Where is US Airways?
Bob says, "Is there a reason why US Air does not fly into SGF? And I also read that 16 planes park here overnight and thats a problem because we dont have 16 gates. So why is the new terminal only starting at 10 gates. Wouldn't it make since to start at 16? Thanks for answering."
Here's how I understand the airline's point-of-view concerning our airport...
Right now US Airways feels that SGF is not a good fit for its network (I should explain the jargon "network." In the context of an airline, network refers to the different routes the airline flies and how those routes connect to one another via the airline's hub airports).
There are several airports, two to ten times our size, that the airline doesn't service to the east or at all. And there are several smaller airports that the airline doesn't serve that would fit better into its eastern route network. And recently the airline's fleet growth has been relatively flat. In short, the airline is cautious about expansion, and when it does it expand, it has bigger fish to fry that fit better into its network. I'll bet you hate that answer as much as I do...
Moving on to the second question. I see exactly what you're asking, let me explain it better.
Not only are we flat out of overnight plane parking places at the current terminal, we're out of maneuvering room. The parked planes are so close together that they are wing tip to wing tip. This makes moving them in the morning a long and laborious process. One wrong move and a wing tip can crash into another and then you've got a damaged airplane. In a world free of budget restraints we'd love to have enough gates at the new terminal to accommodate every single overnight plane. But that's not the world we live in. We can afford to build 10 gates, not 16. What the new terminal will offer, in the case of overnight parking, is lots of maneuvering room. With the new found space it will be easier to jockey the planes around in the morning.
Hope that helps.
Kent
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Reader Comments (1)
Regarding US Airways expanding into our market. Didn't US Airways used to fly into SGF?? SGF has no air service into Kansas City. MCI is now the busier airport in Missouri since American pulled the St. Louis hub. Also, MCI is one of the least expensive cities to fly from. Now that Joplin airport has US Airways, I'm finding that airfares are less expensive from Joplin than Springfield to most domestic destinations. It used to be that Joplin people drove to SGF to fly. Not anymore. They either fly from Joplin, or go to XNA or TUL. I never thought there would come a day when it would be less expensive to fly from Joplin than SGF. I cannot understand why SGF can't have direct service to KC. This would really help save money. Even Columbia, MO realized this and stopped flying to STL for more MCI flights. I really want to fly from SGF, but when Joplin is cheaper AND Free parking, I cannot believe that I'm saying this, but I'm going to fly Joplin.