNG, the board has 2 reps from each of the 4 counties the 2 airports represent, Stark-Summit and Trumbull-Mahoning.

This regional port is similar to MASSPORT in Mass. which runs Boston Logan and our friends over at Worcester Regional.

NEOPORT’s Job will be to meet with every airline in the industry, bring solid offers to the table such as this:

CAK- You must be willing to share a gate with Frontier with higher gate rents, but you get the growing passenger base of CAK.

YNG- You get reduced prices across the board, with one flat rate price to the airlines. These may save the airlines money, but you have the relatively unknown passenger base of YNG.

NEOPORT would work to develop YNG into a cargo airport with some passenger service. The existing unused land at YNG is enormous, and with a foreign trade zone status, and the lack of residential neighborhoods around the airport, large cargo companies can transport cargo around the clock.

NEOPORT would continue to grow CAK into a low fare leader, they are #5 in the USA. Look to expand their new airport facilities and work to make it a mini-hub to Airtran or any new carrier on the market.

So what are your thoughts, what did we miss, good idea or bad?

Talk to us, YNG!

Fly Youngstown-Fly Allegiant

Mikees 2: Restaurant Opening This Friday!

Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport is handling passengers again and travelers will soon be able to grab a meal before their flights.

Mikee's, a popular restaurant and lounge in downtown Girard, plans to open a new location at the airport.

The new restaurant, called Mikee's Two, will be serving lunch and dinner.

Airport manager Steve Bowser says the new restaurant's grand opening will be Friday, June 23th.