GSP International

[apaladin]

Is there a live video feed

[rssgvegas]

Contour to Nashville 

[gman430]

Contour with non-stop direct service to Nashville.  Ugh. Lame. No JetBlue and no Boston. Between this and Silver Airways, GSP Airport is really going to the bottom of the barrel for new airlines and service.

Edited August 19, 2021 by gman430

[apaladin]

Whooppee do. If I am going to Nashville and I do sometimes, I will drive. I can be there in 5 hours. Much less expensive and a lot less hassle. Very disappointing announcement.  Certainly something I will never use. 

Edited August 19, 2021 by apaladin

[distortedlogic]

Never even heard of Contour before... looks like ERJs. 

Any word on number of flights and days per week?

[apaladin]

20 minutes ago, gman430 said:

Contour with non-stop direct service to Nashville.  Ugh. Lame. No JetBlue and no Boston. Between this and Silver Airways, GSP Airport is really going to the bottom of the barrel for new airlines and service.

Exactly. Couldn’t  agree more. What’s next? Non-stop to Columbia?

[vicupstate]

It's two hours since the announcement......???

[distortedlogic]

One thing I wonder about with GSP is the lack of runways. If look at all the other regional airports near our size; TYS, PTI, CAE, CHS; they all have 2 or 3 runways. GSP is the only one with just one, and maybe one of the largest in the country with only one runway. I know there were talks in the past about building another one, and I think it is in the 20 year plan (maybe) but I just wonder if it figures into service.

[NewlyUpstate]

2 hours ago, distortedlogic said:

Never even heard of Contour before... looks like ERJs. 

Any word on number of flights and days per week?

https://gspairport.com/contour-airlines-announces-new-nonstop-service-from-gsp-to-nashville/

Quote

Contour Airlines announced plans today to offer new nonstop service from Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) to Nashville, TN (BNA) beginning November 17, 2021. GSP will be the first airport in South Carolina to offer scheduled Contour Airlines service. Contour Airlines will offer the only nonstop service from the Upstate region to Music City.   

The new service will operate five times each week, excluding Tuesdays and Saturdays. Contour will utilize 30-seat Embraer ERJ-135 and Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft configured with a minimum of 36 inches of legroom in every row, which is equivalent to first-class on other domestic carriers. Contour has no middle seats on its aircraft, allowing for more space between passengers. Tickets for these flights can be purchased now at www.contourairlines.com.

At a quick glance, looks like each way is $99. Not bad.

Edited August 19, 2021 by NewlyUpstate

[rssgvegas]

27 minutes ago, distortedlogic said:

One thing I wonder about with GSP is the lack of runways. If look at all the other regional airports near our size; TYS, PTI, CAE, CHS; they all have 2 or 3 runways. GSP is the only one with just one, and maybe one of the largest in the country with only one runway. I know there were talks in the past about building another one, and I think it is in the 20 year plan (maybe) but I just wonder if it figures into service.

It shouldn't.   Traffic isn't an issue.  GSP doesn't encounter ATC delays nor does it ever have a long taxi line with departure delays.  Should be a non issue.

[apaladin]

1 hour ago, NewlyUpstate said:

https://gspairport.com/contour-airlines-announces-new-nonstop-service-from-gsp-to-nashville/

At a quick glance, looks like each way is $99. Not bad.

Just temporary, it goes to $249 roundtrip.  Still way too expensive for a five hour drive.  Not only that, say you and someone else goes so thats $500 plus parking plus a rental car and you’re north of $600. You can drive for a couple tanks of gas. 

[NewlyUpstate]

1 hour ago, distortedlogic said:

One thing I wonder about with GSP is the lack of runways. If look at all the other regional airports near our size; TYS, PTI, CAE, CHS; they all have 2 or 3 runways. GSP is the only one with just one, and maybe one of the largest in the country with only one runway. I know there were talks in the past about building another one, and I think it is in the 20 year plan (maybe) but I just wonder if it figures into service.

1 hour ago, rssgvegas said:

It shouldn't.   Traffic isn't an issue.  GSP doesn't encounter ATC delays nor does it ever have a long taxi line with departure delays.  Should be a non issue.

A 2nd runway is in the "Phase 4" plans, meaning somewhere after the current 20 year planning horizon.  Honestly I sometimes wonder why other smaller airports have multiple runways.  Seems unnecessary if you space out departures.  What do I know though...

https://gspairport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/07_Implementation_Final.pdf

 

Edited August 19, 2021 by NewlyUpstate

[gman430]

Oddly enough, it looks like a lot of people on social media are really happy with this new service so maybe it will work out. 

[apaladin]

47 minutes ago, gman430 said:

Oddly enough, it looks like a lot of people on social media are really happy with this new service so maybe it will work out. 

Well, it shouldn’t be hard to sell 30 seats. 

[StrangeCock]

There must be many ecstatic bachelorettes in Greenville today.

[olrob]

1 hour ago, StrangeCock said:

There must be many ecstatic bachelorettes in Greenville today.

 

[gman430]

Come mid-November, I am pretty sure GSP will have more carriers and non-stop direct destinations then it has ever had before. All during a pandemic too oddly enough. 

[gman430]

Contour will be announcing more destinations out of GSP soon including Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh. Nashville is only the beginning: https://gsabusiness.com/news/aerospace/80978 Nashville will also be eventually increasing to seven days a week and two flights a day. 


GSP offered the opportunity to connect the dots among Contour’s constellation of new destinations, such as Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh.

Soon, he and GSP CEO Dave Edwards expect to release additional Contour destinations, such as the above-mentioned cities. In the meantime, Edwards said the Nashville flight — starting out with one flight, five days a week excluding Tuesdays and Saturdays — could garner a roughly estimated economic impact of at least $8 million per year.

Eventually, they plan to ramp up to seven days a week and then, two flights a day, especially as business travel begins to catch up with leisure. The airline will be the seventh in GSP’s lineup with Nashville being the airport’s 22^nd nonstop destination, according to a news release.

Edited August 19, 2021 by gman430

[vicupstate]

I have been wanting to go to Pittsburgh.

Would be nice to fly direct and from GSP. 

 

[distortedlogic]

2 hours ago, gman430 said:

Contour will be announcing more destinations out of GSP soon including Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh. Nashville is only the beginning: https://gsabusiness.com/news/aerospace/80978 Nashville will also be eventually increasing to seven days a week and two flights a day. 


GSP offered the opportunity to connect the dots among Contour’s constellation of new destinations, such as Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh.

Soon, he and GSP CEO Dave Edwards expect to release additional Contour destinations, such as the above-mentioned cities. In the meantime, Edwards said the Nashville flight — starting out with one flight, five days a week excluding Tuesdays and Saturdays — could garner a roughly estimated economic impact of at least $8 million per year.

Eventually, they plan to ramp up to seven days a week and then, two flights a day, especially as business travel begins to catch up with leisure. The airline will be the seventh in GSP’s lineup with Nashville being the airport’s 22^nd nonstop destination, according to a news release.

Now THIS sounds interesting. Perhaps they could find a niche at GSP for serving some of these unserved routes without having to use the big planes. Getting daily or twice daily flights to multiple new destinations could be a very good get. Only concern would be the price - $250 to Nashville seems crazy high; no way I'd pay $1000 to take a family of four to Nville when I can drive it in the same amount of time it takes to get to the beach. Maybe this would be primarily for business travel.

[gman430]

20 minutes ago, distortedlogic said:

Now THIS sounds interesting. Perhaps they could find a niche at GSP for serving some of these unserved routes without having to use the big planes. Getting daily or twice daily flights to multiple new destinations could be a very good get. Only concern would be the price - $250 to Nashville seems crazy high; no way I'd pay $1000 to take a family of four to Nville when I can drive it in the same amount of time it takes to get to the beach. Maybe this would be primarily for business travel.

Yeah, it almost sounds like they’re planning to create a base here like you see with Breeze in Charleston and Allegiant in Asheville. Could be some good times ahead for GSP if these plans come to fruition.  Nice to see that they would be destinations that GSP doesn’t already fly to also.

Edited August 20, 2021 by gman430

[rssgvegas]

4 hours ago, vicupstate said:

I have been wanting to go to Pittsburgh.

Would be nice to fly direct and from GSP. 

 

Agreed.  I miss the old nonstop from GSP to PIT!

[distortedlogic]

I'm becoming a little more interested as I read about this airline. They seem to be using a certain focus model that may end up being quite successful; serving unserved routes in underserved markets; a la Breeze, but with a certain focus on amenities in smaller planes that are much easier to fly and fill. It seems very business oriented to me, but would certainly be open to non-business travelers as well. They maintain they want to redefine regional flying, which is probably a pretty good model.

I am having a hard time finding exact numbers but it looks like their fleet size is b/w 13 and 25. If they are going to add more destinations it could be a really good fit for an airport GSPs size. Only considerations I think will be the price and fleet size; they'll have to add more planes to expand much. If it is primarily for the business travelers price won't be as much of a deterrent. Not sure I'll ever fly them; just based on driveability and price, but it will be good to have the options and see the airport grow. Growth often begets growth. It could also be a good way to get into some other markets that is harder to get with the big planes; such as places like Ohio, New Orleans, St Louis, etc; if they keep expanding.

https://www.contouraviation.com/blog/contour-airlines-continues-rapid-growth-with-fleet-expansion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contour_Airlines

Edited August 20, 2021 by distortedlogic

[Exile]

23 hours ago, distortedlogic said:

One thing I wonder about with GSP is the lack of runways. If look at all the other regional airports near our size; TYS, PTI, CAE, CHS; they all have 2 or 3 runways. GSP is the only one with just one, and maybe one of the largest in the country with only one runway. I know there were talks in the past about building another one, and I think it is in the 20 year plan (maybe) but I just wonder if it figures into service.

San Diego has only one runway, so we’re in good company.

But Greenville has four active runways, and one inactive. So there’s that…..

[gman430]

Flew out of GSP early this morning. While the airport looked great and Qdoba looks about ready to open, I was not happy with the new entrance layout on parking in the economy lot. The way finding signage to find it especially when it’s dark outside is beyond terrible. Saw lots of people including myself going to the old entrance and having to turn around and go back to the new round-a-bout to get to the only open economy lot. That’s my only complaint I have besides not landing JetBlue or Alaska.  

Edited August 20, 2021 by gman430