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.