[paul514]

drc72, on Oct 12 2006, 07:02 PM, said:

The Hartford area is loaded with many Italian-Americans, including myself. I know many people here that travel to Italy, and they have go to Boston or NY to get a flight out to Italy. Hartford would be a perfect fit for Alitalia.

You completely missed the point of my post. This traffic is what airlines call low-yield, meaning it earns less per seat mile. There are hundereds of thousands of Italians in Australia and South Africa and Alitalia gave up flying to Sydney and Johannesburg because these flights had high loads (meaning nearly full planes) but very low yield making them unprofitable. However, Alitalia keeps Lagos Nigeria because even though the loads are low (especially in Economy), business class is full of ENI workers and cargo is full.

I'm sure as many Italians as there in the area many have little connection with Italy. As for those that do are there enough to fill 214 seats on a daily basis? There are also no major Italian corporations in the Hartford area, killing business traffic. I couldn't see them wanting to fly less than daily, because lower frequency flights kill yields (business travellers prefer frequency). If they're not going to serve Los Angeles, Melbourne, Montreal, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney (all cities with far more Italians), then Hartford has a snowball's chance in hell.

Alitalia has had major problems in the past years. It is a state-owned parasite and for the past years has been strugling with EU legislation that denys state aid to airlines. It's on the verge of bankruptcy and is losing €50,000 per hour! They are certainly in no shape to start new destinations, they've scaled back North America to Boston, Chicago, Miami, Newark, New York and Toronto.

A question though, does the Hartford area have any major European corporation that could generate enough business traffic? Raleigh-Durham has a daily 777-200ER flight by American Airlines to London (Gatwick), because Raleigh is the American base for British pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline. Apparently this route is such a gold mine for AA that they upgraded it from a 767 just because the 777 has more business class seats, the economy class is many times nearly empty, but high fares and a full cargo load make it one of their most profitable routes.

This post has been edited by paul514: 12 October 2006 - 09:59 PM

[uconn99]

The Hartford area has plenty of companies that do business Internationally to support the new Northwest flight and possibly another to a hub city. I do agree that Rome would be the last thing BDL would ever see. Yes, there are a lot of Italian people in the state, however it would not justifiy a non stop to Rome.

Companies like United Technologies, GE, Stanley, ING, Pfizer, Citigroup, International paper, Travelers, Aetna, The Hartford, General Dynamics, Xerox, Hubbell all have a large presence in the Hartford and New Haven areas.. These and many others will support the route on its own I believe.

This post has been edited by uconn99: 13 October 2006 - 03:07 AM

[drc72]

[MadVlad]

drc72, on Oct 13 2006, 07:39 AM, said:

WOW! I didn't know Alitalia was in that bad shape. I know they had some union issues before, that resulted in a major strike back in 2004.

Don't forget Bayer, Trumpf, and Bristol/Meyers Squibb...

[Shakman]

I have just read on "justplanes.com" that NWA will fly non-stop service to Amsterdam using a 757-200 aircraft.

[HartfordTycoon]

I just have to say again that this is friggin awesome!!! Hartford to Amsterdam Direct, daily 365 days a year!!! Many would not have thought this ever possible. Now it's just the beginning for Bradley's International routes.

This post has been edited by HartfordTycoon: 13 October 2006 - 12:18 PM

[Yankee.Peddler]

Shakman, on Oct 13 2006, 02:08 PM, said:

I have just read on "justplanes.com" that NWA will fly non-stop service to Amsterdam using a 757-200 aircraft.

Many 757s are being reconfigured for Trans-Atlantic service. Since they only seat about 160 passengers, the 757 is a perfect aircraft to use in a medium-sized market like Bradley where there is strong demand.

Phillydog, I would hazard to guess that Memphis has an Amsterdam flight because it's a secondary hub for Northwest.

[JimSawhill]

grock, on Oct 12 2006, 03:25 PM, said:

Time to change the name to:
HARTFORD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

grock:

Bradley is what it should stay -- Connecticut International Airport @ Bradley. Eugene Bradley lost his life here so we should honor him.

JimS

[Yankee.Peddler]

Sorry, everyone. I started a thread on this topic in the Connecticut forum a couple of days ago and didn't realize until yesterday that this thread was already abuzz with activity.

I think the new international service from Bradley is excellent and long overdue. However, I'd be surprised to see any additional service added (either by Northwest or another carrier) until the Amsterdam flight has been in service for a couple of months. Remember that this is not just a flight to one city in the Netherlands. It's a flight to a major gateway for Europe, Africa, and Asia. Many of the other destinations mentioned on this thread like Rome and Frankfurt can be reached via an easy connection through Schiphol. If the Northwest flight out of Bradley is a success, then I think we'll certainly see more options in the future (maybe a larger aricraft like an A330, an additional 757 flight, or new service to another European hub). Until then, I think this flight is all that will be offered -- to test the waters so to speak.

[Theophrastus Bombastus]

Anyone know who does non-stops to Orlando MCO? Is it just Delta and Southwest? I am planning a trip - dang, airfare is pricey now.

[mikel]

I fly Alitalia all the time. But Amsterdam is a real hub. I almost flied out of Amsterdam to Rome once but I decided to pay more to get a direct flight. However, if there are daily flights to Amsterdam out of Hartford, I'd definitely go there and save myself a trip to JFK.

[Luca Brasi]

I fly Alitalia to Rome once a year out of JFK. It doesn't surprise me they struggling - the service was horrendous. Hopefully they won't go the way of SwissAir. A few years back, I flew SwissAir and they lost my luggage not only on my way to Europe, but also on the way back. I wrote an email complaining and got a form response saying thank you for the correspondence, but we will no longer be in business as of next week.

Retail Brand Alliance in Enfield is owned by an Italian group and heavily employs Italians. RBA owns and operates LensCrafters, Luxotica, Brooks Brothers, Casual Corner, Adrienne Vittadini, etc...

Permastalisa in South Windsor is a major Italian construction company that designs and builds curtain walls for high profile skyscrapers all over the world. They currently have the contract for the Freedom Tower in Manhattan.

[MadVlad]

Luca Brasi, on Oct 20 2006, 01:19 PM, said:

I fly Alitalia to Rome once a year out of JFK. It doesn't surprise me they struggling - the service was horrendous. Hopefully they won't go the way of SwissAir. A few years back, I flew SwissAir and they lost my luggage not only on my way to Europe, but also on the way back. I wrote an email complaining and got a form response saying thank you for the correspondence, but we will no longer be in business as of next week.

Retail Brand Alliance in Enfield is owned by an Italian group and heavily employs Italians. RBA owns and operates LensCrafters, Luxotica, Brooks Brothers, Casual Corner, Adrienne Vittadini, etc...

Permastalisa in South Windsor is a major Italian construction company that designs and builds curtain walls for high profile skyscrapers all over the world. They currently have the contract for the Freedom Tower in Manhattan.

Alitalia had kinda crappy service when I used them for the return flight from my honeymoon. That being said, the Alitalia magazine had a reference to Hartford in it, calling us a trend setting smaller city, whatever that means. It was nice though...

[Yankee.Peddler]

Theophrastus Bombastus, on Oct 20 2006, 09:54 AM, said:

Anyone know who does non-stops to Orlando MCO? Is it just Delta and Southwest? I am planning a trip - dang, airfare is pricey now.

I'm pretty sure Delta and Southwest are the only ones that offer nonstop service out of Bradley. Maybe someday we can hope for JetBlue?!?!

[Theophrastus Bombastus]

Yankee.Peddler, on Oct 20 2006, 12:41 PM, said:

I'm pretty sure Delta and Southwest are the only ones that offer nonstop service out of Bradley. Maybe someday we can hope for JetBlue?!?!

Thanks.

Or AirTran, they are really cheap out of Newburgh.

[drc72]

MadVlad, on Oct 20 2006, 01:37 PM, said:

Alitalia had kinda crappy service when I used them for the return flight from my honeymoon. That being said, the Alitalia magazine had a reference to Hartford in it, calling us a trend setting smaller city, whatever that means. It was nice though...

I will admit, I have had good experiences with the them. Their onboard meals actually weren't that bad.

This post has been edited by drc72: 21 October 2006 - 02:46 PM

[TaylorG4444]

Theophrastus Bombastus, on Oct 20 2006, 02:17 PM, said:

Thanks.

Or AirTran, they are really cheap out of Newburgh.

I wouldn't count on Air Tran at Bradley anytime soon. They were there a few years back, but cut us out completely due to low numbers.

[uconn99]

Hartford-To-Holland Winner
October 15, 2006
Dutch explorers came to Hartford in the early 17th century and opened a trading post at what is still called Dutch Point. So there's a certain historical symmetry in Amsterdam being the terminus for Hartford's first regular trans-Atlantic air service.

The announcement Wednesday that Northwest Airlines will start daily, nonstop service next summer between Amsterdam and Bradley International Airport is, of course, good news. It's been a dream of state officials, starting with Gov. William O'Neill, for three decades. We can now say the "International" part of the airport's name without a wink and a nudge.


http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/hc-tra...,0,869657.story

[uconn99]

The Hartford Courant
Business Section October 17, 2006
Page 2.

"Embraer To Build Bradley Facility"

Brazilian jet-maker Embraer plans to build an $11 million service
center at Bradley International Airport, the company and Gov. M.
Jodi Rell separately announced Monday.

The Bradley project is expected to create 60 jobs, according to the
governor's office.

The center will service the company's Phenom and Legacy-brand luxury
jets.

Embraer did not say why it chose Bradley as well as airports in
Florida and Arizona. Both versions of the Phenom are powered by
engines made by Pratt & Whitney Canada.

The state has said it would invest as much as $1.7 million in the
project through loans, grants, and tax exemptions.


I couldn't find the link on the courant's web site anymore.

[drc72]

More jobs is always a good thing.