Bradley International Airport

[drc72]

I wouldn't mind seeing those plans....

Same here as well.

[TaylorG4444]

While on the golf course today I witnessed what I know to be a 747 flying low towards Bradley, but I could tell what airline it was. So, I when I got home I went to flightaware.com and looked it up. Only it wasn't listed....what the hell is that about!? It certainly wasn't military because it wasn't camoflage and it wasn't a passenger plane....it was cargo. They listed it when the President of China used Bradley....why not with this one. Now I'll never know what it was damn it!

[MadVlad]

My grandmother is in a nursing home in Meriden, and I saw 2 double prop helicopters flying roughly toward Sikorsky, is anyone important in-state today?

[TaylorG4444]

They we doing exercises across Central Connecticut. I saw them twice over Bristol today too.

[TaylorG4444]

I was thinking about something and wanted to run it past you guys. Instead of having Lufthansa, LTU, or another foriegn airline come non-stop to Bradley from Frankfurt....why not entice them to make a stop here while on their way to a destination further west that is either not served or that is in need of more seats to Franfurt, but just not a full jets worth. The A330 would be perfect for the job. Maybe have it be a city that we don't offer service to like Denver, San Francisco, or San Diego....or have it be to a city that we already serve like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, or Phoenix. By offering the same flight to two cities you can bet your ass that it would be atleast 85-90% full. It wouldn't even have to be daily....it could be 3-5 time weekly instead if it made it happen. So, what do you think?

[RLucas83]

I was thinking about something and wanted to run it past you guys. Instead of having Lufthansa, LTU, or another foriegn airline come non-stop to Bradley from Frankfurt....why not entice them to make a stop here while on their way to a destination further west that is either not served or that is in need of more seats to Franfurt, but just not a full jets worth. The A330 would be perfect for the job. Maybe have it be a city that we don't offer service to like Denver, San Francisco, or San Diego....or have it be to a city that we already serve like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, or Phoenix. By offering the same flight to two cities you can bet your ass that it would be atleast 85-90% full. It wouldn't even have to be daily....it could be 3-5 time weekly instead if it made it happen. So, what do you think?

The problem is that most of those cities already have lufthansa, or can support non stop service. The main problem is the proximity of NYC and BOS, where people can choose when and what airline they want to fly. The international airlines are going to get the passengers from CT either way, because there is no choice, so why spend money to open up a station at BDL? It doesnt make sense.

By having a 757, (180 seats) there is ALOT less risk assicated with the flight beign sucessful, remember many people will still likely go to NYC or BOS because they have get on more airlines with better planes and berrer service and flights practically whenever they want.

In addition, since it would be an existing carrier, there is no additional costs since they already lease the space at BDL.

Lets wait and make sure it develops first, but BDL's main chainces for translantic service will be on an existing carrier, on the smallest plane that can do it. If not NW, my money would be on Delta to Paris (They have a major codeshare with air france), but that would REALLY be strectching it for the near term.

Be pateint though, once they create the new 737 in like 10 years or so they will have the range to hopefully expand the international reach for mid-sized US cities.

RL (Aviation consulantant)

[damus]

I was thinking about something and wanted to run it past you guys. Instead of having Lufthansa, LTU, or another foriegn airline come non-stop to Bradley from Frankfurt....why not entice them to make a stop here while on their way to a destination further west that is either not served or that is in need of more seats to Franfurt, but just not a full jets worth. The A330 would be perfect for the job. Maybe have it be a city that we don't offer service to like Denver, San Francisco, or San Diego....or have it be to a city that we already serve like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, or Phoenix. By offering the same flight to two cities you can bet your ass that it would be atleast 85-90% full. It wouldn't even have to be daily....it could be 3-5 time weekly instead if it made it happen. So, what do you think?

Isn't this what I suggested the other day? It would be beneficial to our business climate, having the local airport (connected by the commuter rail to the cities) connected to international destinations seems like something to strive for in an increasingly global business world. The Utopia project could also draw people from international flights at Bradley, though if this is as big as it seems I'm sure it would be better if someone built a T. F. Green sized airport somewhere in the SE CT area down the road.

RL: Aren't NY and Boston flights usually more expensive? Why not make this a quick, cheap layover? Why is Green less expensive than Bradley? Could it have something to do with the international status?

Edited May 29, 2006 by damus

[uconn99]

Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Hartford to Phoenix would work. Phoenix once had LH service but it only lasted a couple years.

BA has done this is past years, once had London to Phoenix to San Diego. Problem is a foreign airline can't fly between two US cities so they have to reply on the international traffic.

[TaylorG4444]

Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Hartford to Phoenix would work. Phoenix once had LH service but it only lasted a couple years.

BA has done this is past years, once had London to Phoenix to San Diego. Problem is a foreign airline can't fly between two US cities so they have to reply on the international traffic.

why can't foreign airlines fly between US cities? what about the Phillipine Airlines flight that goes from Seattle to Las Vegas? Or Qantas from Los Angeles to NYC? and there are probably others that don't presently come to mind.

[uconn99]

why can't foreign airlines fly between US cities? what about the Phillipine Airlines flight that goes from Seattle to Las Vegas? Or Qantas from Los Angeles to NYC? and there are probably others that don't presently come to mind.

Passengers can fly between those cities if they were on the flight that originated on foriegn soil. However John Doe can't buy a ticket from Seattle to Las Vegas on a foriegn carrier. I forget the name of the law, but it was put in place during the 70's I believe.

Edited May 29, 2006 by uconn99

[damus]

Passengers can fly between those cities if they were on the flight that originated on foriegn soil. However John Doe can't buy a ticket from Seattle to Las Vegas on a foriegn carrier. I forget the name of the law, but it was put in place during the 70's I believe.

Hooray for inane laws that stifle competition and decrease productivity! I'm sure that the airlines could get around this by simply running the international flights round trip and throwing in a handful of smaller planes with flights to regional hubs that leave not too long after the international flight.

[TaylorG4444]

Hooray for inane laws that stifle competition and decrease productivity!

[TaylorG4444]

Thinking about the transatlantic issue more made me think that the idea of Delta to Paris is a very good idea. I would think filling a Delta 767-300ER (which is only 204 seats) wouldn't come across as a problem when considering the amount of people that would be getting on to travel to Paris for a connection to another city. I also think that Paris would be an easier sell to a person wanting a connection than Amsterdam. I mean if the Amsterdam service pans out then great, but I think Paris would be better.

[Richhamleigh, DC]

US Cities with daily non-stop service to Europe:

Boston

NY

Philadelphia

Baltimore

DC

Raleigh

Charlotte

Atlanta

Tampa

Orlando

Miami

Houston

Dallas

Chicago

Cinncinati

Detroit

Minneapolis

Denver

Las Vegas

Portland, OR

Seattle

LA

SF

I can't imagine that Hartford - while not a "big" city by itself, can't attract all those travelers from CT and western MA who would otherwise have to travel to BOS or JFK or EWR for flights to Europe. I mean, come on, Raleigh has supported a nonstop to London since 1993!

Edited May 31, 2006 by Phillydog

[damus]

I can't imagine that Hartford - while not a "big" city by itself, can't attract all those travelers from CT and western MA who would otherwise have to travel to BOS or JFK or EWR for flights to Europe. I mean, come on, Raleigh has supported a nonstop to London since 1993!

I wish I could find some statistics, I can't help but think that daily service to Europe would help attract/retain large businesses. Hasn't Raleigh been a boomtown? I wonder how the airport service helped them...

With a somewhat large population, several fortune 1000 company headquarters, and an extremely wealthy populous I can't see daily nonstop service not working there, though I'm no expert on the subject. Where's that consultant?

With the commuter rail (funded largely by the budget surplus created by the slot fund) in place, and hopefully a light rail system instead of rapid bus transit, I think that Hartford could start to see a real turnaround and become the semi-major city it was when I was still pretty little. We haven't lost all of our corporations, and with good transit infrastructure and the right tax codes I think we could attract a few more. Think of where Providence was 20 years ago and where it is today. If Hartford made the same progress from where it was it would be just as unrecognizable, the late '80s towers and then some. When was the last time you heard someone on TV (besides the local news achors) refer to Hartford as "the Insurance Capitol of the World". It definately had a big reputation. I didn't like the idea of having an unelected Governor, but her dedication to mass transit has made a fan out of me.

Edited May 30, 2006 by damus

[RLucas83]

The Raleigh-London service has been subsidized by glaxo-smith cline (pharmosutical company) who pre buys "X" number of business class seats on every flight regardless of if they use them or not.

As for the other question about airfares from Boston or NYC, international fares there tend to be cheaper since there is more competition and more seats. The fares, frequency, and airline selection is what makes and will make international service at BDL difficult to attain when dealing with aircraft over 200 seats. the 757 is the perfect plane IF something was to hapen.

[grock]

This is not a done deal yet.

[HartfordTycoon]

Hopefully it will be soon. I really want to see this happen, as does everyone here. Does anyone know how valid that source typically is?

[TaylorG4444]

Like someone else said in the Bradley airport post (which I second)....airliners.net is usually on the money when information is concerned. Not to say they're always right, but 9/10 times they're right because there are MANY people from the aviation industry(pilots, tech engineers, ground crew, etc.) that are signed up as a member of that site. So, usually when you get a piece of information it's from them.

[HartfordTycoon]

Like someone else said in the Bradley airport post (which I second)....airliners.net is usually on the money when information is concerned. Not to say they're always right, but 9/10 times they're right because there are MANY people from the aviation industry(pilots, tech engineers, ground crew, etc.) that are signed up as a member of that site. So, usually when you get a piece of information it's from them.

Sounds good to me. I'm gonna stay optimistic until a formal announcement is made.

[uconn99]

Airliners.net is very reliable, however I won't be completely satisfied until I see a press release or hear it directly from somebody at the NW BDL station.

[Richhamleigh, DC]

The Raleigh-London service has been subsidized by glaxo-smith cline (pharmosutical company) who pre buys "X" number of business class seats on every flight regardless of if they use them or not.

Not true. My sister works for GSC in their travel department. The flight was started by American when they had a hub at RDU. While GSC uses the flights frequently, they don't buy blocks of seats as you say.

Edited May 30, 2006 by Phillydog

[HartfordTycoon]

And remember that ING has a major presence here and they are based in the Netherlands. I think we would see a good bit of traffic on these flights if they actually come to fruition.

Edited May 31, 2006 by HartfordTycoon

[damus]

And remember that ING has a major pressence here and they are based in the Netherlands. I think we would see a good bit of traffic on these flights if they actually come to fruition.

I didn't know they were based in the Netherlands... now the Amsterdam flight makes a bit more sense

[TaylorG4444]

does anyone know of any other companies in the Hartford area that are based in Europe or overseas that would support International service?