Originally Posted by
wetsand
Far away from whom? Not I. Would welcome more JetBlue flights from both SNA and ONT. Could put a lid on the fares to Vegas. SoWest is the only airline to have direct Vegas flights out of SNA and ONT. Love to see that from JetBlue.
Of course, far is relative, especially in Southern California. If you're going to the OC then SNA is perfect. But if your business is in LA proper, such as on the west side, beach cities/Inglewood, or downtown, then SNA or ONT is 15-20 miles further away. Even LGB is a stretch when LAX is so close.
At some point the convenience & comfort factor tilts back to LAX, which is unfortunate as LAX is neither.
I admit, it totally depends on where you are and how far you're willing to drive. Since we're talking Mexico, I know plenty of people who will drive all the way to TIJ to fly Volaris domestic.
Originally Posted by sbm12
B6 cannot really grow more at LGB so the only way to increase the value of the operation is to get higher yielding fares. That's where the Mexico service was going to play a role. Without that the company is flying a bunch of intra-California stuff mostly at fares too low to be a good use of resources.
I love the terminal there and hope JetBlue comes up with a way to make it work. But without the ability to expand or to grow yields it is hard to see what the future is.
I would love higher value service out of LGB. The terminal is a beauty. I started flying in and out of LGB years ago when the "terminal" was a shack (still was better then, than T3 @ LAX is today)
Don't get me wrong, I like the regional destinations too, but given the limited number of takeoffs from LGB I'm surprised there's not more long-hauls. B6 used to go to ORD and IAD and AA to DFW. There's only one daily to BOS. Not even a whiff of a possibility of BNA (not wanting to challenge WN?).
I'm not familiar with the LGB noise restrictions but I was cautiously optimistic that eventual adoption of the A321neo could mean significant passenger volume growth @LGB (if not more routes) within the same noise envelope.