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Tallahassee Regional Airport


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^ Thanks.

I believe the City and Continental Connection came to an agreement to provide 3 daily flights between Tally and Orlando starting in early April. I dont know if it is only for session or not.

They'll be using those TINY prop planes though...no thanks, I'll drive :)

To afford a direct flight to West Palm or Orlando, I would have to sale one of my Kidneys on the black-market.

Flying to Orlando from Tallahassee has always been kinda strange IMHO. The time it would take me to get to Tallahassee Airport, wait in line, wait for the plane, take off, arrive in Orlando, get off plane, get luggage, get taxi, arrive at hotel. I could just drive straight from Tallahassee to Orlando and directly to my destination in a shorter amount of time. But I am sure there are odd circumstances that would call for the direct flight, so for those I am thankful we have them now. :-)

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Delta is resuming intrastate service to Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, and Tampa effective April 1. They will be using the SAAB turboprop aircraft.

saabft7.jpg

Which I suppose is better than the TINY gulfstream's Continental Connection uses. However, Delta.com still has fares (for May 4-7) around $550. This is good, but COT shouldnt be patting themselves on the backs too much.

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Delta is resuming intrastate service to Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, and Tampa effective April 1. They will be using the SAAB turboprop aircraft.

Which I suppose is better than the TINY gulfstream's Continental Connection uses. However, Delta.com still has fares (for May 4-7) around $550. This is good, but COT shouldnt be patting themselves on the backs too much.

Thats interesting that they would be flying those planes as deltas regional partners have been phased them out over the past five years due to the efficiency of regional jets. Delta has no partners with turboprop aircraft current but Northwests regional partner Mesaba Aviation has a huge fleet of them. Perhaps these routs will be what TLH gets from the lost memphis route from the takeover.

saab_large.jpg

But this is definitely an up grade from the 19 seater beachcraft that continental connection flies to a saab 340 witch seats 34 people.

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Thats interesting that they would be flying those planes as deltas regional partners have been phased them out over the past five years due to the efficiency of regional jets. Delta has no partners with turboprop aircraft current but Northwests regional partner Mesaba Aviation has a huge fleet of them. Perhaps these routs will be what TLH gets from the lost memphis route from the takeover.

saab_large.jpg

But this is definitely an up grade from the 19 seater beachcraft that continental connection flies to a saab 340 witch seats 34 people.

Piedmont,

I believe that Delta did in inherit the turbo props from NWA, as you said. Its great to have the service back, but I dont see how it will positively impact the average air traveler.

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Piedmont,

I believe that Delta did in inherit the turbo props from NWA, as you said. Its great to have the service back, but I dont see how it will positively impact the average air traveler.

It wont. This deal was done soley on the fact that legislators want direct air transport to the capital.

I was doing a little more research and found that delta will be having its new regional partners pinnacle and shuttle America flying the Atlanta route as well as current carrier ASA. I bet it will be more of a rarity to see the MD-88 at TLH although shuttle America has a fleet of only Embraer 170 and 175's which I personally think are a great fit for the airport.

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Piedmont,

I believe that Delta did in inherit the turbo props from NWA, as you said. Its great to have the service back, but I dont see how it will positively impact the average air traveler.

IMHO the subsidy to bring back in-state Delta service was stupid. First they are subsidizing Delta which w/their pricing has created a lot of our problems at TLH. Second they are subsidizing prop service, not jet service on at least CRJ's. So the travel times increase especially to SFL. Finally and most important they are subsidizing routes where the fares are still astronomical. In order to get folks back to flying out of TLH, the fares have to drop and they didn't. 500 bucks for a flight to FLL, booking a month in advance is absurd! I too believe this was a sweetheart deal for the fat cats that work at the Capitol. Therefore I think it should have been a State subsidy only and not involved the City or County.

The good note in all of this is that we are getting a DC-Reagan flight. That is good news and I believe there is the demand in town for this route. Let's hope so!

Meanwhile over in Bay County, they just approved adding one cent to the bed tax for the next five years to help lure a new low cost airline to the new airport. Walton County is also going to add a one cent bed tax to help lure an airline. The real trouble starts here b/c Walton County will give their bed tax funds to the airport that lures a low cost carrier....PFN or VPS (Okaloosa Regional.) This has created a war in the area. I believe in the end PFN will win this war w/the new airport and b/c VPS already had AirTran but lost them to PNS and they must share the runways w/Eglin fighters etc.

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Speaking of PFN, check out this article in today's PC News-Herald.

The most interesting part of this article to me is the table at the bottom. Look who by far has the cheapest flights to Dallas and DC in this area. I'm surprised w/AirTran that PNS isn't cheaper.

Also note that of the cities w/high cost per mile that the dominant carrier in all those cities is Delta.

I really don't see the correlation between longer runways and cheaper fares. I understand that the current PFN airport has too short of runways for bigger planes, but if those bigger planes are going to be flown in by Delta, will that alone really lower fares?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Poonther, your finally getting that DFW route you've been asking for:

Airport Adds New Service To Dallas-Fort Worth

March 24

Service on American Eagle Airlines Begins June 11 - Tallahassee Regional Airport (TLH) announced today that American Eagle, an affiliate of American Airlines, would initiate one daily flight between its Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport's (DFW) hub and Tallahassee beginning on June 11, 2009. American Eagle will operate the new flight using its ERJ-140 aircraft (44 seats).

"The addition of this new service offers Tallahassee area citizens the ability to connect to western US destinations and provides even more options for connecting internationally. This new service represents another successful partnership resulting from our efforts to bring new and enhanced air service to Tallahassee," said Mayor John Marks.

The schedule for the new DFW service is as follows (all times local):

DFW to TLH: Flight # 3237, Departs 9:50am, Arrives 1:10pm

TLH to DFW: Flight # 3238, Departs 1:35pm, Arrives 2:50pm

In March 2008, American Eagle began service at TLH with two flights to Miami International Airport (MIA). Due to the tremendous success of the new service, the airline added a third flight to Miami earlier this month. The expanded service came as a result of good performance of the existing two flights between TLH and MIA and provided a welcomed addition for the spring legislative season. American Eagle's new service to DFW demonstrates a growing confidence in the Tallahassee market.

"We have been very pleased with the community's support and our success to date in Tallahassee, and we look forward to adding new service from Florida's capital to our DFW hub," said Peter Bowler, American Eagle President and CEO. "Connecting to the north and west via American Airline's vast network will now be even easier for all of our Tallahassee customers."

American Eagle is one of five major commercial air carriers servicing the Tallahassee market, including Continental, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlink, and US Airways Express. To view flight schedules or book a flight go to www.aa.com.

In other news, Delta officials recently informed the City, County and State Consortium, a joint partnership to address air service challenges, that the TLH-DCA (Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC) service will not come to fruition. The Consortium was informed that there is currently no gate available to accommodate the service between TLH and DCA.

"We continue to work aggressively with the airlines in a very volatile market to expand options for our air travelers," said Mayor Marks. "While we are disappointed that Delta is unable to move ahead with the DC service, we believe the new intrastate flights as well as this exciting new opportunity to Dallas and beyond will help address business and travel needs for Tallahassee. The challenge now is to ensure we all utilize these new flights and our existing service so that the airlines see that an investment in Tallahassee is a wise decision."

The Airport encourages the regional community to take advantage of air travel opportunities to promote the stability of established air service and generate demand for new service in the future.

The Tallahassee Regional Airport is operated and maintained by the City of Tallahassee. For more information on the Tallahassee Regional Airport, please visit www.flytallahassee.com.

Contact

Philip F. Inglese, Assistant Director of Aviation, 891-7802; or Michelle Bono, Assistant to the City Manager, 891-8200

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

The airport remains one of the few major negatives about living in Tallahassee.

The American flight is a start. However, the return flight is not a a great time. In order for the route to be truly convenient, morning, afternoon, and evening flights are needed. I attempted to try to fly from San Antonio last weekend. I wanted to leave about 1:00 pm after my conference ended. I could have gotten to Dallas that afternoon. However, I would have had to spend the night in the airport or in a hotel to fly non-stop to Tallahassee.

The explanation for dropping the Washington flight on Delta is very weak. I suspect that the gate availability wasn't a true issue. They likely wanted the plane for another route. I was estatic about that route. However, my hopes were dashed.

I try to use the Tallahassee airport. However, the drive to Jacksonville is often the much better choice. You can fly non-stop to more locations. You don't have to gamble on the rare evening flight from Atlanta or Charlotte. You have to pray that your connection to TLH is not late, there is no weather, or the flight is not cancelled. I know others from Tallahassee who make the drive to Atlanta, Orlando, or Tampa to catch a plane. The situation is not good.

The lack of late night flights from TLH is also a problem. There are few flights after 7 pm. Thus, you often have to leave work early to catch an afternoon flight via Atlanta. I believe that USAir has one flight after 8:00 pm to Charlotte.

A start might be for each airline to fly regularly to and from at least 2 out-of state hubs. Flights to Chicago, Washington, Newark, Houston, Cleveland, Philadelpia would be a start. If you are in a city outside of Atlanta, Charlotte, Memphis (for now), and Dallas, there is usually only one route back to Tallahassee. A cancelled flight is a major problem. After Christmas, I had many colleagues who were stuck in Memphis for at least a couple of days. Others rented cars in Memphis and drove back to Tallahassee.

The chance of industry choosing Tallahassee are just not good with such limited service.

By the way, why does it take 20-30+ minutes to get baggage after a flight at TLH. It isn't that far to the baggage claim area from the gate, and there are few connecting flights through Tallahassee. Much larger airports do a much faster and better job.

See you in JAX!

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  • 2 weeks later...

More good news for those hoping to break the Delta monopoly in Tallahassee: American Eagle has announced an additional Dallas flight just two weeks after the first one started, because of strong demand:

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/2009062...t+due+to+demand

---

As for people driving to Jacksonville, I never understood that. That's about, what, 5 1/2 hours of driving time on top of flying? I know of nowhere else in the country where people are willing to do that for the sake of saving extra bucks (probably because their time is more valuable?). and yes, a lot of places have much worse service than Tallahassee. I mean, after taking into consideration loss of time (5 1/2 hours of downtime instead of being productive), plus gas costs, plus wear and tear on your automobile (which is generally calculated at about 50 cents per mile - so about $150 for driving to and from Jacksonville), I don't see how it's worth it, ever.

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As for people driving to Jacksonville, I never understood that. That's about, what, 5 1/2 hours of driving time on top of flying? I know of nowhere else in the country where people are willing to do that for the sake of saving extra bucks (probably because their time is more valuable?). and yes, a lot of places have much worse service than Tallahassee. I mean, after taking into consideration loss of time (5 1/2 hours of downtime instead of being productive), plus gas costs, plus wear and tear on your automobile (which is generally calculated at about 50 cents per mile - so about $150 for driving to and from Jacksonville), I don't see how it's worth it, ever.

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  • 1 month later...

According to the new fall schedule, Delta is canceling its Tallahassee-Orlando and Tallahassee-Tampa flights starting October. This, if you recall, is the one that Mayor Marks touted as a major victory and was heavily subsidized by local/state government. That sure lasted long!

One bright spot - Delta's Tallahassee-Ft. Lauderdale route will remain and will be upgraded from turboprop to regional jet. probably to continue competing with American Airlines' regional jet service to Miami.

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It appears that flights to Washington are coming via a deal between USAir and Delta. ;-)

The next steps would be for the airport to add New York, Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and possibly Salt Lake City. Having 2 or more hubs per airlines would help our options in actually getting to a destination or returning home. Of course, I would love to have Southwest as well.

Anyway, I am happy about Washington!

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  • 3 weeks later...

It appears that flights to Washington are coming via a deal between USAir and Delta. ;-)

The next steps would be for the airport to add New York, Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and possibly Salt Lake City. Having 2 or more hubs per airlines would help our options in actually getting to a destination or returning home. Of course, I would love to have Southwest as well.

Anyway, I am happy about Washington!

The other aspect is that having a less than adequate airport hurts the area's meager efforts to recruit industry. It is also hard to recruit executives since travel is such a hassle.

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  • 4 years later...

Greetings,

 

      We would like to share with the community an interactive web log that studies the business climate of the Tallahassee Regional Airport. The web log makes particular notice of the airport’s sponsorship and its management by the City of Tallahassee. The web log dissects over 23 years of documentation, uses visual aides, and provides referenced documentation to convey complex scenarios. Readers may find either satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the practices of its management, but it is left to the reader to decide.

 

The website address can be found here: www.allamericanairport.com

 

We will take questions and make statements regarding this website at [email protected]

 

Regards,

 

The Concerned Citizen

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  • 1 year later...

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