Fiscal 2023 DIF Account

Guest Column:

 EDITOR"S NOTE:   This is real good click on the links below

 

 

Overview

 

Connecting through JFK International Airport with JetBlue & American.

 

Connecting through LaGuardia Airport with Delta.

 

One stop from the world! While direct flights are obviously preferred, the foundation for a successful airport is reliable service to a hub. Worcester, for the past two decades, has only seen direct flights to Florida from a handful of different carriers. With the CAT III landing system alive and well, the shift over the past two years to hub flying is a major milestone for the future of Worcester’s airport.

 

However, with a lack of hub connections over the past 20 years (none of which were previously reliable without a CAT III ILS anyways, might I add) travelers in the Worcester market are not familiar with the infinite options that are now available at their doorstep. That being said, I will try to explain the best I can the advantages to booking through hubs.

 

Where did my Florida flights go?

 

Well, JetBlue does have a Fort Lauderdale flight still. The purpose of this flight however very much aligns with the twice daily JFK service. In addition to passengers coming and going from both markets, FLL also offers extensive connections to Latin America. As convenient as direct flights are, there are several drawbacks to long-term success at airports without hub service.

 

The first and most obvious is that, as Murphy’s Law states, things can go wrong sometimes. A passenger going from Fort Lauderdale previously would have had to be rebooked to Boston, but now there is peace of mind knowing that you will get to your car at ORH with a quick stop at JFK. You can take that one step further now that Delta and American have complementary NYC service as well.

 

The second reason, in short, is the cost to operate longer flights generally leaves the route subject to fluctuations in the market. Worcester’s problem for years was never filling planes with people, it was unfortunate timing in the economy. Profit margins shrink as gas prices go up, let alone the other costs of doing business. For an Embraer 190 once a day, that doesn’t leave a lot of room to make money.

 

What does this mean for you? Due to the short flight to JFK, the cost will always remain on the low-end. There is very little fuel uplift and, flying to the largest hub in their system, costs aren’t nearly as much of a concern. I use JetBlue and JFK as an example, but the Delta service to LaGuardia is particularly encouraging. Delta, who is nearly always number one in performance, has a very heavy volume of flights out of LaGuardia all day. American, with its new partnership with JetBlue, now allows you to transfer onto several JetBlue flights as well as their cities (dozens of which are international).

Why you should support ORH

 

I currently live in the NYC area and frequent all three of the shuttle service (primarily JetBlue). People I work with ask me why, since the drive is only 3 hours or so. It comes down to the whole purpose ORH exists – convenience. Sure, with the short train ride from JFK to Manhattan it may make for a little longer day from start to finish. I can say however that it is a far easier process, all for approximately 30 dollars more than a tank of gas and tolls.

 

You now have the world at your doorstep. You can be through security in under 10 minutes most days at ORH with or without TSA PreCheck. I would ask you to hypothetically consider now would you rather go through the stress of flying out of Logan for a more expensive direct flight subject to many issues such as Boston traffic, long lines, and terminal congestion? Or defer to the simplicity of Worcester and come and go from home in half the time.

 

 


 

Comments

Anonymous said…
I remember when I flew out of ORH to go to FLL in January, there were a lot of people flying to Central America like it says. Not many people realize the extra services you can get when flying to FLL. Plus, When flying international, JFK is the better go too than LGA but domestically, LGA is great to connect anywhere with delta, and delta’s flight are relatively cheap compared to other airlines. Plus, Brightline train company is expanding from Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and West Palm Beach all the way to Orlando and Disney and eventually Tampa. Could be a great service if ORH never gets an Orlando flight back if you choose to not use a connecting airport.
Jon said…
Hats off to the Guest Columnist. He/she gets it. The only thing I would add is more emphasis of the convenience of making connections vs driving to BOS just for a nonstop. I think I saw a comment from someone who said they didnt want to double the risk of delays or cancellations and rather drive to BOS for a non stop. If that person has such little confidence in air travel, maybe he/she should just drive the entire trip. I'd love to know what the odds are of getting delayed on a flight vs getting delayed due to traffic on the infamous Masspike. Sure you can compensate for that by adding a precious hour or 2 to your drive on top of paying the tolls, paying beaucoup bucks to park, lugging your bags from remote parking, and dealing with massive congestion. (There must also be a price for ones physical and mental well being when they opt for the BOS hassle vs the ease of ORH). Think of the drive to BOS as the 1st leg of a connecting trip. I'd much rather my 1st leg be a hop to NYC than to drive to BOS. And I'd much rather come home with a 2 minute walk to baggage claim, no wait for bags, and a 15 minute drive home vs the vacation ruining insanity of the hussle and bussle of Logan then dealing with the hour plus insanity on the masspike!!

Yes, I do use ORH a lot. In fact, my trip to MCO in February (connecting through NYC) was flawless. Except we had to wait for a gate at MCO for about 45 minutes. Maybe I should have tweeted that to channel 5 and see if they made a federal case about it like when it happened in ORH.

Nice job guest columnist!!!
ORH Fan said…
The Delta flight needs to be earlier in the day. I had commented in another thread about trying to book a flight on Delta from Worcester to West Palm Beach. The quickest option has a 40 minute layover time at LGA before the flight to West Palm Beach. If I miss that I need to wait another 4 hours for the next flight to West Palm and I don't get in until after 10pm. It's just not worth the risk to me if I'm only going down for a long weekend. Also looked at going to Orlando in May for a few days to meet up with some friends who were going to be there from the West Coast. All of the Delta flight options require 2 stops to get me into Orlando. Same with Fort Lauderdale. It's just not worth it for me. Jetblue was even worse for the days I looked at traveling to West Palm Beach and Orlando. The West Palm flight travel time including the layover at JFK was 8 hours. Orlando for the dates I searched was anywhere from 6 to 8 hours with the layovers. If I only have 4 days I'm not spending 2 of them traveling. It's not like I'm flying to the West Coast. Honestly, if I had a week I still wouldn't do it. I really want to try to use ORH like I did in the past but with what is being offered at the moment it doesn't really work for me.



Anonymous said…
Those comments are why worcester should try to get delta to have a flight to their main hub in Atlanta. Typically when flying out of ORH, if your having 2 stops. The second stop is typically Atlanta. Delta offers flights to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Fort Myers, and Miami every 1-2 hours from Atlanta. A mid day flight (like the time it’s at now for LGA) for Atlanta would be a huge hit especially since delta has over 1,400 flights to and from the airport every day.
Anonymous said…
Hi, Jon
I was the poster that chose BOS over an ORH NY connection because I needed to make a meeting in Atlanta

I agree that the ORH convenience and ease is why I prefer ORH.
My problem was the nonstop news coverwpeage of massive flight delays, cancelations and stranded travelers. All without a major continuing weather event

The Mass Pike traffic isn’t a concer at 5 am. Missing my critical meetings was. Without the massive wave of flight issues last week, I would have preferred ORH.

Also, ai NEVER drive or take a train to NYC any more. That early JetBlue flight to KFK, the air train to LL railroad gets me into MIDTOWN NYC less than 2 hours from locking my car at ORH (with free parking).

I am a big fan of ORH, I just needed multiple options ito get in the air that particular day.
Anonymous said…
I live in Franklin and always choose ORH. I tell everyone in town to do the same… it’s getting too tough now!! Too many flights are canceling. One of the JFK flights was canceled today and BOTH are canceled tomorrow. It’s a great airport when the flights actually take off… I was scheduled tomorrow and for the 2nd time in a row when flying out of ORH, I’m forced to pick a different airport with less than 24 hours notice.