867 replies to this topic

[csmurphy8885]

yeah right... let see this happen in the NE... if we dont call them out, they will think they are getting away wtih it.  I am such a white boy whitey hatter.

[jpl02]

Quote

Well I have, matter of fact I drove down Spring Hill Road today. One of my biggest concerns are these car shops, where they have either their wrecked cars up front, on the right-of-way in some cases, with shattered glass windows, rusty side panels and missing tires and wheels, or the building itself looks like its about to fall down. This would not exist if I were on the commission. I'd seriously be working on an ordinance that states a buffer, be it natural tall bushes, trees, shrubs, or a man-made barrier seperate these eye soars from the road. This is the reason the city doesn't like to route people to the airport from downtown via Lake Bradford, Spring Hill, or Orange. Tallahassee doesn't have many roads like this, but the few we have are TOTAL embarrasments.

It's funny but sad at the same time. I know Houston has this problem......they want all airport traffic using the Hardy Toll Road because I-45 north is just cluttered with billboards and all kind of nasty stuff  

The southside area along these roads must certainly be in a CRA........why don't they give grants to these businesses for beautification and facade improvements? COT may not want people to use those routes, but all the taxis I've taken from TLH go up Spring Hill and Lake Bradford! There's not many other ways to get from the airport. I'd like to see some extensive beautification projects done around there. It'll be a big boost for residents as well. Everyone likes living in a clean, well-kept area. It can raise property values .

COT should also erect some nice looking "welcome signs"......made of concrete or something that welcomes people to the city, instead of the bland "Tallahassee City Limit" sign.

[Florida]

I agree!

I think one of the strangest things is if I were to take a route from downtown to TLH and I didnt' want my passengers to see that much blight... I'd take Adams to Orange, from Orange turn left onto Lake Bradford (the road where the Reservation is) then right onto Capital Circle is where you'll find the airport. The only probelm with this route are the dern Speed Bumps every 5 inches!!! For the life of me I can't understand why they had to go to such extremes.

You're absolutely right about the property value increase. I looked down some of the roads and the homes are actually quite decent, its the businesses that front the road that make the place look like the slums.

If I drove a Code Enforcement truck I'd be slapping some heavy fines along Springhill Road, Extreme South Monroe (I think its called Woodville HWY) and Blountstown Hwt west of CC.

[Florida]

Addressing Concern from the Tallahassee Democrat:

Quote

He said there was no reason to expect airlines such as Southwest, JetBlue or AirTran to fly into and out of Tallahassee because it is not economically feasible for them.When it comes to airline growth and airport service, "the future is legacy carriers, not low-cost carriers,"  --Phil Iglesee, Assistant Director of Avation for City of Tallahassee.

I'm not sure what he means by this. Is this an admission that we aren't interested in luring a low-cost carrier to our airport, because if this is so we need to quickly find replacement staff. Legacy carriers, such as Delta, Continential, US Airways, American Airlines and others have not been good to our pockets.

Delta lowered its prices and drove AirTran out of town, then raised them back up when AirTran left. Delta dominates the Tallahassee market, AirTran was a close second place when it was here, but it could not compete with Delta's ability to lower their prices below a level that was profitable for them to stay here in Tallahassee.

Despite this fact however, other cities are benifiting from higher increases in passenger traffic than we are because they have low-cost carrier service. I flew AirTran 6 times during their two year stay in Tallahassee and I must say their service, while low-cost, was top notch in terms of comfort, and timeliness.

We shouldn't look down on low cost carriers. Cities like Tallahassee need them.

[csmurphy8885]

agreed.  I like the idea of options epspecially in traveling... no monopolies, thats just silly.

[Florida]

I'm genuninely concerned that the airport is taking the wrong direction with this stance towards discount carriers. I'm not sure if his comments are meant to represent the entire department as a whole, but this sure sends the wrong signals.

This is the type of stuff I'd write the news paper about if it weren't for UrbanPlanet, but I'm very tempted at this point to write someone.

How can he say that Discount Carriers are not critical to the future of the airline industry? What does he mean by legacy carriers are the wave of the future... they're all going bankrupt.

[csmurphy8885]

LOL... The big dogs brain wash!  "If they think we will save them, then they at least will pay us to try"

[Florida]

Yeah... my concerns are building with regard to the airport operations. I'm not sure what to think.

You know how there are times when government is working on something and just doesn't want to report on their progress. Or times when they've tried to lure a liner, such as AirTran or Southwest and are turned down. This is probably the root of some of these comments. Whatever the case, I'd like a little more communication on this. I think City Talk should do a new segement on the airport just to get us up to speed.

How would you rate John Marks work on the airport in reference to Scott Maddox? Scott brought us AirTran, they left under the watch of Mayor Marks.

[Go Gators]

Well, I dont know a whole let about TLH, except for that the prices are outrageous.  To me, it is well worth it to drive back home to Orlando and fly out of there, rather than fly out of TLH.  I just checked travelocity, it costs 210$ minimum to fly into Orlando from here, v. 40$ for gas to drive.  Or a search from TLH to JFK came back $257 (Delta), which isnt that bad, but from Orlando to JFK (Delta) is only $138.  I understand regional airports are slightly higher to fly in and out of, but until TLH gets its act together on price, it will continue to be the airport that it is.

[Florida]

Go Gators, on Nov 5 2005, 11:46 AM, said:

Well, I dont know a whole let about TLH, except for that the prices are outrageous.  To me, it is well worth it to drive back home to Orlando and fly out of there, rather than fly out of TLH.  I just checked travelocity, it costs 210$ minimum to fly into Orlando from here, v. 40$ for gas to drive.  Or a search from TLH to JFK came back $257 (Delta), which isnt that bad, but from Orlando to JFK (Delta) is only $138.  I understand regional airports are slightly higher to fly in and out of, but until TLH gets its act together on price, it will continue to be the airport that it is.

I think you're absolutely right.

What's the meaning behind the statements of the Assistant Director of the Airport. Did anyone else read the article and interpret it a different way?

[jpl02]

I know far too many people that drive all the way to JAX to fly out. I haven't flown out of TLH in awhile, but Airtran's departure was way too bad. They're Florida's official airline for heaven's sake! I know they and Delta have a feud going on, but Delta's bankrupt, and Airtran is making money. Take a cue, Delta.

I'd like to see Spirit Airlines come to TLH. They fly to every metro area in Florida except JAX and Pensacola, but those are in driving distance anyway. They're based in South Florida, and it'd be desirable in as far as attracting students, politicians and other people around Florida to TLH. I'm sure they'd be a big hit.

I've never personally flown Spirit, but they don't seem bad at all.

[psycuda]

It's a lot like where I'm from in NY, where the two airports that have Southwest (Buffalo and Albany) have been growing like mad, where the other airports that have only Jetblue or Spirit are just growing a bit and the airports that have only 1 or 2 airlines (Ithaca) are getting killed. Of course the other problem is that the 1 airline is usually US Airways.

Edited by psycuda, 11 November 2005 - 01:24 PM.

[Florida]

I approached Assistant City Manager, Michael Wright, about the posibility of Tallahassee getting Southwest Airlines to fly in and out of our airport and he told me they won't consider us because they don't serve markets our size.

As much as I love being an island city (isloated) sometimes it can be a thorn.

Could we not offer Southwest the same incentives we offered AirTran to do a little 1-Year trial in our city to see if they'd like to serve us. What would they have to lose?

[stjoe]

"Could we not offer Southwest the same incentives we offered AirTran to do a little 1-Year trial in our city to see if they'd like to serve us. What would they have to lose?"

Delta.

As a Platinum member of Delta, I can tell you, they feel it is unfair to subsidize their comp.  You can say "who cares" and that is fine, but if Delta leaves Tally....we are screwed.



Bottom line is this.  Tally has to focus on getting high paying jobs FIRST.  Yes, it is a catch 22...ie you need airlines to attract jobs, etc.  But the first win eventually must be better jobs.  


Tally has NEVER understood it is about brining in better jobs.  It has always been anti business and this situation is just one of the many fruits of that attitude.  But t simply doesn't know how to do this unless they get lucky enough to ride the coatails of one of the universities (like the recent get from Canada...that was all about the Mag Lab).  The city should of worked hard with FSU....pushed a REAL research park (Innovation Park is a complete bust) with FSU running it....perhaps pushing another one for FAMU right next to FSU's (so they are near each other....but with one DISTINCT boss...ie you can't have two bosses...you get nowhere).

At the end of the day....Tally simply doesn't know how to be a player with high paying jobs....and that creates a airline market that is of no interest to anyone.

[Florida]

I agree with you that its a catch 22 with regard to the high paying jobs and the airport. However, keep in mind, Leon County, not FSU, FAMU or the City runs Innovation Park. So the failure to coordinate success may be a fault of theirs, look at how they run everything else they do. The city should have assumed control of Innovation Park years ago, I could assure you, it would be Kth times better than it is right now.

As far as Delta is concerned, they could leave and I bet AirTran would be knocking down the door to come back to Tallahassee. AirTran citied as a reason for leaving, that the could not compete with Delta' ability to lower cost below theirs and steal customers away. Of course you could argue its all in the name of competition, but what Delta did, in the eyes of many, was dirty. I could see if their prices stayed low, but No, Delta allowed them soar (no pun intended) upon the departure of AirTran... it was dirty and I lost my respect for Delta because of that.

[stjoe]

TaureanJ, on Nov 8 2005, 03:16 PM, said:

I agree with you that its a catch 22 with regard to the high paying jobs and the airport. However, keep in mind, Leon County, not FSU, FAMU or the City runs Innovation Park. So the failure to coordinate success may be a fault of theirs, look at how they run everything else they do. The city should have assumed control of Innovation Park years ago, I could assure you, it would be Kth times better than it is right now.

I realize Leon County runs IP and that is why I believe it is a failure.  Either you mistyped or I don't understand what you are saying.  If FSU had control of IP years ago, it would be a large source (MUCH larger than it is now) of high paying jobs.  That would of been a good start for the city.

TaureanJ, on Nov 8 2005, 03:16 PM, said:

As far as Delta is concerned, they could leave and I bet AirTran would be knocking down the door to come back to Tallahassee. AirTran citied as a reason for leaving, that the could not compete with Delta' ability to lower cost below theirs and steal customers away. Of course you could argue its all in the name of competition, but what Delta did, in the eyes of many, was dirty. I could see if their prices stayed low, but No, Delta allowed them soar (no pun intended) upon the departure of AirTran... it was dirty and I lost my respect for Delta because of that.

No airline will every be knocking down Tally's door begging to come or come back (as stated in your scenerio).  That is pure hope as opposed to fact.  I never said Delta didn't take advantage ....they did.  But that doesn't change that Tally is not a desirable market for anyone...including Delta and subsidizing ANOTHER comp for them could send them packing.  Doesn't matter..Tally won't get another in Tally unless high paying jobs come to Tally.  Whether you respect Delta or not is COMPLETELY irrelevant...your emotions are thinking for you here (not an insult...I do this all the time).  I am simply saying...Tally has ONE OPTION...Delta...period...the end.

[Florida]

Now, I don't think I'm speaking from pure emotion here. I personally believe it's rational to think there is a market for airservice here in Tallahassee, and if a company which flys over 40% of our passengers decides it wants to leave our market, I think it would be more than fair to assume another airliner would move in.

With regard to the Innovation Park thing, you made it seem as if the park belongs to FSU... but I wasn't sure if that was your intention. I believe I read and interpreted it as "FSU has this park, so FAMU needs one too." Not in those exact words.

Good news is the County has announced it plans some sweeping changes for the park, which includes beefing up the marketing. There should be an article in tomorrow's paper about it.

[TD]

Man, our airport is such a hard thing..... I thought we were finally turning the corner but then delta cut out non stop NY to TLH flights as well as cincinatti and other routes.... im so mad,,,, I love airplanes and airports... I thought we were doing so well....


And its nto like we will be getting better air service anytime soon, all companies moniter markets constantly and choose to enter if they find it profitbale..... so another discount airline would have filled the void left by airtran if they thought they would make it already....

[csmurphy8885]

in 2 quarters, I think things will look better to the market consultants. if not by then, and  If they were haveing a hard time finding us from the air, it will be easier certainly by 2007.

Edited by csmurphy8885, 10 November 2005 - 06:35 PM.

[Florida]

LoL! Is that what it is... they can't find us from the air... nice one! LMAO. I agree with you. I was going to go before the city commission last night to talk about the airport and changed my mind at the last second fearing I hadn't done all of my homework. I'm still going to make a presentation to them, to try to convince them that our airport needs a stand-alone website that is easy to remember.