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Grand Rapids Airport (GRR) News and Developments

joeDowntown

By joeDowntown
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Par75 Whistle-Stop

Par75

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I see Air Canada is running an ad on the Press' website now, listing their fares:

http://www.mlive.com/grpress/

(second slot on the right)

Oops. It was there the first few rotates, but now it's gone.

Here was the link:

http://www.aircanada.com/en/us/offers/air/.../grr_aug08.html

Took a round trip Air Canada flight from GRR to the Maritimes area of Canada this week. As expected, the BEH aircraft being used is very tiny (18-seater). On the way to Toronto on Wednesday, 8 of the 18 seats were filled. On return flight this morning, only 5 were on the plane (not including pilots). The flight attendant is the co-pilot and he/she only makes an appearance at the start of the flight and at the end. Because the plane is so small, I was expecting a much bumpier ride. Overall not a bad experience and considering my other options included 2 or more connections, the Air Canada flight with only 1 connection was perfect.

(I did notice a few Steelcase people on the flight to Toronto. With a production facility in Ontario, having direct service to Toronto is probably nice for them)

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Raildude's dad
Raildude's dad

I listened to a presentation yesterday by the airport's  Facilities Manager. This info is from notes I took. I tried to get info i thought you all would be interested in. 2020 had $78.8 M of capi

Hoeks
Hoeks

Below are some photos of the new addition taken this past weekend.   Hard to describe, but this is a drastic change to how the airport feels.   It used to feel very small walking up the low, dark ramp

walker
walker

WARNING: old man long story coming up: Sure GRR can handle large planes.  In fact, on July 26, 1989 a flight from Grand Rapids set the non-stop distance record for a commercial twinjet, 8,893 s

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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GRR has got a long way to go on getting fares down. I'm pricing out a 5 or 6 day family vacation for mid-April on Expedia and Travelocity, comparing flying from Grand Rapids to Orlando and Detroit to Orlando. The hotel/flight package price differences are about $500 apart (GRR higher). Expedia and Travelocity must not have deals with Allegiant Air, so they did not come up as an option.

I then went to Allegiant Air's site and priced out the flight. Even though they advertise $89 one way, that pricing is very limited. It actually works out to about $400/person round trip if your stay in Orlando is more than 2 or 3 days. That's more than the Travelocity Price when you do a package hotel/flight deal.

Long term parking at Detroit is $28/day. Anyone know any cheaper alternatives in the DTW vicinity?

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walker Burg

walker

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It may be just my stilted aesthetic sense but I think the terminal is a mess and not just because of the parking ramp construction. When they put it in I wondered how the linoleum like flooring material would hold up after a few years and unfortunately it has lived up to my expectations. Take a look at the seams and all the marks and scares in it. The placement of TSA baggage scanner equipment in the ticket area leaves a lot to be desired. I can
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jbr12 Hamlet

jbr12

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GRR has got a long way to go on getting fares down. I'm pricing out a 5 or 6 day family vacation for mid-April on Expedia and Travelocity, comparing flying from Grand Rapids to Orlando and Detroit to Orlando. The hotel/flight package price differences are about $500 apart (GRR higher). Expedia and Travelocity must not have deals with Allegiant Air, so they did not come up as an option.

I then went to Allegiant Air's site and priced out the flight. Even though they advertise $89 one way, that pricing is very limited. It actually works out to about $400/person round trip if your stay in Orlando is more than 2 or 3 days. That's more than the Travelocity Price when you do a package hotel/flight deal.

Long term parking at Detroit is $28/day. Anyone know any cheaper alternatives in the DTW vicinity?

When we priced our trip to Orlando last winter, Chicago was about $100 cheaper then Detroit... I think we parked for less then $10/day at a park'n'ride lot about a 15 minute shuttle ride from the airport.

I noticed for parking around Detroit, your best bet is generally finding a cheap hotel for the night before your flight. Sometimes you can park at that hotel for 7-10 days for free...

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Par75 Whistle-Stop

Par75

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GRR has got a long way to go on getting fares down. I'm pricing out a 5 or 6 day family vacation for mid-April on Expedia and Travelocity, comparing flying from Grand Rapids to Orlando and Detroit to Orlando. The hotel/flight package price differences are about $500 apart (GRR higher). Expedia and Travelocity must not have deals with Allegiant Air, so they did not come up as an option.

I then went to Allegiant Air's site and priced out the flight. Even though they advertise $89 one way, that pricing is very limited. It actually works out to about $400/person round trip if your stay in Orlando is more than 2 or 3 days. That's more than the Travelocity Price when you do a package hotel/flight deal.

Long term parking at Detroit is $28/day. Anyone know any cheaper alternatives in the DTW vicinity?

Two one-way car rentals might be cheaper than parking for a week in Detroit.

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fotoman311 Burg

fotoman311

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I was pricing out my trip to Omaha at the very beginning of the year. It's $305/person to fly from GRR (down from $340 a few weeks ago) leaving 1/1 and returning 1/5. The same DIRECT flight on Southwest is $49/person each way (down from $140 a couple of weeks ago). We'll likely be driving down on the evening of the 31st. We'll probably wander the parks and find a good spot to watch the fireworks at midnight (possibly use our flight savings to do a fireworks cruise) and stay at my cousin's apt for free. Then we'll fly out Thursday morning and arrive in Omaha with plenty of time to watch lots of football since it only takes 2 1/2 hours for a direct flight.

It'll probably cost about $50 to park the car, if we can't find somewhere free. Our car gets about 35mpg on the highway, so it should only cost about $20 in gas, (310miles/35*$1.75=$15.5+a few $ to be conservative) or even more conservative, $.35/mile = $108.

Hate to be "leaking" flyers, but we can't justify the price $400+ difference. And that's just for two people. Plus, we get to experience New Year's Eve in a cool place where we've never done it before.

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wingbert Burg

wingbert

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Thanks for the tips guys. I ended up finding a hotel near DTW that allows you to park for up to 8 days for about $20 more for the room.

Also, Allegiant Air is adding non-stop to Las Vegas this spring for teaser rates of $99 (in today's Press).

Is that that "big" airport-related news the media have been teasing for the last couple of days?

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MuskeMI Whistle-Stop

MuskeMI

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Just got back from Dallas. The parking ramp is HUGE, massive, imposing. Canopy now covers the curbside dropoff/pickup, though, which is a plus. If they don't remodel the terminal shortly after the ramp is finished it's going to look really goofy. Currently there's no sense of cohesion - it looks like the parking ramp that should have been attached to the DeVos place got picked up and dropped in GRR.

On a side note, it looks like GRR's website has gotten updated fairly recently and they have a buncha renderings up (hope this isn't old news). The glass pedestrian bridge and the glass 2-story atrium it connects to on the terminal side looked pretty close to finished. They are installing the escalators currently.

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fotoman311 Burg

fotoman311

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Cool! I can't wait to see it when we fly out of there next week. Oh wait, too expensive. <_<

I may be going to Washington, DC in March.

Flight from DTW to Dulles or Baltimore, $126 on Northwest.

Flight from GRR to DTW to Baltimore, $316 on Northwest.

Flight from GRR to Dulles, $417 on Northwest.

I'm currently trying to figure out how I'm going to get over to Detroit for less than $190. Wish there was a high speed bullet train. :)

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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I may be going to Washington, DC in March.

Flight from DTW to Dulles or Baltimore, $126 on Northwest.

Flight from GRR to DTW to Baltimore, $316 on Northwest.

Flight from GRR to Dulles, $417 on Northwest.

I'm currently trying to figure out how I'm going to get over to Detroit for less than $190. Wish there was a high speed bullet train. :)

Yeah, that's only like $5 Billion. :P I can't see how you could spend $190 to get to Detroit. $60 in gas round trip.

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suydam Hamlet

suydam

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We flew to Florida this month (Ft. Myers).

DTW->RSW = $168

GRR->RSW = $232

Even with my family of 4, we decided it was worth the price difference.

1. Neighbors can drive us to/from the airport (so no parking fee)

2. We don't have to drive the long 2.5 hours home after that final flight on the way home

3. We can get to our flights 45 minutes early in GR vs. 90-120 minutes early in Detroit. That means less time sitting around waiting to board.

4. At least some of my money supports Grand Rapids

I'm flying to Philly later this spring. The cost difference between DTW and GRR is about $90. At that price, I'll still be flying GRR.

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