Fiscal 2023 DIF Account

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Our Three Daily Flights To Hubs Makes No Sense

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Currently we have three different carriers that fly back and forth to their hub once per day.

  1. JetBlue to NYC (JFK):  loads under 50
  2. American to Philadelphia: loads in the 60's
  3. Delta to Detroit: loads in the 60's

Here are the schedule:
  1.  Early morning departure to JetBlue
  2. Afternoon American fliesin  and flies out 
  3. Afternoon Delta flies in and flies out
  4. Very late night JetBlue returns

Bottom line is that this is not working with the average load being in the mid 50's between the three flights.   Why are we having bad results?  There are several reasons:

  1. One flight to a hub simply does not work, you need at least two.
  2. The spread between JetBlue two flights is simply too wide.
  3. American is not CAT III equipped and gets cancelled or diverted way too much.
  4. Delta needs to be Atlanta, not Detroit.

It looks great on paper to say we have three Legacy Carriers flying to their hubs, but when none of them are doing well???   

We be much better off having one Legacy carrier flying twice per day!!!   At times we wonder if  appearances seem to be more important than results.  

We should try to get JetBlue to add mid-day turn to JFK or Delta to switch to Atlanta and add a 2nd flight.    Just do not see how we can work with American, unless they bring in a CAT III equipped plane.    

 BTW, we are still hearing that United is coming.   Great 4 Legacy carriers flying half empty planes to their hubs???  Maybe we worry too much about the appearances, not the actual numbers??  

Bottom line daily flights to hubs are not working.   We need to make some changes and work with these carriers and make changes.    If we do not do this now,  we will wake up with news that one of these flights will be stopping service this year.   





Comments

Sheila said…
Totally agree. I use ORH because location is convenient but flight schedule is horrible. Many people drive to Logan just to get better flight time options. I hope Jet Blue sees the opportunity.
January 23, 2020 at 6:33 AM
Anonymous said…
Surprised this post did not mention the flight cost.
We have tried many many times with jet blue to use worcester instead of Boston and the flights are regularly much much more expensive.
January 23, 2020 at 7:38 AM
Anonymous said…
They need definitely need more options...I booked a flight with American Airlines from Melbourne Florida with a layover in Philadelphia and they cancelled my connecting from PHL to ORH since the flight was going to take off at the same time I was landing and there wasn't another flight going to ORH for the day. It would have worked if my first flight didn't get changed. After two calls I was able to get them to change my connecting flight to PVD on the same day. First call the person wouldn't even change it to another airport, it was either cancel for a refund or fly out the next day. I love flying in and out of ORH and that is my preferred airport but flights are very limited.
January 23, 2020 at 8:05 AM
Marc said…
Delta is flying the CRJ200 with a capacity of 50. American is flying the E145 with a capacity of 50. JetBlue uses the E190 which has a capacity of 114 in a cramped configuration but more likely 100. So the loads you posted for Delta and Americans can’t be true and if they are at 50, then it’s 100% load. If JetBlue is reaching high 60s, then that isn’t “bad”.
January 23, 2020 at 1:57 PM
Marcia said…
I would love to fly to Atlanta from Worcester. I am into day trips so having an early morning departure with a late evening return would be awesome!
January 23, 2020 at 3:43 PM
Anonymous said…
Marc, I think your getting mixed up.They're saying that the flights are getting 50% loads not 50 passengers. Also, I don't see how you can think that 60% loads on the JFK flight aren't bad. I think a flight to a hub that is one of the largest international airports in the world should be at 100% loads by now.I would think at 50-60% loads the JFK flight is losing money. JB placating Massport is the only thing that is keping this flight from beings cancelled.
January 23, 2020 at 10:01 PM
Anonymous said…
Price is killer. Also let’s not pretend that this airport would stand a chance without massport keeping it afloat, just as the FBO would’ve gone under if it wasn’t propped up by a millionaire.
January 24, 2020 at 10:44 AM
Anonymous said…
It’s not rocket science. Everybody would love to have Worcester as an option. It is wonderful to have a small airport terminal and not have to deal with Boston traffic and Logan. Simple, have flights that people want, and competitive prices. Then the loads would be full. Even for a little more money, people would pay for the convenience. Why is it that the airport is so incompetent at figuring this out?
January 25, 2020 at 5:49 AM
Robert McCarthy said…
I believe the information provided is very wrong. I have never flown out of Worcester to Florida without a full Embraer 190 jetblue continues to make a profit on the Florida runs both to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale
January 25, 2020 at 6:04 AM
molly said…
bashing our airport makes no sense and at the same time may turn off potential flyers, try supporting it for a change, and encourage flyers
January 25, 2020 at 6:08 AM
Anonymous said…
To echo other posters, the way to make Worcester airport successful is to offer competitively priced fares at good times to places that PEOPLE WANT TO GO as the FINAL DESTINATION, not to catch another connecting flight. Right now, I would drop Detroit and maybe Philadelphia and add the Gulf Coast of Florida (Tampa or Fort Myers) and Washington DC - those destinations would be 80% plus load guaranteed.
January 25, 2020 at 6:33 AM
Padraig said…
I realize it never feels good to hear complaints but the numbers don’t lie. I live in DC, but to fly delta to Det and then Orh its almost a day worth of travel. Amtrak drops me in BOS. I hear people brag about McGovern, Jim, where’s the beef!
January 25, 2020 at 8:41 AM
Anonymous said…
They are just storing their planes at the airport for a five hours. It’s cheaper to fly to and from JFK everyday rather than pay storage fees in the NYC airport.
January 25, 2020 at 3:28 PM
Anonymous said…
I would love to use the airport. Schedule and price are both horrible.
January 25, 2020 at 6:17 PM
Anonymous said…
I would love to see a golf coast flight to Tampa. Many Worcester area residents travel to Sarasota and Clearwater areas.
Most PVD flights on Southeest to Tampa Are filled to capacity because JetBlue does not offer a nonstop flight from Providence to Tampa.
You have to go to Boston or Hartford. Maybe Worcester should give it a try!
January 26, 2020 at 5:49 AM
Unknown said…
Recently had a great flight out of Worcester. However, after parking in the lot, had to drag a carry-on suitcase up the stairs and down upon return. Need an elevator from the parking lot to the terminal level.
January 26, 2020 at 5:48 PM
Anonymous said…
When Delta first started in August, they had a morning flight to DTW. This made absolute sense since a business traveler could connect to most locations from DTW (agee ATL would be even better). When they shifted to afternoon, this made no sense. O honestly think that they do no want this to work, they were just interested in getting moe gates at Logan.....
January 27, 2020 at 5:40 AM
Anonymous said…
Unkown--there is another parking lot to the left as you face the terminal. It is on the same level as the terminal and you can rolll your suitcase to the terminal from your car along the sidewalk. No stairs.
February 2, 2020 at 6:07 AM
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