Nashville International Airport Development thread

[jmtunafish]

1 hour ago, smeagolsfree said:

Portland, LA, Providence.

That makes the 4th airline to fly BNA-LAX.  I can't think of any other nonstop destinations out of BNA that are serviced by four different airlines.

[titanhog]

Everyone I know who flies eventually ends up needing to go to LA...so I assume we can't have too many LA flights.  Portland is AWESOME!  We've needed more Pacific NW flights...and this is the perfect market we needed.  Also...good news on Providence.

[BnaBreaker]

26 minutes ago, titanhog said:

Everyone I know who flies eventually ends up needing to go to LA...so I assume we can't have too many LA flights.  Portland is AWESOME!  We've needed more Pacific NW flights...and this is the perfect market we needed.  Also...good news on Providence.

Yes, great to finally have the Portland bix checked off.  Also, in my opinion, Providence is a criminally underrated city.  It gets overshadowed by it's bigger neighbors, but it just drips with charm. 

[titanhog]

30 minutes ago, BnaBreaker said:

Yes, great to finally have the Portland bix checked off.  Also, in my opinion, Providence is a criminally underrated city.  It gets overshadowed by it's bigger neighbors, but it just drips with charm. 

Only 2 states I haven't been to...Rhode Island and Alaska.  Now...there's no reason I shouldn't visit RI with this direct flight. 

[Pdt2f]

2 hours ago, jmtunafish said:

That makes the 4th airline to fly BNA-LAX.  I can't think of any other nonstop destinations out of BNA that are serviced by four different airlines.

Technically MCO is served by 4 from BNA. WN and F9 are year round, and DL and SY are seasonal (DL barely runs the route, from what I’ve noticed). 

[jmtunafish]

3 minutes ago, Pdt2f said:

Technically MCO is served by 4 from BNA. WN and F9 are year round, and DL and SY are seasonal (DL barely runs the route, from what I’ve noticed). 

I couldn't remember if they all serviced MCO or SFB.  Thanks.

[LA_TN]

I predict BNA will surpass 16 million passengers for calendar year 2018

November numbers are released: 1,409,968 total passengers (14.2% growth). Calendar YTD is now at 14,687,910

To hit 16 million, Dec will need to have 1,312,090 total passengers (which would be 12.2% higher than Dec. 2017)

[Binbin98]

At this point all Nashville needs in terms of nonstop domestic destinations that I can think of is nonstops to Sacramento and Hartford (which both respective airports are also pursuing I have heard), Buffalo, Indianapolis/Cincinnati again, and/or West Palm Beach. I also now think Albuquerque could even work as I never thought Nashville would have or even need directs to Oklahoma City, Providence, Omaha and Norfolk lmao. Nashville really has a lot of domestic nonstop destinations compared to peer airports: I had to fly from San Antonio to Raleigh recently and connected through BNA because there were no directs from the two airports lol. Obviously the airport looked packed in JANUARY!!!

Also for what it is worth Nashville is apparently now a focus city for Sun Country as per the Wikipedia page. I have heard that Delta wants to put focus cities in both Nashville and Austin in the near future, and my pilot friend at AA told me that for 2019 there will be year round main line service to ORD and MIA from BNA as supposed to it being seasonal. This airport is really on fire and needs to be expanded ASAP!

[Pdt2f]

37 minutes ago, Binbin98 said:

At this point all Nashville needs in terms of nonstop domestic destinations that I can think of is nonstops to Sacramento and Hartford (which both respective airports are also pursuing I have heard), Buffalo, Indianapolis/Cincinnati again, and/or West Palm Beach. I also now think Albuquerque could even work as I never thought Nashville would have or even need directs to Oklahoma City, Providence, Omaha and Norfolk lmao. Nashville really has a lot of domestic nonstop destinations compared to peer airports: I had to fly from San Antonio to Raleigh recently and connected through BNA because there were no directs from the two airports lol. Obviously the airport looked packed in JANUARY!!!

Also for what it is worth Nashville is apparently now a focus city for Sun Country as per the Wikipedia page. I have heard that Delta wants to put focus cities in both Nashville and Austin in the near future, and my pilot friend at AA told me that for 2019 there will be year round main line service to ORD and MIA from BNA as supposed to it being seasonal. This airport is really on fire and needs to be expanded ASAP!

Sun Country making Nashville a focus city is cool, but would probably only work out to maybe 20 flights per week. Even in MSP they only do like 1-2,000,000 pax per year. And to be honest I’ll believe the DL-AUS “focus city” thing when I see it. There’s just no room to expand at that airport and Texas is pretty much locked up as AA/UA/WN territory. In the past an airline would buy a regional airline whose route network didn’t conflict with the purchaser’s to expand into a region, but with the massive national airlines we have now its just tough to gain footholds. I would like to see them add some more P2P at BNA though, but with us being so close to Atlanta I doubt it happens. 

[LA_TN]

@Binbin98, more info from a few different sources:

Here's the short list of destinations without direct flights that Nashville officials are targeting for service, Kreulen said. Included are the average number of passengers flying per day, in each direction (to or from Nashville):

Top domestic targets

1. Portland, Ore.: 118 passengers per day
2. Fort Myers, Fla.: 99 (service begins in November with Sun Country Airlines; Southwest Airlines provides service seasonally)
3. Sacramento, Calif.: 96
4. Orange County, Calif.: 92
5. Hartford, Conn.: 88

Top international targets

1. Tokyo (and other Asian destinations): More than 30 to Tokyo
2. Dublin (and other European destinations): More than 20 to Dublin
3. Rome: Approximately 20
4. South America:  Fewer than 10 to any one destination

 Top nine destinations that could fly direct

This was prior to today's Sun Country announcement:

 

To sum up all this:
- Sacramento
- Orange County
- Hartford
- Ontario

International:
- Tokyo
- Dublin
- Rome
- South America

[Pdt2f]

16 minutes ago, LA_TN said:

@Binbin98, more info from a few different sources:

Here's the short list of destinations without direct flights that Nashville officials are targeting for service, Kreulen said. Included are the average number of passengers flying per day, in each direction (to or from Nashville):

Top domestic targets

1. Portland, Ore.: 118 passengers per day
2. Fort Myers, Fla.: 99 (service begins in November with Sun Country Airlines; Southwest Airlines provides service seasonally)
3. Sacramento, Calif.: 96
4. Orange County, Calif.: 92
5. Hartford, Conn.: 88

Top international targets

1. Tokyo (and other Asian destinations): More than 30 to Tokyo
2. Dublin (and other European destinations): More than 20 to Dublin
3. Rome: Approximately 20
4. South America:  Fewer than 10 to any one destination

  Top nine destinations that could fly direct

This was prior to today's Sun Country announcement:

 

To sum up all this:
- Sacramento
- Orange County
- Hartford
- Ontario

International:
- Tokyo
- Dublin
- Rome
- South America

Orange County will be a hard one to get, it’s extremely slot restricted. The other domestics are probable in the next couple of years, along with the domestic locations Binbin mentioned. Tokyo is obviously the crown jewel but I doubt it happens, there are far larger and wealthier eastern US metros without TOY service, and the Japanese airlines aren’t really into the less-than-daily thing. One can hope though! 

[titanhog]

Tokyo would be a coup.  

[jmtunafish]

30 minutes ago, LA_TN said:

@Binbin98, more info from a few different sources:

Here's the short list of destinations without direct flights that Nashville officials are targeting for service, Kreulen said. Included are the average number of passengers flying per day, in each direction (to or from Nashville):

Top domestic targets

1. Portland, Ore.: 118 passengers per day
2. Fort Myers, Fla.: 99 (service begins in November with Sun Country Airlines; Southwest Airlines provides service seasonally)
3. Sacramento, Calif.: 96
4. Orange County, Calif.: 92
5. Hartford, Conn.: 88

Top international targets

1. Tokyo (and other Asian destinations): More than 30 to Tokyo
2. Dublin (and other European destinations): More than 20 to Dublin
3. Rome: Approximately 20
4. South America:  Fewer than 10 to any one destination

 Top nine destinations that could fly direct

To sum up all this:
- Sacramento
- Orange County
- Hartford
- Ontario

International:
- Tokyo
- Dublin
- Rome
- South America

Why on earth is the airport authority targeting flights to Dublin or Rome instead of Amsterdam, Paris, or Frankfurt?  Or Reykjavik?  The Tennessean article said those destinations are the top targets, not the most popular destinations.  Or does the airport authority figure they'll have a better chance landing a 2x-weekly to somewhere like Rome or Dublin than a 5x-weekly to Amsterdam or Paris?  There are a lot of you a lot smarter than me, so help me understand their rationale behind targeting Dublin and Rome over the more obvious Amsterdam, Frankfurt, or Paris.

[Pdt2f]

25 minutes ago, jmtunafish said:

Why on earth is the airport authority targeting flights to Dublin or Rome instead of Amsterdam, Paris, or Frankfurt?  Or Reykjavik?  The Tennessean article said those destinations are the top targets, not the most popular destinations.  Or does the airport authority figure they'll have a better chance landing a 2x-weekly to somewhere like Rome or Dublin than a 5x-weekly to Amsterdam or Paris?  There are a lot of you a lot smarter than me, so help me understand their rationale behind targeting Dublin and Rome over the more obvious Amsterdam, Frankfurt, or Paris.

Maybe the thought would be that Irish and Italian Airlines would be cheaper to subsidize, like they’d expect less then KLM or Air France. AUS got Lufthansa, I think in a few years that could be reasonable for BNA. 

[NissanvilleTitans]

Tokyo is obviously the crown jewel but I doubt it happens, there are far larger and wealthier eastern US metros without TOY service, and the Japanese airlines aren’t really into the less-than-daily thing. One can hope though! 

Believe man, believe! Nashville also didn't have a shot at a MLS team either. 

[jmtunafish]

35 minutes ago, Pdt2f said:

Maybe the thought would be that Irish and Italian Airlines would be cheaper to subsidize, like they’d expect less then KLM or Air France. AUS got Lufthansa, I think in a few years that could be reasonable for BNA. 

I suppose.  Are there some el cheapo airlines to Dublin and Rome we don't know about who are considering expanding to the US?  Maybe Ryanair?  easyJet?

Edit:  I knew Alitalia was having major economic problems and has been put up for sale, and according to its Wikipedia page (so, you know, take that for what it's worth) Delta and easyJet have expressed an interest in buying what's left of Alitalia.

Edited January 9, 2019 by jmtunafish

[LA_TN]

22 minutes ago, jmtunafish said:

Why on earth is the airport authority targeting flights to Dublin or Rome instead of Amsterdam, Paris, or Frankfurt?  Or Reykjavik?  The Tennessean article said those destinations are the top targets, not the most popular destinations.  Or does the airport authority figure they'll have a better chance landing a 2x-weekly to somewhere like Rome or Dublin than a 5x-weekly to Amsterdam or Paris?  There are a lot of you a lot smarter than me, so help me understand their rationale behind targeting Dublin and Rome over the more obvious Amsterdam, Frankfurt, or Paris.

Are you trying to use logic and common sense? Have you heard the statement: "BNA has grown and thrived, despite its leadership"?

BNA leadership is projecting to have 17 million passengers...in 2023

I think the airport will be strained the day Concourse D opens - with 6 gates

@Pdt2f, AUS has about the same pax number as BNA, is a short drive from Dallas and San Antonio; but has BA to LHR London-Heathrow, Norwegian Air to LGW London-Gatwick, and now Lufthansa to FRA Frankfurt (starting May). The BA flight started in 2014 and was upgraded to a 747 in 2018. Really amazing. To your point, the incentives for these flights could be the tipping point. There was quite the scandal around the BA flight incentives for BNA

One has to think BNA limitations for international destinations is the lack of an international terminal. Tokyo should be the obvious Asian route, but HKG, ICN, and a few others could possibly be an option. But, would ANA or JAL pick BNA? Or would Delta pick up this route to gain market share to their Asian hub?

[Pdt2f]

16 minutes ago, jmtunafish said:

I suppose.  Are there some el cheapo airlines to Dublin and Rome we don't know about who are considering expanding to the US?  Maybe Ryanair?  easyJet?

Edit:  I knew Alitalia was having major economic problems and has been put up for sale, and according to its Wikipedia page (so, you know, take that for what it's worth) Delta and easyJet have expressed an interest in buying what's left of Alitalia.

Aer Lingus would presumably be the Dublin airline. I think there were rumors that they were going to expand, go more LCC, and start offering themselves as a well-positioned connecting point for European flows, with muuuuuuuch better geographic positioning than Iceland. I highly doubt either place, though. Poland has eventual plans to condense a bunch of airports and create a massive, 100+million pax airport somewhere around Warsaw. I think it’ll amount to nothing, but that big of an airport requires a lot of feed so you’d see LOT expand like crazy. 

Personally I think the most likely is either AF/KLM/DL to CDG or AMS, or UA/LH to FRA or maybe MUC. Maybe one of the LCC’s but I think transatlantic LCC’s won’t last that much longer.  

[samsonh]

2 hours ago, LA_TN said:

Are you trying to use logic and common sense? Have you heard the statement: "BNA has grown and thrived, despite its leadership"?

BNA leadership is projecting to have 17 million passengers...in 2023

I think the airport will be strained the day Concourse D opens - with 6 gates

@Pdt2f, AUS has about the same pax number as BNA, is a short drive from Dallas and San Antonio; but has BA to LHR London-Heathrow, Norwegian Air to LGW London-Gatwick, and now Lufthansa to FRA Frankfurt (starting May). The BA flight started in 2014 and was upgraded to a 747 in 2018. Really amazing. To your point, the incentives for these flights could be the tipping point. There was quite the scandal around the BA flight incentives for BNA

One has to think BNA limitations for international destinations is the lack of an international terminal. Tokyo should be the obvious Asian route, but HKG, ICN, and a few others could possibly be an option. But, would ANA or JAL pick BNA? Or would Delta pick up this route to gain market share to their Asian hub?

New ceo seems like he really knows what he’s doing actually. Last leadership group was pure disaster though.

[Bos2Nash]

15 hours ago, jmtunafish said:

Why on earth is the airport authority targeting flights to Dublin or Rome instead of Amsterdam, Paris, or Frankfurt?  Or Reykjavik?  The Tennessean article said those destinations are the top targets, not the most popular destinations.  Or does the airport authority figure they'll have a better chance landing a 2x-weekly to somewhere like Rome or Dublin than a 5x-weekly to Amsterdam or Paris?  There are a lot of you a lot smarter than me, so help me understand their rationale behind targeting Dublin and Rome over the more obvious Amsterdam, Frankfurt, or Paris.

15 hours ago, jmtunafish said:

I suppose.  Are there some el cheapo airlines to Dublin and Rome we don't know about who are considering expanding to the US?  Maybe Ryanair?  easyJet?

Edit:  I knew Alitalia was having major economic problems and has been put up for sale, and according to its Wikipedia page (so, you know, take that for what it's worth) Delta and easyJet have expressed an interest in buying what's left of Alitalia.

Dublin is a traget because of the airlines that already fly there such as Aer Lingus, Ryan Air, Norwegian. We just took Norwegian non-stop from Providence to Dublin for 399 round trip. RyanAir has scrapped their international plans indefinitely with plans to expand on their existing network. KLM, AirFrance and even Alitalia are major carriers flying into the biggest of markets such as Atlanta, New York, Boston. So I would think we would have to wait for a more robust international terminal (like an entire international terminal) before they consider Nashville. Hopefully with BNA Vision it is a possibility in the not to distant future though!

15 hours ago, NissanvilleTitans said:

Tokyo is obviously the crown jewel but I doubt it happens, there are far larger and wealthier eastern US metros without TOY service, and the Japanese airlines aren’t really into the less-than-daily thing. One can hope though! 

Believe man, believe! Nashville also didn't have a shot at a MLS team either. 

I remember Boston got non-stop to Tokyo only about two years ago and everyone there was celebrating. It'll be quite the achievement to get a non-stop to Tokyo here.

 

[Buildtall]

Couple pictures driving by airport today. 

[LA_TN]

15,996,194

That is the number of total passengers for calendar 2018

 

[titanhog]

21 minutes ago, LA_TN said:

15,996,194

 

16 Million

[Pdt2f]

The BNA vision estimates had Nashville reaching 17 million pax in 2023. We’ll beat that by 3 and a half years. I think we may hit 17 million for the FY2019 that ends at the end of June. 

[FriendlyFlier]

I wonder where Austin Bergstrom will end up for 2018. I bet we are close.