Columbus Metropolitan Airport

[xivinrah]

I know that there are people who think that the airport should either be moved to new location or done away with altogether, but since we have it, I believe that the community and the airport commissioners should seriously consider the construction of a brand new, state of the art main terminal building. Savannah has one, Augusta has one (built in 2006), Atlanta is the hub... why is Columbus still holding onto something that is so dated and falling apart.... literally! Some of the roadways have been crumbling... Just because Columbus is not a major hub, does not mean it shouldn't invest- take the initiative to improve and enhance its facilities to make people's experience better. Give people an alternative to going directly through Hartsfield-Jackson's phenomenally long and congested security lines that can sometimes wrap around the entire North/South terminal building.

Everyone will have to wait for the pics of Columbus (CSG)... since I couldn't find any large ones online- I'm going to show you some of Augusta's brand new terminal building.

[Columbus1984]

The Columbus airport has done some expansions such as runway improvements, new fire station, and the addition of American Eagle to Dallas. I imagine another airline will be announced sometime in the next year or so. What hurts Columbus is that we are only 85 miles from Hartsfield. We need to market the airport more to places south and west of Columbus to get people to use us. Once more destinations are added I can see the usage of the airport improve overnight.

[xivinrah]

The Columbus airport has done some expansions such as runway improvements, new fire station, and the addition of American Eagle to Dallas. I imagine another airline will be announced sometime in the next year or so. What hurts Columbus is that we are only 85 miles from Hartsfield. We need to market the airport more to places south and west of Columbus to get people to use us. Once more destinations are added I can see the usage of the airport improve overnight.

My grandmother told me that in the 80's, CSG (Columbus Metropolitan Airport) was pretty busy. 7 Airlines and larger jets... She said that they had flights going in and out of places like Mobile, AL, DC, Chicago, Charlotte... Atlanta and Columbus have been the same distance for years. So why does it make that much of a difference now?

Atlanta may not be a good destination to go on a flight... But there are other hubs that CSG could provide service to (i.e. Charlotte, Miami, DC, New York, and Chicago) just adding those destinations alone could make CSG an more convenient place to fly out. Good for atracting business as well.

[Swifty]

Personally, I kind of dig the idea of a regional airport servicing Columbus, Ft. Benning, Auburn, and Opelika. And then open the existing airfield up to commercial development. But that's going to be a very hard sell - especially moving it further from Ft. Benning.

And the existing terminal is only 20 years old. It replaced a 30 year old structure. It would be very hard to justify a new building to the taxpayers when the current one is so underutilized.

Granted, I wish they'd built it with just a bit more character. Various shades of gray concrete are a little soul-sucking.

[xivinrah]

Personally, I kind of dig the idea of a regional airport servicing Columbus, Ft. Benning, Auburn, and Opelika. And then open the existing airfield up to commercial development. But that's going to be a very hard sell - especially moving it further from Ft. Benning.

And the existing terminal is only 20 years old. It replaced a 30 year old structure. It would be very hard to justify a new building to the taxpayers when the current one is so underutilized.

Granted, I wish they'd built it with just a bit more character. Various shades of gray concrete are a little soul-sucking.

I agree... but for a 20 year old building... it sure looks dated. One of my co-workers (who is originally from Rhode Island), speculated that the building was built in the 1970's. If that doesn't say something about the way it looks... then I don't know what does. Aside from what the TSA has, the technology is 1990's late and the layout is 1950's ancient.

As far as utilization goes... that may be changing, though not dramatically. Delta plans to add another flight from Columbus to Atlanta. The airport already has about 8 commercial flights going out and that's in addition to the private corporate jets and chartered flights. In the short time that I've been working here- I've seen many of the flights full and oversold... Still, because there are only two airlines (American Airlines - 2 flights a day and may add another; Delta - 6 flights a day and is slated to add another), it does make for a pretty empty and depressing looking terminal building. I can only further speculate that CSG is trying to woo U.S. Airlines back which will add a third destination from Columbus. Currently there are only two - Atlanta and Dallas/Ft. Worth. Charlotte, which is U.S. Airlines hub, would make a nice third, but I'm hoping for D.C. or Chicago... something that is marketable to businesses looking to relocate to the area.

[Columbus1984]

I agree... but for a 20 year old building... it sure looks dated. One of my co-workers (who is originally from Rhode Island), speculated that the building was built in the 1970's. If that doesn't say something about the way it looks... then I don't know what does. Aside from what the TSA has, the technology is 1990's late and the layout is 1950's ancient.

As far as utilization goes... that may be changing, though not dramatically. Delta plans to add another flight from Columbus to Atlanta. The airport already has about 8 commercial flights going out and that's in addition to the private corporate jets and chartered flights. In the short time that I've been working here- I've seen many of the flights full and oversold... Still, because there are only two airlines (American Airlines - 2 flights a day and may add another; Delta - 6 flights a day and is slated to add another), it does make for a pretty empty and depressing looking terminal building. I can only further speculate that CSG is trying to woo U.S. Airlines back which will add a third destination from Columbus. Currently there are only two - Atlanta and Dallas/Ft. Worth. Charlotte, which is U.S. Airlines hub, would make a nice third, but I'm hoping for D.C. or Chicago... something that is marketable to businesses looking to relocate to the area.

When is the added Delta flight planned? Any chance for larger planes?

[Swifty]

I could see a remodel before a replacement. But since most everyone hates airports and flying these days, that's still going to be a tough sell. As for utilization, the building was built with space for two jetways. As I recall, Delta actually donated the existing jetway (if it's still even there). And Delta quit flying jets to CSG maybe a year or two after the new terminal opened. Jet service would be nice. But unlikely.

And it's good to see the existing airlines adding additional flights. I hope that momentum can be translated to additional carriers.

[xivinrah]

When is the added Delta flight planned? Any chance for larger planes?

Delta plans to add an 8:00am flight from CSG to ATL in June. That would mean 7 daily flights to and from Atlanta. Also based upon some unverified, but plausible information... the Columbus Metropolitan Airport Commission is trying to get Delta to start dispatching larger DC9-30 jets (100 seaters) because the 50 seater CRJ-200's are too small to accommodate all of Ft. Benning's soldiers. The end result is that the ones who aren't able to get on the flights, are sent by chartered bus to or from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. What makes this information plausible is the simple fact that most of Delta's flights are often full and sometimes oversold. About 60-70 percent of Delta flights in and out of CSG are military.

Here is a diagram of the two planes... to make the difference between the two clear.

DC9-30 (100 Seater Jet) 8 First Class Seats. 92 Economy.

http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations/plan_flight/aircraft_types_layout/dc9_30/index.jsp

CRJ-200 (50 Seater Jet) No first class. 50 Economy.

http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations/plan_flight/aircraft_types_layout/crj-200/

This man's blog also gives us some possible insight on what the passenger traffic was like at CSG prior to recent days. This article is slightly dated... only because of the fact that American Airlines' return of service was very recent.

http://dicksworld.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/columbus-metropolitan-airport-seeks-more-airlines/

More info from another article within this man's blog:

Also, U.S. Airways expressed interest, but states that they do not have enough planes to support service at CSG. They would either have to buy more jets or shift flight operations from less profitable cities. A lot of businesses and individuals stopped flying out of CSG because of the delays and cancellations. There is more in his blog... very interesting stuff.

http://dicksworld.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/columbus-metropolitan-airport-seeks-more-airlines/

I can attest to the delays... because just about every other day, Delta has delays which causes us- TSA and Airport Police to stay longer at the checkpoints and checked baggage.

[Columbus1984]

Delta plans to add an 8:00am flight from CSG to ATL in June. That would mean 7 daily flights to and from Atlanta. Also based upon some unverified, but plausible information... the Columbus Metropolitan Airport Commission is trying to get Delta to start dispatching larger DC9-30 jets (100 seaters) because the 50 seater CRJ-200's are too small to accommodate all of Ft. Benning's soldiers. The end result is that the ones who aren't able to get on the flights, are sent by chartered bus to or from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. What makes this information plausible is the simple fact that most of Delta's flights are often full and sometimes oversold. About 60-70 percent of Delta flights in and out of CSG are military.

Here is a diagram of the two planes... to make the difference between the two clear.

DC9-30 (100 Seater Jet) 8 First Class Seats. 92 Economy.

http://www.delta.com...c9_30/index.jsp

CRJ-200 (50 Seater Jet) No first class. 50 Economy.

http://www.delta.com...layout/crj-200/

This man's blog also gives us some possible insight on what the passenger traffic was like at CSG prior to recent days. This article is slightly dated... only because of the fact that American Airlines' return of service was very recent.

http://dicksworld.wo...-more-airlines/

More info from another article within this man's blog:

Also, U.S. Airways expressed interest, but states that they do not have enough planes to support service at CSG. They would either have to buy more jets or shift flight operations from less profitable cities. A lot of businesses and individuals stopped flying out of CSG because of the delays and cancellations. There is more in his blog... very interesting stuff.

http://dicksworld.wo...-more-airlines/

I can attest to the delays... because just about every other day, Delta has delays which causes us- TSA and Airport Police to stay longer at the checkpoints and checked baggage.

Excellent information! How confident are you about the larger jets? The airport has a huge opportunity to move to the next level if it is marketed right.

[xivinrah]

Excellent information! How confident are you about the larger jets? The airport has a huge opportunity to move to the next level if it is marketed right.

Moderately confident. Pretty much all of the airport employees are aware of the negotiations being done between Columbus Metropolitan Airport Commissioners and Delta. I'm going to see if I can get a hold of one of the Airport Commissioners to get some specifics - like perhaps a time frame of when we might see the transition. If it happens... at the least, you may see DC9-30 jets landing and taking off on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as those are typically the busier days at CSG. It all depends on booking trends. The more people we can get on these Delta flights, the better... CSG needs to market itself more and consider some serious technological upgrades at the very least - like automated screens with flight arrival and departure information.

[aboutmetro]

Personally, I kind of dig the idea of a regional airport servicing Columbus, Ft. Benning, Auburn, and Opelika. And then open the existing airfield up to commercial development. But that's going to be a very hard sell - especially moving it further from Ft. Benning.

And the existing terminal is only 20 years old. It replaced a 30 year old structure. It would be very hard to justify a new building to the taxpayers when the current one is so underutilized.

Granted, I wish they'd built it with just a bit more character. Various shades of gray concrete are a little soul-sucking.

I agree Swifty, if it has to stay where it is, it'll never be anything more than a small metro airport. It should really reflect the local architecture.

[xivinrah]

This is probably the only day that Columbus Metropolitan Airport felt like a major airport. My jaw dropped when I saw everything that landed here... I don't want to hear another excuse as to why CSG runway cannot accommodate these planes. That 757 took off with ease AND the airport has enough space to extend the main runway another 300-600 feet. All we need is a beautiful new state-of-the-art terminal building with more jet ways and we are in!

[Columbus1984]

This is probably the only day that Columbus Metropolitan Airport felt like a major airport. My jaw dropped when I saw everything that landed here... I don't want to hear another excuse as to why CSG runway cannot accommodate these planes. That 757 took off with ease AND the airport has enough space to extend the main runway another 300-600 feet. All we need is a beautiful new state-of-the-art terminal building with more jet ways and we are in!

That is awesome! Wondering what all of those Delta planes were doing? Must have been storms in Atlanta maybe? I know a lot of the time planes will land in Columbus when bad storms hit Hartsfield. I have seen Airtran in Columbus as well. Hope we can see that one day in Columbus!

[xivinrah]

That is awesome! Wondering what all of those Delta planes were doing? Must have been storms in Atlanta maybe? I know a lot of the time planes will land in Columbus when bad storms hit Hartsfield. I have seen Airtran in Columbus as well. Hope we can see that one day in Columbus!

They were diversions from Atlanta. The 757 was an international flight from Cancun to Atlanta. It was kind of awkward after deplaning three of the small jets from other airports and then telling those passengers we can't let them out of the sterile area. CSG has no restaurants or cafes past the checkpoint. Just ONE snack machine and ONE drink machine. The only restaurant we do have is owned by the airport and the food is mediocre at best and grossly overpriced. We couldn't even accommodate the passengers from the larger planes inside the sterile area of terminal building.

But it was fascinating to see just how many planes CSG could accommodate. We had about 9-10 planes out on the tarmac.