Does it really make sense to bring in more airlines when the current ones are having trouble filling seats? It's just going to set our airport up for failure again. Once they get what they want from Logan and their incentives run out they'll be gone. I don't see this as good news. I think two major airports within a one-hour drive from here (T.F Green and Manchester) have Southwest flying out of them. I don't see any glaring need for them to be in Worcester.
It makes alot of sense of Southwest comes in here with 4 or 5 flights..... We have been told if they come, the will only come if they come in not with just 1 flight but with 4 or 5 to create a presence...
Southwest is not stupid, they see how many people in Central Mass fly Southwest from their other airports.....
If after a year of starting service here they're getting 25% loads they'll realize how dumb they are. I would think by following Worcester Airport for years you would realize that nothing has changed. Not enough people in our catchment area want to fly out of ORH to make it a successful passenger airport. It doesn't matter if we have one airline or ten. The results are going to be the same. Then you got to add in that 7 out of 10 people around here don't know ORH has flights.Why didn't Southwest start service here ten years ago. They decide that now (after seeing disappointing loads on our current airlines) that they want to be a part of our airport. They're probably going to get so many incentives that it will make it impossible for them to lose money here. Once the incentives run out they'll be gone just like American and Delta are going to be. Then we're stuck with Jetblue's two Florida flights and their JFK flight that runs half empty. Remember, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I've been following ORH for 50 years. I don't see any evidence that things are going to be any better then they were 20, 30, or 40 years ago. Just a bunch of false hopes and disappointments. I admire your commitment and efforts to promote our airport. I am just more skeptical than you.
If they do come to ORH, their presence with 4-5 flights per day would lift all the other carrier’s flights. Their presence would be an instant PR campaign for the airport! Really hoping this is more than just a rumor.
Anonymous said…
Southwest has 35-40 737MAX unable to fly and have constricted their schedule accordingly. The also serve "nearby" BOS, MHT, PVD, and BDL. Seems hardly unlikely!
ORH Fan said…
While I haven't flown on Southwest in a few years, if they come in and serve the leisure destination crowd, I think they could have some success. Maybe something similar to what DirectAir did in terms of destinations (Florida Gulf Coast, West Palm Beach, Myrtle Beach, etc.). I'm honestly not sure why some of the airlines at ORH haven't picked up more of the destinations that DirectAir flew to. We used DirectAir to fly to West Palm Beach a few times per year and the flights were always full or close to full. They obviously had a lousy business plan though. Even though there are other airports nearby, there is a market in Worcester for the leisure destinations. It's already been proven in the past. If the Southwest rumor is true I think they see that and want to fill that void.
Anonymous said…
My bad....seems hardly LIKELY, or if you prefer, VERY UNLIKELY.
Reality said…
All the airlines flying out of ORH could be successful, given they provide a decent flight schedule and are committed to make Worcester a viable option to Boston. JetBlue needs to add more frequency to their existing flights to Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and NYC, and a few additions to the Florida West coast... Delta needs to shift its flight from Detroit to Atlanta, with at least twice daily flights... American also needs to add a second flight to Philadelphia.
Southwest would definitely boost the airport and push the other airlines to become a little more serious about ORH, no doubt Southwest would be successful... JetBlue has proven the demand is there for the Florida flights, and the only reason it is averaging 50% loads on NYC, is due to bad schedule.
The airport needs to be better advertised and the airlines need to be more realistic on the times and location people want to fly, at the same time providing better connection options. The flights to Detroit and Philadelphia, due to their times are not viable for connections, as the flights arrive too late for any connection to work. The NYC Flight on JetBlue, has too much of a gap between flights, given that JetBlue only provides connections within a 4 hour time frame. The problem is not what happened in the past as I see on some of the comments here; the issue is flight planning! ORH is an asset to central Mass, and will thrive given a decent flight schedule.
Sounds promising. Any flights that are not performing well at WORC, are directly tied to their schedule, availability to transfer within a short time or return flight times. Think of NY and PHIL.
Comments
Southwest is not stupid, they see how many people in Central Mass fly Southwest from their other airports.....
It makes alot of sense!!!
JetBlue needs to add more frequency to their existing flights to Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and NYC, and a few additions to the Florida West coast... Delta needs to shift its flight from Detroit to Atlanta, with at least twice daily flights... American also needs to add a second flight to Philadelphia.
Southwest would definitely boost the airport and push the other airlines to become a little more serious about ORH, no doubt Southwest would be successful... JetBlue has proven the demand is there for the Florida flights, and the only reason it is averaging 50% loads on NYC, is due to bad schedule.
The airport needs to be better advertised and the airlines need to be more realistic on the times and location people want to fly, at the same time providing better connection options. The flights to Detroit and Philadelphia, due to their times are not viable for connections, as the flights arrive too late for any connection to work.
The NYC Flight on JetBlue, has too much of a gap between flights, given that JetBlue only provides connections within a 4 hour time frame. The problem is not what happened in the past as I see on some of the comments here; the issue is flight planning! ORH is an asset to central Mass, and will thrive given a decent flight schedule.