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Montgomery Regional Airport


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The Montgomery Airport Authority completed a $40 million renovation of the Montgomery Regional Airport in November 2006. The renovation doubled the size of the terminal, completely transformed its appearance, and modernized it with 2nd floor boarding, jetway loading bridges, and a rotunda with a domed ceiling that simulates sunrises, sunsets, and stars at night.

Airport info, including renovation photos: www.montgomeryairport.org

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An airline pilot and his wife are opening an upscale gourmet coffee shop, Montgomery Mugs, in the airport terminal. Before the renovation, Dannelly Field was a rather bare-bones operation. It's now becoming a pleasant place to fly in and out of.

Montgomery Advertiser: Airport coffee shop taking off

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Montogomery waited too long to get on this bandwagon. The best they can hope for is small jets from Charlotte/Raleigh/Memphis. Whatever the case Hotlanta has lock on airlines and I found it cheaper to fly to Bham and rent a car to travel to MGM than it was to fly there. Nice airport tho.
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I flew out of Montgomery one time before the renovation and I probably havent said a good thing about it since. The old airport was miserable considering Montgomery is the capital and some dignitaries(sp?)/politicians have to use the airport. It ma have been one of the nations worst. What decent airport didn't have jetway loading in 2005? I am glad to hear that it is better now. I was embarrassed for you guys and I am from Mobile, which doesn't exactly have the most impressive airport.

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The number of passengers served by the Montgomery Regional Airport dropped by 5% for the first five months of 2007, when compared to the same period in 2006. Unfortunately, many fliers are driving to Birmingham or Atlanta to catch cheaper flights.

Montgomery Advertiser: Fewer fliers passing through city airport

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Unfortunately, its just as I said. MGM does not have the traffic and is too close to ATL and BHM. I wish they could put in hi speed rail to either or both cities that could connect to the airports. Alabama is fortunate and unfortunate to have several medium size cities just a hundred miles or less apart.
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I agree. Birmingham's airport, with cheaper airlines like Southwest, is only 90 miles away from MGM. Atlanta's airport is 147 miles from MGM, but I definitely know people who would make the drive to save two or three hundred bucks.

Maybe the state will put in high speed rail from Huntsville to Mobile along the I-65 corridor to serve in-state business travelers and flyers.

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The state cannot afford to do this and whoever owns the rails do not see money in doing so as they are totally full with freight business. Business is about making money, not doing the right thing to support the local population, especially if it doesn't yield a profit. High speed rail to eith BHM, MGM or ATL would be fantastic as long as it connected to other modes of transportation and solved cost issues of using cars with concomittant time savings. I don't think we will see any of this even discussed until $5 gas and complaints about aircraft air pollution are addressed. The Memphis to Mobile high speed line to me would be a winner as would Raleight to ATL to MGM and perhaps Jackson and New Orleans with maybe Bham or MGM as a hub. Maglev would be the way to go with dedicated 300 MPH lines (not a grade either) that would enable passengers to sail quickly between these 100 mile or so distances between cities. What a wonderful possiblility if someone could throw money at it!
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City transportation planners hope more choices plus increased convenience will add up to more passengers and flights leaving from Montgomery Regional Airport.

The Montgomery Airport Authority has announced it will use a $4 million grant to build a new surface-level intermodal facility at Dannelly Field.

The airport will use funds from the Federal Transit Administration for the project, which is expected to improve traffic flow and create a central transfer location for vehicles that frequently travel to and from the airport.

The current budget year allotment is $906,840, followed by annual allotments of approximately $1 million, with 80 percent coming from the federal government and 20 percent coming from the airport in matching funds, said Robert Smith, division head of Montgomery's Transportation Planning Department.

Once complete, the facility could be linked to the downtown intermodal transfer station via a designated shuttle bus that would carry passengers to and from downtown. The shuttle would not prevent private companies from providing similar services, Smith said.

The downtown bus transfer station should be open sometime between mid-July and early August, he added.

Airport spokesman Mark Wnuk said an intermodal facility provides a centralized location for vehicles that frequently travel to and from the airport.

Vehicles such as taxis, limousines, charter buses and delivery trucks currently have no designated arrival and departure places when they make their rounds, Wnuk said. This facility will solve that problem.

"That's the whole idea," he said.

The first phase of the plan includes a comprehensive study of parking and traffic patterns at the airport, followed by consideration of alternate concepts for the project, Smith said.

Located on the airport's northeast side and near the parking lot area, grounds near the potential site must be prepared afterward. That involves moving anything that could be at the site -- a fence relocation, for example. If everything works out, construction for the new facility could begin this year, Smith said.

However, the airport may want a little time to breathe between projects, Wnuk said.

The airport authority just completed a three-phase, $37-million renovation project that included a new rotunda, expanded ticket counters, second-floor arrival gates, and resurfacing and expansion of the parking area.

Improvements at the aiport create "intangible" value for the city of Montgomery, Wnuk said. It illustrates a pro-business environment, which also benefits the airport in the long term.

"Hopefully that will translate into more passengers, more airlines and more growth," he said.

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Hi, I'm new to this board and have several questions/comments about our airport. First of all, I've lived in Montgomery all of my 30 years and fly out of the airport about 4 times a year.

It seems that although Montgomery is growing by leaps and bounds but the airport is shrinking in flights. I remember when Montgomery was smaller and we had more flights and bigger planes. I recently went to each airlines website and seems as though most of the flights are full. Why aren't we adding more flights? Two years ago MGM received a federal grant to begin two daily flights on Northwest airlines to Detroit. Where are those flights? The leaders at the airport are clueless. They don't know how to market the airport or attract more flights.

Also, Montgomery is expected to continue to grow by leaps and bounds. I think the airport expansion was too small considering the anticipated population and business growth.

I was driving back home from Mobile last week and I'm sure I saw an MD-88 or DC-9 with a Delta logo flyover me around Hyundai. I thought we only had regional planes. Anyone know anything about larger planes serving Montgomery? I emailed the airport and, of course, they didn't respond.

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Welcome to the forum, jtrippe77! :hi:

I hope you're right about expected growth in the area, and I wonder if the renovations were done with future expansion in mind. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about the airport to answer any of your questions, maybe someone here does.

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It seems that although Montgomery is growing by leaps and bounds but the airport is shrinking in flights. I remember when Montgomery was smaller and we had more flights and bigger planes. I recently went to each airlines website and seems as though most of the flights are full. Why aren't we adding more flights? Two years ago MGM received a federal grant to begin two daily flights on Northwest airlines to Detroit. Where are those flights? The leaders at the airport are clueless. They don't know how to market the airport or attract more flights.

Also, Montgomery is expected to continue to grow by leaps and bounds. I think the airport expansion was too small considering the anticipated population and business growth.

I was driving back home from Mobile last week and I'm sure I saw an MD-88 or DC-9 with a Delta logo flyover me around Hyundai. I thought we only had regional planes. Anyone know anything about larger planes serving Montgomery? I emailed the airport and, of course, they didn't respond.

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The Montgomery Advertiser is running a series this week about the need to improve service at the airport, and addresses some of the issues that you mentioned, jtrippe77. Service is a real problem(late flights, cancelled flights, lost luggage), and a lack of direct flights help make the airport less competitive with other area airports. The airport needs a marketing plan and staff to implement it, and some are suggesting that the airport board (currently appointed by the Montgomery city council) needs to be restructured to better represent the region.

Air service sends 'terrible signals'

Marketing airport a key to its future

Leaders grasp for ways to fill airport

Flight plan for better service

What do y'all think should be done to improve the airport?

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We have a wonderful facility that is head and shoulders above Mobile and Huntsville," Perry said.

The new facility is very nice and will lead to better service it is just a long slow procedure.

Perry should come visit before making that statement, but I understand his frustration and desire to improve.

It has taken HSV 40 years to get to this point and HSV serves a lot larger population base as does Mobile and of course

Birmingham. In 1968 HSV served more passengers than MGM does now, so it's not really a fair comparison.

Airport at 40 years

some then and now stats

Huntsville Times

Airlines

Then: Eastern, Southern, United

Now: Allegiant, American, Delta, Continental, Northwest, US Airways, United

Passengers

Then: 427,504 (first full year of operation, 1968)

Now: 1.15 million (2006)

Runways

Then: 8,000-foot-long main runway and 1 mile to the north a parallel runway at 5,400 feet

Now: West runway is 12,600 feet long; east runway is 10,000 feet.

Land

Then: 3,000 acres

Now: 6,000-plus acres, including 4,000-acre Jetplex Industrial Park

Cargo

Huntsville International was the fastest-growing cargo airport outside Asia in 2006, according to a ranking in Air Cargo World magazine. The airport handled 152.4 million pounds of cargo last year.

http://www.hsvairport.org/

By MARIAN ACCARDI

Times Business Writer [email protected]

$13.16 million deal considered to add 2 wings to airport

Expansion plans at Huntsville International Airport will give passengers and visitors more waiting room, with two new wings featuring 30-foot-high windows for a view of the airfield.

Work should begin in December to add the two second-floor wings near the connector walkway and security checkpoint. The wing to the west will house the security checkpoint, and the east wing will have a lobby and seating area. "There will be seating for more than 200 people," said Barbie Peek, the airport's marketing director. The renovation will also significantly widen the walkway toward the new wings.

The project will add 14,000 square feet, bringing the amount of public waiting space to 20,000 square feet, and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2009.

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According to the most recent marketing study, the airport is the primary air service provider for eight counties: Montgomery, Elmore, Autauga, Lowndes, Dallas, Macon, Pike and Crenshaw; and portions of Butler and Wilcox counties. However, 52% of that business goes to another airport, usually Birmingham or Atlanta. That's huge. The airport authority should be marketing heavily to get a significant portion of those people to stay home. Empty marketing hype won't do the trick, though. Service must improve and there will have to be more direct flights and more reasonably priced fares for people to choose to fly out of Montgomery.

As one of the articles mentioned, Montgomery should have non-stop flights to Washington, DC because it's the state capital and has a large military presence, and to Detroit because of the auto industry and Hyundai's research center in Michigan. Local leaders need to step up soon and make whatever changes are necessary to get the needed improvements done.

Today's opinion piece in the Advertiser: Regional approach best for airport

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According to U.S. DOT, about 70 percent of flights to Montgomery Regional Airport were on time in October, and 60 percent of ASA's Montgomery flights were on time. Both figures were improvements over previous months. Hopefully this trend will continue.

Montgomery Advertiser: ASA, Montgomery Regional see on-time percentage boosts in October

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Alabama Governor Bob Riley will meet next month with a top executive from Delta Airlines to discuss improving Atlantic Southeast Airline's service at Montgomery Regional Airport. The governor said service is so unreliable it is harming the state's efforts to recruit new businesses. In a letter to Delta's CEO, Gov. Riley wrote, "Unfortunately, many corporate officials are currently refusing to meet in Montgomery due to airline delays and other concerns with ASA. Accordingly, ASA's unreliable service is directly impacting the economic growth of our state."

Maybe the Governor's involvement will lead to long-term improvement in ASA service.

Montgomery Advertiser: Governor to meet with Delta on erratic service

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Montgomery Regional Airport may get a new airline next year, but airport officials won't say which one. Airport executive director Phil Perry will visit with airline officials in February, and the new airline could be flying out of Montgomery by April to June of 2008.

Additionally, an Atlanta area air taxi service expressed interest in locating in Montgomery. The service currently flies single-engine propeller planes on mostly short trips, and plans to buy jets within the next year.

Montgomery airport could get new airline

Any guesses on this new airline? My guess is it's American Eagle. They left Mobile and came back recently. I wouldn't be surprised if that happened here. They would provide flights to Dallas and Chicago.

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Montgomery Regional Airport may get a new airline next year, but airport officials won't say which one. Airport executive director Phil Perry will visit with airline officials in February, and the new airline could be flying out of Montgomery by April to June of 2008.

Additionally, an Atlanta area air taxi service expressed interest in locating in Montgomery. The service currently flies single-engine propeller planes on mostly short trips, and plans to buy jets within the next year.

Montgomery airport could get new airline

Any guesses on this new airline? My guess is it's American Eagle. They left Mobile and came back recently. I wouldn't be surprised if that happened here. They would provide flights to Dallas and Chicago.

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  • 3 weeks later...

The Montgomery Regional Airport Authority's marketing committee voted to ask the finance committee to find $250,000 to create a marketing department with a full-time marketing official and to create a customer service counter at the airport. All of the funding is not currently available, so other funding sources will be looked at.

Good news -- it's about time that the airport hired marketing staff.

Montgomery Advertiser: Airport looks to boost marketing

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