Chattanooga/ Atlanta ties

[altamaha]

Have not noticed any discussion on this subject. Just wondering what the folks in Chattanooga think about the possibility of becoming the home to Atlantas' second airport. Seems to be some heated discussion going on in some areas south of Atlanta concerning the proposed location being north of the city.

[Lexy]

Have not noticed any discussion on this subject. Just wondering what the folks in Chattanooga think about the possibility of becoming the home to Atlantas' second airport. Seems to be some heated discussion going on in some areas south of Atlanta concerning the proposed location being north of the city.

[Hankster]

I seriously doubt it will happen. ATL doesn't need a second airport at this time. With the construction of the new international terminal, that will open up more gates for use at ATL. Not to mention, ATL isn't even close to capacity yet as far as daily operations are concerned.

[flith]

Actually, there are many that believe Atlanta needs a second airport. As the Atlanta Metro area has continued to expand outward, there are many that beleive the Hartsfield airport is too far away to serve them well, especially those on the north side of the Metro area. There are many who could travel to Chattanooga easier than to Hartsfield. The extremely high cost is a big hurdle for such a project. However, if Atlanta's traffic continues to expand, a second airport becomes more and more likely. It will be most difficult to identify a suitable site and build such a facility in North Georgia due to the topography, so Chattanooga airport could be a possibility. I'd consider a longshot right now. If those that are pushing for a Maglev train from Atlanta to Chattanooga were to successfully get that project going, the odds would go up quite a bit. Any way you look at it, I think such a project is at least 10 years away from starting, if ever.

[Hankster]

The Chattanooga Airport just had its best month ever after a string of really good months this year. October grew 26% from October 2006 with a total 28394 enplanments. Allegiant Air almost 90% of its seats filled.

[flith]

The Chattanooga Airport just had its best month ever after a string of really good months this year. October grew 26% from October 2006 with a total 28394 enplanments. Allegiant Air almost 90% of its seats filled.

[Hankster]

Boardings at the Chattanooga airport are up for the 15th month in a row. Since the addition of the discount airlines, Mr. Landguth states an increasing number of customers are driving from the Atlanta area to fly out of Chattanooga. There were 26,119 emplanements at the airport in November compared to 22,851 the previous November.

Could the market make the Chattanooga Airport the defacto 2nd Atl airport if enough passengers happen to use it for convience, and reasonable fares.

[flith]

Passenger growth in Chattanooga is impressive, but growth at that pace would have to continue unabated for years, before a defacto 2nd Atlanta airport could be claimed. I consider that result as very unlikely without some commitment from Atlanta and other regional governments towards that end.

[Hankster]

2007 was a good year for the Chattanooga airport

20.6% gain in boardings over 2006 for a total of 307500 boardings. (3704 shy of all time high of 311204 in 1993)

Allegiant is credited with attracting new business.

Allegiant is now the 2nd largest carrier with 16.8% of the market. ASA has 21%

Continental had a greater than 80% load factor and is considering new service to Newark NJ.

2008 looks to be a record setting year for Chattanooga air service

[flith]

Allegiant Air has helped Chattanooga prices become more competitive with Nashville and Atlanta. If prices remain competitive, I think Chattanooga air traffic has the potential to grow much higher. The possibility even exists that some North Atlanta people could begin going up to fly out of Chattanooga if prices are low enough. If Chattanooga could ever get some Southwest flights, the growth could accelerate significantly. On the other side, if prices stop being competitive with Nashville and Atlanta, look for a slump in air traffic here.

[Hankster]

Chattanooga gets daily service to Detroit on Northwest partner Pinnacle Airlines beginning June 5th 2008.

[flith]

There's been a run of good news for the Chattanooga airport lately. I hope it continues.

[Hankster]

With some luck maybe Chattanooga can close the number of direct flights gap even more with Knoxville.

Has anyone heard anything about a new parking deck at Chattanooga Metro Airport. I know around 2000 they had tossed the idea around, because short term would fill up on occasion.

[flith]

With some luck maybe Chattanooga can close the number of direct flights gap even more with Knoxville.

Has anyone heard anything about a new parking deck at Chattanooga Metro Airport. I know around 2000 they had tossed the idea around, because short term would fill up on occasion.

[Hankster]

The Chattanoogan.com had a brief article today stating that a temporary overflow lot for 215 vehicles is in the works. Currently airport employees/tenats are asked to park in other overflow lots 3 day a week. The airport states that it can't work on a permant solution until the FAA approves new growth forcasts submitted earlier this year.

[flith]

It sounds like they're banking on federal funding for a portion of the parking project. I wonder what the growth forecast looks like?

[Hankster]

I saw that. This is bad news for the Chattanooga airport, but it really didn't surprise me. Based on what I know, I think the whole concept for Skybus is suspect, and I wouldn't give the airline a good chance at surviving, especially with the high fuel prices we have these days. It's crazy that you couldn't buy a ticket to anywhere Skybus flew with a transfer in Columbus. No, you had to buy a ticket to Columbus, go thru security, fly, get your baggage, go to the ticket counter in Columbus, go thru security a second time, and then buy your ticket to your destination. This is a curious way to do business, and doomed to fail, IMO.

[flith]

I saw that. This is bad news for the Chattanooga airport, but it really didn't surprise me. Based on what I know, I think the whole concept for Skybus is suspect, and I wouldn't give the airline a good chance at surviving, especially with the high fuel prices we have these days. It's crazy that you couldn't buy a ticket to anywhere Skybus flew with a transfer in Columbus. No, you had to buy a ticket to Columbus, go thru security, fly, get your baggage, go to the ticket counter in Columbus, go thru security a second time, and then buy your ticket to your destination. This is a curious way to do business, and doomed to fail, IMO.

[Hankster]

The whole airline is belly up now. All operations suspended as of Apr 5, 2008. Their website states, "Skybus struggled to overcome the combination of rising jet fuel costs and a slowing economic environment. These two issues proved to be insurmountable for a new carrier."

[flith]

While I'm glad to see high gas prices help us wean ourselves off of oil, SUVs and sprawl (hopefully) It does come at a cost. Continental is ending its Chattanooga / Dallas service, despite a load factor greater than 75%.

[flith]

Allegiant Air ending Chattanooga to Ft. Lauderdale flights. The only cities keeping Ft. Lauderdale service are: Greenville-Spartanburg, SC, Knoxville, TN and Plattsburgh, NY

Orlando and Tampa service will remain.

[Hankster]

Allegiant Air ending Chattanooga to Ft. Lauderdale flights. The only cities keeping Ft. Lauderdale service are: Greenville-Spartanburg, SC, Knoxville, TN and Plattsburgh, NY

Orlando and Tampa service will remain.

[satalac]

i don't know if it's just me, and please don't take this the wrong way, but it seems like atlanta has laid claim to chattanooga. just a certain vibe i get is that chattanooga is a new suburb of atlanta. once again, this is not to bash atlanta, just something i've observed and completely my opinion. has atlanta really gotten so big that they need an airport that is 2 hours away? just seems very inefficient to me. please provide any insight that might help me to better understand this. i really do want to get a better idea of the situation.

[flith]

i don't know if it's just me, and please don't take this the wrong way, but it seems like atlanta has laid claim to chattanooga. just a certain vibe i get is that chattanooga is a new suburb of atlanta. once again, this is not to bash atlanta, just something i've observed and completely my opinion. has atlanta really gotten so big that they need an airport that is 2 hours away? just seems very inefficient to me. please provide any insight that might help me to better understand this. i really do want to get a better idea of the situation.

[Hankster]

I don't know about "laid claim", but there are people who do commute between the cities. There seems to be a good amount of people who move to Chattanooga from Atlanta because their livleyhoods don't require them to stay in Atlanta. I would say there is a strong desire in Chattanooga to become Atlanta's second airport.