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GSP International


gvillenative

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Thanks krazee, but that seemed like a pretty nothing discussion. With 1.8 million last year and the states 2nd busiest to Charleston, GSP is not going away. Obviously the high fares are hurting numbers, just like at every other airport. Being such a high business traveler market though, GSP is somewhat cushioned from fickle tourist who HAVE to get the best airfare (business travelers don't have to search for the cheapest fare). I'd probably be a little more concerned for Columbia, being they draw mainly state related business (who are close enough to drive), and not as much national business.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Based on the info in the Journal, perhaps we should change the caption on this thread to "shrinking everyday." It is too bad that so many upstaters can't use their own airport. Most people I know go to Charlotte and sometimes ATL because even with gas prices, it is still cheaper. I think there are plenty of people in the area that would use it, but since Independance air went under, it is not competitive for a lot of flights, especially as you get close to departure dates. Fox 21 was supposed to have a report on the declining numbers one night last week, did anyone catch the report?

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I'm flying out of GSP in two weeks, and my round trip ticket was $336 on Delta, as opposed to $448 on AirTran out of ATL, $410 out of CLT, and Delta out of ATL was just $318, so I've done the comparitive shopping, still for what it's worth, GSP is still cheaper. Secondly, even though I fly Delta, I try to avoid that customer service cesspool that we know as Hartsfield. You couldn't pay me $1000 and a free flight to fly out of that nightmare. And yes, I can bring my lighter through their checkpoint. I could probably bring more, because the guards are off in their own little world.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't if anyone has noticed, but this summer, Delta is now offering service between Charleston, SC and Boston, MA directly. They are also going to introduce Myrtle Beach to Boston service also. This has me wondering if there is GSP - BOS service in the near future also. Just something to think about.

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I don't if anyone has noticed, but this summer, Delta is now offering service between Charleston, SC and Boston, MA directly. They are also going to introduce Myrtle Beach to Boston service also. This has me wondering if there is GSP - BOS service in the near future also. Just something to think about.

A colleague of mine wondered if the lack of a GSP-BOS flight was a factor in the Drive locating here. I would assume that it at least has to be a consideration... but apparently not enough of one to warrant not bringing the team here.

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  • 1 month later...

I flew on JetBlue last week to and from California. Definitely a different kind of airline... in a good way. I read on the flight that they are going to be expanding to Charlotte and Portland, Maine, in the near future. Considering that our market is much larger than Portland's... maybe we are a viable candidate for the airline's expansion.

They seem to focus more on smaller airports. They fly to Long Beach Airport and not LAX, in California. Long Beach Airport is much smaller than Greenville's airport.

But would they be interested in flying to Greenville if they already have Charlotte as one of their destinations?

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Jet Blue does fly to smaller airports but they are often in larger metros and are just smaller, cheaper alternatives (e.g., various southern California airports and Portland) to the main airport (e.g., LAX and Logan in Boston) in the area.

Are gov't officials helping court Jet Blue? Hopefully so.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Doesn't sound particularly encouraging for new airlines or routes :(

Any thoughts on why markets like Portland Maine is getting new service and we aren't? I would think that our greater Metro is much larger, and we would have far more business travelers. Also, Independance showed that "if you fly them, they will come."

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  • 2 weeks later...

Doesn't sound particularly encouraging for new airlines or routes :(

Any thoughts on why markets like Portland Maine is getting new service and we aren't? I would think that our greater Metro is much larger, and we would have far more business travelers. Also, Independance showed that "if you fly them, they will come."

I think Portland, ME, as small as it is, is closely tied to the fat traffic markets of Boston and NYC, so carriers like JetBlue, which is focused on NYC and (to a lesser extent) Boston, can *profitably* connect those markets.

Independence Air was a great product for the consumer but a terrible business plan. They simply could not get enough butts to fill their seats *profitably*. You can only go so long losing money on $49 and $59 one-way fares. I flew them a lot, and was suprised at how long they kept loss-leader fares, especially on their high-cost 50-seat regional jets (which there were scrambling to replace with more efficient 120-seat Airbus jets - but those aren't suited for small markets like GSP, Columbia, Charleston, etc.).

I feel that smaller Southern cities, with a few exceptions, shouldn't hold their breath for low-fare airlines. With the current fuel cost and revenue environment, even Southwest is shying away from their traditional secondary markets and airports towards larger-market routes which have fatter revenue and market share potentials. Some places like Myrtle Beach may be able to attract some low-cost airlines if they are tourist-oriented or have some other compelling market (MYR already does have Spirit Airlines and AirTran for discount fares). Atlanta, Charlotte, and Raleigh can still pull in from a wide passenger catchement area to fill their existing stable of low-fare seats, such that the Greenvilles, Columbias, etc. will probably continue to focus on the higher-value business market with higher fares. The silver lining is that with increasing economic development, especially foreign investment, even small Southern airports will probably experience at least modest growth in their airline connections, if only on "legacy" airlines to traditional hubs.

Edited by Chi2Midlands
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Portland also serves the entire state of Maine. Anyone who wants to go anywhere up there probably has to go to Portland first.

Actually, Portland is sandwiched between Manchester, NH (served by Southwest and very close to Maine) and Bangor, which has a respectable airport that used to be a stopover on translatlantic flights in the way-back-when, I guess kind of like Anchorage was (is?) in the Pacific.

I don't recall the distances, since it's been over a decade since I've been there, but Portland's geographic relationship to Manchester and Bangor is probably comparable to Columbia's relationship to GSP and Charleston (without the common coastline, of course).

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  • 4 weeks later...

JetBlue has always planned on eventually providing service to GSP out of JFK. Check THIS out.

Very interesting. I noticed that a lot of those airports were airports serviced by Independence Air before they went under. R.I.P. Flyi :cry:

Do Columbia and Charleston currently have any low-cost carriers? If not, then GSP will be the only airport with a low-cost carrier in the entire state, yes?

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I saw ablurb about it on channel 4. My first thought was also Jetblue, but any will be welcome. :D

Re Spartan's post about having 150,000 fewer passengers through June: that sounds like a lot, but it is really only 1000 fewer per day. If that rate holds, it will still be over 1.5 mil for the year, not really that bad considering the low fare carrier went bust. I hope whoever this new one is can start this year.

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The new airline is Allegiant Air. They currently offer one way tickets to Las Vegas and Orlando, and also sell complete vacation packages. If you go to their website and click on Reservations, you will see "Greer, SC" listed as one of their departure cities, and if you click on a date of departure, November is the launch date. Many days offer $49 one-way tix to Orlando. It's not JetBlue or Southwest, but it's a start.

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The new airline is Allegiant Air. They currently offer one way tickets to Las Vegas and Orlando, and also sell complete vacation packages. If you go to their website and click on Reservations, you will see "Greer, SC" listed as one of their departure cities, and if you click on a date of departure, November is the launch date. Many days offer $49 one-way tix to Orlando. It's not JetBlue or Southwest, but it's a start.

I'm underwhelmed. <_< I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up about JetBlue.

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