United Touch Down In Central Missouri?
Blogging again from San Antonio...
We've got a lively discussion going on the blog about the idea of United touching down in Jefferson City, MO as it flies between Springfiled-Branson and Chicago O'Hare. Jeffcitylocal blogs these thoughts:
"The United Airlines flight between Springfield and Chicago that is operated by SkyWest flies right over the Jefferson City area. I would like to know if you think it is possible to create an en-route stop at the Jefferson City Airport? Currently the airport is not certified as a commercial airport and would only need a few upgrades if at all to handle commercial traffic since years ago it was served by a commercial carrier. Having 2-3 arrivals and 2-3 departures would I think is very practical to serve Jefferson City, the Lake Area, Columbia, other communities along the highways 50, 54, and 63 that all interchange next to the Jefferson City Airport . Would you mention this idea to some officials at the Springfield Airport and SkyWest to see if this can happen?"
Greg doesn't like this idea at all and responds, in part:
"Not trying to sound rude here, but we have few enough flights as it is and I hate having to change planes. I would have zero interest in having to stop in Jeff City en route. On top of that I doubt the airline would want to foot the bill for the extra cost to land and take off from Jeff City.
There's more to this exchange and you can read it here.
Jeffcitylocal...I understand where you're coming from. Essential Air Service is close to blowing the coup in Columbia and every other EAS market in the state. And I don't want to rain on your parade, however...
There's not a snow ball's chance that United will drop by MidMo on its way from Springfield-Branson to Chicago.
Greg mentioned one of the reasons: extra cost. Stopping in Jefferson City would burn a lot more fuel. With oil hovering around a hundred bucks a barrel, all the airlines burn as little fuel as possible. Here are some more reasons: 1) Your proximity to STL Lambert, KC International and the Springfield airport. From the airline's perspective, you just need to drive to one of those airports. 2) We (the Springfield airport) estimate average United load factors (percentage of sold seats) on the Springfield-Chicago route at more than 70 percent. That's on both 50 and 70 seat regional jets. I'd guess that the airline would have to charge hefty MidMo fares to make a Jeff City drop by worth its while. It would certainly be a lot more than the subsidized EAS fares out of Columbia. Would you be willing to pay them? 3) Stopping in MidMo would mandate bumping the arrival slots at O'Hare at least an hour later. Other United slots would have be be juggled to accommodate. That's not an easy thing to do at one of the most congested airports in the country. I could go on, but you get the idea.
I hope some of you can chuckle with me when you note the differences in how jeffcitylocal and Greg perceive the Springfield air market. People in MidMo would kill for our service. For Greg, Springfield "has few enough flights as it is." That's my lot in life...I can't please anybody!
Kent
As part of this discussion Rob wants to know why Springfield does not have direct service to the East and West Coasts...
There are several reasons and here are two of the most important:
- From the airline's perspective they don't need to give us that service because we already have destinations that provide one stop connections to each coast.
- Regional jets (RJs). Since the airlines are using RJs in small markets like ours, it makes it difficult for us to make the pitch for coastal service. Simply put, the airlines are very reluctant to use RJs on such long hauls. The West Coast in particular is near the end of their effective fuel range.
3 Comments
Reader Comments (3)
let me clarify a bit. I would love a nonstop flight to sw of the us. or the ny,philladelphia,dc area. I am happy with thwat we have, but just thought them idea of that humorous at the least. One thing I will comment on though is I would rather fly to a new destination like a jfk instead of having two flights 2 o'hare. I don't want to lose any, but I think you like I notice the big holes in our service to the west coast like california or phoenix and to the northeast like a boston, nyc, washington dc. I am very happy we have the service we do but as most folks feel, more would be better. I look at a city like greensboro who i know yes is bigger, but i hope that is something we can strive for in 5-7 yrs to get a low cost airline to make us the mo hub.
I also enjoy the amount of service we have here but would love a flight to one of the coast's. Does Springfield just not have the population for that kind of flight?
Ok, so doesn’t sound so good. It was just a thought. I understand what you said about the increase cost to the airline in fuel for another take off and landing en-route. The travel distance from Jeff city or Springfield is almost the same to KCI. That mileage distance from Springfield is also roughly the same to XNA, Tulsa, and soon Branson all within proximity to Springfield. However, if I had to guess the strongest argument against stopping in mid-Missouri would be the switch in departing and arrival times from ORD which could just be unaccommodating. After reading the previous post discussing airline breakeven points it’s a guess for me which way the additional passengers from mid-mo would tip the scales for a profit or loss. Do I still think it’s worth a shot? . . . well yeah, but it’s not up to me. If it would work out then great for everyone, if it doesn’t the airline will leave. It certainly would not be the first time it has happened to the area.
P.S.
I just don’t think EAS is working for us because the flights are on turboprops that don’t even fly out of state. I know that Cape Girardeau similar in size to Jefferson City got Delta service to Cincinnati, but on a turboprop. However, they pulled out within a month from what I heard had to do with other reasons company wide and not necessarily Cape Girardeau itself