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Having flown into Syracuse last week on Delta, yes, that concourse is nearly full - and quite alive.
Part of the problem of attracting more carriers to SYR is simply the relative density of airports in the region. Was at a conference (what I was flying back from) and half the attendees had a 2+ hour drive to their nearest major airport. I can catch a major airline flight at 4 airports besides Syracuse within 2 hours (Ithaca, Binghamton, Rochester and Albany), and probably Elmira-Corning too within that. Add into that the upcoming merger of Southwest and AirTran and you nearly completely preclude the combination from coming to SYR (since one serves Rochester and the other Albany). Mix in congestion at all three NYC-area hubs, and there's not much room on a lot of schedules to add flights out that way.
An airport authority levels the playing field for SYR, perhaps, but it won't solve the density problem, nor the airlines' current trend of shrinking schedules, not growing ones.
That being said - my flights out of and back to SYR on Delta were, though smaller planes, full flights.
Don't forget that Watertown is also close and is considered to be an International Airport. I actually flew into it when I first got to Fort Drum after Advanced Individual Training while in the Army.
Don't forget that Watertown is also close and is considered to be an International Airport. I actually flew into it when I first got to Fort Drum after Advanced Individual Training while in the Army.
I wasn't counting ART given that it's currently only served by Cape Air - with, from the looks of their schedule, three flights daily to and from Albany and that's it aside from charter planes. It used to be served by a larger airline, but it isn't now.
The merger of AirTran and Southwest is probably the nail in the coffin for Hancock. Southwest will now service every major airport in upstate New York except Syracuse. It's highly doubtful Southwest will add service in Syracuse knowing the well documented decade's long leakage of CNY passengers to airports in Albany, Rochester and Buffalo. With the acquisition of AirTran, Southwest is already absorbing flight schedules and routes from smaller cities that it probably would not have entered absent the merger. The time to land Airtran has sadly passed. If the current and former mayor had exercised leadership, they may have attracted AirTran prior to the merger. Now all bets are off.
Once again, the mayor and Common Council are more concerned with placating their influential union and peasant consitituency by holding up the renovation project and seeking a project labor agreement analysis. Also, was any decision made on new food vendors? Last year, Driscoll forged an agreement with Delaware North to renovate the food areas and improve the quality and variety food service options. Miner and the Common Council were more concerned about a "living wage" for the airport workers than improving the airport's moribund food court which continues to leave a negative impression on passengers.
The decision to award a baggage contract to two inexperienced thugs from the UAW and fire department shows the Miner Administration has no interest in running a transparent administration and would rather award her campaign supporters with a lucrative contract just like former democratic Mayor Driscoll and longtime Republican state fair director Steve Cappucilli.. I don't buy the notion that the "committee" which consists of all mayoral appointees was objective in their selection. Hancock should have followed the leads of most airports by letting the airlines make procurement decisions. The major problem at the city and county levels of government is that so many seedy characters have their hands out for special contracts and favors. Certain arcane requirements such as having the city award exclusive contracts for baggage handling were probably enacted years ago to enrich campaign supporters.
Last edited by RollsRoyce; 10-20-2010 at 09:13 AM..
The merger of AirTran and Southwest is probably the nail in the coffin for Hancock. Southwest will now service every major airport in upstate New York except Syracuse. It's highly doubtful Southwest will add service in Syracuse knowing the well documented decade's long leakage of CNY passengers to airports in Albany, Rochester and Buffalo. With the acquisition of AirTran, Southwest is already absorbing flight schedules and routes from smaller cities that it probably would not have entered absent the merger. The time to land Airtran has sadly passed. If the current and former mayor had exercised leadership, they may have attracted AirTran prior to the merger. Now all bets are off.
Once again, the mayor and Common Council are more concerned with placating their influential union and peasant consitituency by holding up the renovation project and seeking a project labor agreement analysis. Also, was any decision made on new food vendors? Last year, Driscoll forged an agreement with Delaware North to renovate the food areas and improve the quality and variety food service options. Miner and the Common Council were more concerned about a "living wage" for the airport workers than improving the airport's moribund food court which continues to leave a negative impression on passengers.
The decision to award a baggage contract to two inexperienced thugs from the UAW and fire department shows the Miner Administration has no interest in running a transparent administration and would rather award her campaign supporters with a lucrative contract just like former democratic Mayor Driscoll and longtime Republican state fair director Steve Cappucilli.. I don't buy the notion that the "committee" which consists of all mayoral appointees was objective in their selection. Hancock should have followed the leads of most airports by letting the airlines make procurement decisions. The major problem at the city and county levels of government is that so many seedy characters have their hands out for special contracts and favors. Certain arcane requirements such as having the city award exclusive contracts for baggage handling were probably enacted years ago to enrich campaign supporters.
You make a good point, but I hope that you are not right. Given when I saw the news of the merger I was also upset, but I still firmly believe SYR can land southwest. Its not so much the proximity to other airports that matter, but its the economic benefits that southwest will look at for coming here. And surely, there are several benefits that Southwest can cash in on with Syracuse and Hancock. The fist thing I can think of is having the University as such a major asset. Students come from all over the nation to attend and visit SU. And not to mention the natioanlly recognized athletic program that has capacity basketball crowds larger than the biggest NBA game. Factor in a growing fottbal program that will hopefully see the return of 49,000 people crowds, and you have a lot of traveling between alumni, students, and athletic competition. Just last year, Southwest flew up 2 planes filled with Kentucky fans/snobs (I personally hate their bball program & their fans) when the Dome hosted the second round the NCAA Tournament, a huge economic engine for us. Obviously SU is not the only reason, but you get the point, Southwest will look to expand to new makets as the economy improves, and we must be in their taregt area. Plus Jet Blue is their biggest competition, and if JB is looking at adding flights here (which they are) then SW will want to compete, which will result in good news for us.
You make a good point, but I hope that you are not right. Given when I saw the news of the merger I was also upset, but I still firmly believe SYR can land southwest. Its not so much the proximity to other airports that matter, but its the economic benefits that southwest will look at for coming here. And surely, there are several benefits that Southwest can cash in on with Syracuse and Hancock. The fist thing I can think of is having the University as such a major asset. Students come from all over the nation to attend and visit SU. And not to mention the natioanlly recognized athletic program that has capacity basketball crowds larger than the biggest NBA game. Factor in a growing fottbal program that will hopefully see the return of 49,000 people crowds, and you have a lot of traveling between alumni, students, and athletic competition. Just last year, Southwest flew up 2 planes filled with Kentucky fans/snobs (I personally hate their bball program & their fans) when the Dome hosted the second round the NCAA Tournament, a huge economic engine for us. Obviously SU is not the only reason, but you get the point, Southwest will look to expand to new makets as the economy improves, and we must be in their taregt area. Plus Jet Blue is their biggest competition, and if JB is looking at adding flights here (which they are) then SW will want to compete, which will result in good news for us.
You make some very good points. I sincerely hope that I'm wrong. Hancock Airport has the distinction of being the only airport in the state with room for expansion in the form of an additional runway and more terminals. The longer of the two runaways can accomodate planes of any size and is known to be one of the longest runaways for a medium sized airport. It's hard to imagine, but at one time in the 1980s (per wikipedia), Syracuse had more flights than any upstate airport and had only slightly fewer passengers than Buffalo Niagara Int'l Airport. With substantial economic growth and the right leadership, Hancock could indeed become an economic engine. Unfortunately, the lack of corporate headquarters facilities and few major employers that utilize air travel, it has become increasingly difficult to attract more flights and carriers. If not for the presence of growing locally based companies like Anaren, Aspen Dental, Raymour & Flanagan, SRC (formerly Syracuse Research Corporation), Sensis, Welch Allyn and the 2,400 employee Lockheed Martin facility, things would be considerably worse. Eds and Meds (outside of SU and SUNY Upstate) do not stimulate demand for air travel like multi national companies do.
You make a good point, but I hope that you are not right. Given when I saw the news of the merger I was also upset, but I still firmly believe SYR can land southwest. Its not so much the proximity to other airports that matter, but its the economic benefits that southwest will look at for coming here. And surely, there are several benefits that Southwest can cash in on with Syracuse and Hancock. The fist thing I can think of is having the University as such a major asset. Students come from all over the nation to attend and visit SU. And not to mention the natioanlly recognized athletic program that has capacity basketball crowds larger than the biggest NBA game. Factor in a growing fottbal program that will hopefully see the return of 49,000 people crowds, and you have a lot of traveling between alumni, students, and athletic competition. Just last year, Southwest flew up 2 planes filled with Kentucky fans/snobs (I personally hate their bball program & their fans) when the Dome hosted the second round the NCAA Tournament, a huge economic engine for us. Obviously SU is not the only reason, but you get the point, Southwest will look to expand to new makets as the economy improves, and we must be in their taregt area. Plus Jet Blue is their biggest competition, and if JB is looking at adding flights here (which they are) then SW will want to compete, which will result in good news for us.
You also have to consider the proximity to other colleges/universities like Cornell, Colgate and Ithaca College , among others could have an influence as well. These schools get international students. So, that could be appealing to Southwest.
Then, the proximity to Fort Drum could be key, as many soldiers use Hancock to fly. Same with many Canadians that come to Syracuse for lower rates to fly. So, I hope Southwest thinks about the strong regional pull that Syracuse has in terms of area, the high rate of colleges students, the proximity to a military base and to possible customers from another country willing to pay the rates they offer. You could also mention the proximity to the Finger Lakes, the Adirondacks, Lake Ontario, the 1000 Islands and other communities , along with what SU offers.
It's hard to imagine, but at one time in the 1980s (per wikipedia), Syracuse had more flights than any upstate airport and had only slightly fewer passengers than Buffalo Niagara Int'l Airport.
That was helped by Piedmont Airlines (acquired by what is now US Airways) - we were a hub for them. Can you imagine SYR being a hub airport under what we think of hub airports as now?
That was helped by Piedmont Airlines (acquired by what is now US Airways) - we were a hub for them. Can you imagine SYR being a hub airport under what we think of hub airports as now?
My grandfather did alot of traveling to Los Angeles, New York City, and Texas from the late 1950s to mid 1980s during his tenure at GE and had no shortage of flight options. Even at that time, though, Syracuse had few cross country non stop flights, although the airport had service to more midwest and southern cities including St. Louis, Miami, etc. Those were the days! Hub airport cities have a significant advantage over cities of similiar size that lack comprable flight options. Interestingly enough, Cincinnati, one of the smaller cities with a hub airport has some of the highest airfares in the country. Delta has such a stronghold in that market.
JetBlue to Add Additional Non-Stop Flight to Orlando
Discount airline JetBlue will be adding additional non-stop service between Syracuse and Orlando beginning on February 17. According to an earlier article in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the airline decided to drop non-stop service from Rochester to Orlando due to a lack of profitability. The flight crew and plane will be transferred to Syracuse. Effective February 17, Syracuse will have two daily non-stop flights to Orlando.
Last edited by RollsRoyce; 10-22-2010 at 09:19 AM..
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