Considering that a couple of years ago RFD was offering very generous rebates to fly from there instead of CHI, isn't that mine tapped out? RFD-CDG on a NW B fare for $199 (that got my upgraded to WBC) was one of the best flying deals I ever got.
It's actually one of the largest cargo airports, by volume, in the nation. Consistently ranks in the top 30. It also has non-stop service to Denver, Orlando, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa (PIE), as well as limited charter service to CUN.
So yes, there's an airport and they have demonstrated demand; at least to the extent of getting passengers. Whether there's demand for the kind of service airport officials are dreaming of is yet to be seen. They talk of bringing in charters from Europe using RFD as a "backdoor" to Chicago. I don't see this happening, as European tourists are going to wonder why they have to drive for an hour, passing ORD, to get to Chicago proper.
As an alternative to ORD for people in the northwest suburbs and south-central Wisconsin, that's the potential gold mine. But it's probably more along the lines of a silver or bronze mine.
I was surprised that Skybus opted to serve MKE over Rockford
Before Skybus announced any destinations that they intended to fly to from Columbus, they announced that they weren't going to fly to Chicago or Las Vegas. I speculated at the time that they were trying to tell Rockford to leave them alone. For some reason, your post brought that back to the front of my mind.
Anyway, my favorite line from the article linked to in the op is "Parking lots would replace parking lots." Does anyone have any idea what that's supposed to mean?
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“I believe that we are going to be the third regional airport” for Chicago, said Mike Dunn, chairman of the Greater Rockford Airport Authority board.
Hey, Mr. Dunn, have you given any consideration to the people who live in, and travel to, Rockford? After all, the airport's busiest year is still 1991, when Allegiant didn't even exist, and all the flights went to Chicago (for some reason, I doubt that there were many people from Chicago who drove to Rockford just to fly to Chicago, but I could be wrong).
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It’s going for smaller operations, such as Myrtle Beach Direct Air and Kenny Tours, which wants to serve Ireland from Rockford.
Is this the same outfit that wanted to tap the lucrative Rockford-Romania market utilizing 757's, or is this a different outfit who wants to tap the lucrative Rockford-Shannon market?
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It’s looking at Southwest, JetBlue, Frontier, Skybus and other fast-growing low-cost carriers looking for new markets.
Okay, Skybus is in MKE, Southwest and JetBlue have stopped just short of telling RFD to piss off, and, if memory serves, Frontier was the mysterious 'Airline Z' a few years ago that wanted to fly to Denver before Hooters air flew that route. So, the question is, what fast-growing low-cost carriers are left? Difficulty: must be US based carriers (sorry, easyJet!)
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“What we have to do is some strong cherry-picking and create some interest in the airport,” Executive Director Bob O’Brien said. “If we are able to land the Shannon, Ireland, operation, it shows to others across the Atlantic that we’re a back door to Chicago.”
The first thing that comes to my mind is the opening sequence to the Josie and the Pussycats movie. I hate my brain sometimes. That said, who are these "others across the Atlantic"?
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Airline consultant Joel Chusid said Rockford should target newer carriers, such as Skybus and Virgin America, that either won’t look at Chicago’s airports or wouldn’t have growth opportunities there. But, he said, the risk is that those airlines need to prove that they’ll be around for the long haul.
I just did some quick research on this Joel Chusid character, and visiting his website is like taking a trip back to 1997, sans <blink>. Would you trust a consultant whose website is hosted on Angelfire?
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Airport officials would need to share the risk with airlines through revenue guarantees and other incentives, (airline industry analyst Darryl) Jenkins said.
Kinda like the endless revenue guarantees/subsidies that United is currently receiving?
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O’Brien disagrees, though, that the airport needs a legacy carrier’s hub to reach its goals. He cites Orlando Sanford International Airport, which has around 2 million passengers a year mainly through smaller carriers and charters coming to Walt Disney World.
Wait, so Bob O'Brien thinks that people are going to fly to Rockford from Shannon to go to Walt Disney World? Or does O'Brien think that there is something near RFD that will make more than 2 million people want to fly to Rockford? Maybe there is a market for bringing Romanian tourists to sites where people sit on top of gas stations with bullhorns to convince people to donate money to an airline that won't identify itself?
Is this the same outfit that wanted to tap the lucrative Rockford-Romania market utilizing 757's, or is this a different outfit who wants to tap the lucrative Rockford-Shannon market?
Actually, it was Hungary, not Romania. There's a big difference between Budapest (Hungary) and Bucharest (Romania). That being said, it was a ludicrous notion either way. It was not, however, an "outfit" that brought up the idea. It was your friendly neighborhood Congressman, Don Manzullo.
However, I'm not sure you can so easily lump the Shannon flights in the same boat. There is a strong, deep market for travel between the US and Ireland, in both directions. Whether a RFD-SNN flight would work is pure speculation. With proper marketing, frequencies, and aircraft type it might be possible.
"Next week tickets will reportedly go on sale for non-stop service between "RFD" (The Chicago Rockford Int'l Airport) and Shannon, Ireland. The service will be twice weekly, departing RFD on Thursdays and Sundays. Travelers will be able to purchase "air only" as well as "packages". Kenny Tours, which is renowned on the east coast for charter programs such as this, is sponsoring the charter program. The first departure leaves RFD on Thursday, June 26, 2008. The last return trip will be on September 4th. The service will be provided on Boeing 757 aircraft, featuring 200 seats."
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fairviewroad
This is from the RFD newsletter:
"Next week tickets will reportedly go on sale for non-stop service between "RFD" (The Chicago Rockford Int'l Airport) and Shannon, Ireland. The service will be twice weekly, departing RFD on Thursdays and Sundays. Travelers will be able to purchase "air only" as well as "packages". Kenny Tours, which is renowned on the east coast for charter programs such as this, is sponsoring the charter program. The first departure leaves RFD on Thursday, June 26, 2008. The last return trip will be on September 4th. The service will be provided on Boeing 757 aircraft, featuring 200 seats."
