What the $!#(*$@#*( is up with MFE??

Ok, the entire world is going RJ. Even IAH-MKE is on a d@mn junglejet! CRP gets one-two mainline flights a day, some RJ's and then a buncha stinkin ATRs. So, WHAT IS UP WITH MFE (McAllen!?) EVERY flight is on mainline equipment!!! The frequency isn't quite what CRP is but I'd trade off the frequency to have all mainline flights!

Yes, so is EWR-MKE. I refuse to fly it... I've flown into ORD and rented a car. I guess my other option is NW, but I haven't looked at their schedule or equipment...

Kanebear, congratulations on the recent matrimonials.

In any event, I have to disagree with you on this one. I'd rather have the frequency than the mainline flights to CRP. I really miss the 5:25 p.m. flights -- which let me get off work an hour early to go to CRP for hockey games and other events. Now the choices are 3:50 and 7:10 p.m. departures.

I also miss the 10:00 p.m. departure -- which had allowed an extra hour or two on weekend trips.

Anyway, what's up with MFE is no WN (or, for that matter, DL) and about 250,000 metro area population (similar to CRP's 300,000)--and business travelers from Houston have no choice but to fly because of the extra distance.

I bet we could get more flights into CRP by turning U.S. 59 into a two-lane with stop signs at every county road. Do you think TxDOT will cooperate?

Come to the light.... come to the light.... Once that new terminal opens this weekend at DTW, this biggest problem with flying NW will be removed. Elite upgrades, full size jets going to full size cities...




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Bad Gordon!

No Freddie for you!

I wish I had time to do justice to this reply, but running to a meeting.....

What is up with MFE?? MTY!!

MTY is the 3rd (2nd?) largest city in Mexico-- fares to MTY are HIGH!! It's about a 2 hour drive by tollway from MTY to MFE, so many, many MTY fliers drive to MFE, aprk at the airport for free (!) and fly MFE-IAH-The World.

The Southwest effect has a greater impact on local Valley (US side) originating traffic-- for them, the drive to HRL for a few bucks savings is worth it. However, for MTY folks, they're already saving a hundred or two by driving 2 hours MTY-MFE.... the extra 45 min drive to HRL may not be worth the added time/effort to save another $50. (What is that economics principle-- economies of scale? Can't remember from Econ 101... somebody give me a pizza example )

MTY is a hard market, fare wise: lots of business travelers... always a shrimp cold plate in F and sandwich in Y on the 40 min flight. Even with the plane 1/2 full, IAH-MTY is a cash cow. Don't know if CO will ever switch to all RJs for MTY.... losing a F cabin will mean losing high yield passengers.

My background for speaking: I lived in MTY for 12 months, and have made at least 20 flights to/from the area.... half of which I flew into MFE and took the bus to save $$... and I fall into the category of people who are content with saving $$ by using MFE vs. MTY, and HRL isn't worth the added inconvenience.

Thanks for the analysis V-J. I like getting background like you provided.

Thanks V-J. I'd wondered if it had something to do with cross border traffic and now I know that's EXACTLY what it is. An unrelated question : Is it easier to drive to MTY from MFE than LRD? I'd always gone through LRD. I never knew there was an autopista cuota from MFE as well! As far as the one from LRD, I'd always thought that road was unpatrolled. Found out the hard way that it IS patrolled when I flew past a patrolla at 220 KM/H.

[This message has been edited by kanebear (edited 02-19-2002).]

Turning 59 back into a 2-laner with stopsigns everywhere... imagine driving through Refugio... for 300 miles. AAAAAGH! I'd fly every time! I don't know anyone at TxDOT but I do know one of the DPS commissioners, maybe I can have her put a ton of officers between CRP and VCT?? Not quite the same effect but it'd still slow people down enough to make a difference.

Oh yeah, thanks! It's been interesting getting used to married life.



[This message has been edited by kanebear (edited 02-19-2002).]

Speaking of LRD, they recently made the leap to regional jet service:

Friendlier skies
Regional jet service finally takes flight in Laredo

Interesting thing in a related article: BRO has a "jet support sales tax" to subsidize CO service to that city. At least at one point in the past (I'm not sure about now), AMA had such a tax in effect to subsidize AA service.

I wonder how many other cities utilize such taxes -- and is it worth paying for empty 737 seats every time you buy a pizza or rent a movie?

Someone very close to me was intimately involved with the airline negotiations back when the airlines were cutting jet service and communities statewide were screaming their heads off over it. Had we not acted, CRP would've become prop-only, except for WN!

CO pledged to keep mainline service into CRP and has kept their promise. WN promised the same (as if they had a choice ) and AA (or rather Bob "Butthead" Crandall) pledged to keep at least some jet service here, then reneged and demanded a concession from CRP. They wanted something on the order of $1 million a year to keep jets here. Our representative told 'em to kiss our collective a$$ and we'd get along just fine with CO and WN thankyouverymuch. And we have. Sure 'nuff, AA came back in with RJs and ONLY RJs after their passenger traffic out of CRP dropped off the face of the earth. Seems no one here much liked flying props!

[This message has been edited by kanebear (edited 02-19-2002).]

Yes, the road from MTY to MFE (Reynosa) is a flat, straight shot, whereas the road to Nuevo Laredo has more hills and mountains-- not a bad drive, but still it adds time. As the crow flies, MTY to Reynosa is _as far_ as to Nuevo Laredo-- I swear, no more than 10 miles difference.

Another factor is the bridge crossing time-- a very unpredictable, potentially time consuming factor. The Reynosa bridge has less trans-border traffic than the Laredo I-35 bridge.... the downtown Laredo bridge can have long lines, too. The Colombia bridge (just W of Laredo) is empty, but it takes skill to find the bridge-- that will change soon when the MTY-Colombia tollway opens. Colombia is mainly a cargo crossing now, but has tons and tons of capacity.

As an illustration of fares, just check out Dream Maps from MTY... you're hard pressed to fly to anywhere in the US for under $400 round trip. Add to this $80 in international taxes. Suddenly, $275 fares from MFE look attractive, and additional effort to go to HRL for $50 savings doesn't seem very worth it to many MTY folks.

Many MTY people know where the MFE airport is, even if they haven't flown before. Why?? "The Mall." Ask anyone in the Valley for directions to "The Mall" and you will end up at the large regional mall in MFE-- which is literally across the street from the free airport parking lot and 2 blocks from the terminal. Many people from northeastern Mexico travel to McAllen on weekends to go shopping for things that cost less in the US: usually electronics like TVs, DVDs, laptops, stereos, as well as some groceries and random things from Target. Why drive 2 hours from MTY to buy groceries and random things at Target?? Part of the reason is because some prices are lower, quality is higher, and/or more options are available. Part of the reason is the snob factor: something of a status statement is made by using US manufactured products (shampoo, toothpaste, etc) than equivalent products from Mexico. How does this relate to FlyerTalk?? MTY folks know where MFE airport is since it is adjacent to familiar MFE shopping areas, so they feel comfortable finding their way to the airport. HRL is in an unknown area (most MTY folks don't head east of MFE city) so that creates another barrier.

Another topic for another day is the snob factor regarding airline choice for fliers out of MTY..... generally, a person is thought to be world class if they fly AA.... CO is 2nd runner up. WN is a budget airline-- out of the question. Don't admit you flew them. TW was an unknown quantity among MTY fliers, and thus, they floundered in drawing passengers to their 1-stop flight to STL last year.

Stop me if I'm getting off topic.... But if you want to know more about this transportation dynamic in South Texas/Northeast Mexico, post and let me know.

*LOL* I know EXACTLY which mall you speak of... I've driven up and down US-83 many a time... it's amazing how drastically on the short drive between BRO and MFE things change. It's good to know about driving through MFE vs. LRD, next time I head down to MTY I'll drive that way! You're right about the bridge traffic in Laredo... Bridge I is normally the worst, I'll head over to the second bridge but even it gets bad. The Reynosa bridge is much easier as when traffic backs up in LRD it has no place to go, it's back onto the freeway or through downtown!

Thanks for all the info I don't come down that often but when I do, the more time I can spend in MTY the better!

kanebear, have you looked much at fares into MTY vs. MFE? Maybe you understand what I'm talking about... whether buying a ticket or using miles, the price difference ($$ or 15K miles) is hard to swallow for the extra 120 miles..... so yeah, only on rare occasions do I treat myself for a flight into MTY (plus a $20 cab into the city) vs. going to MFE, walking 2 blocks, and riding the bus a couple hours.

[This message has been edited by Viajero Joven (edited 02-21-2002).]

Talk about taking your own medicine.....

16 hours after I posted above, I was on a plane en route to Monterrey by way of San Antonio going, and Laredo coming back. I flew from Laredo this morning.

I did the bus from Texas into MTY to save the extra 15K miles, but it was a grueling trip. My experience today was the first leaving from Laredo, and I can say the airport was a little more out of the way than the McAllen Airport for someone not familiar with the city, i.e. a flyer from MTY. For the record, LRD has free parking, too, but CO Express flies props to IAH-- not even Jungle Jets. Thus, I as a flyer with the option of Express from LRD or mainline jet from MFE would choose MFE hands down.

So why didn't I choose MFE for this trip? It was easier to find a bus from MTY to arrive LRD by 4am to make the 5:30 flight.

There's just something about McAllen.....

So there I am, sitting at my desk, when all of a sudden, a McAllen government official falls out of the sky onto my desk.

OK, not quite.

But the director of the Hidalgo County planning department flew in yesterday to give a talk on work they are doing. He presented just down the hall from my office. I stopped in to listen-- it was pretty interesting. I started to ask about traffic congestion on 10th Street and on Pecan--- they saw I really knew what I was talking about.

Well, they showed a video of the area-- the mall is called La Plaza Mall, on 10th St. at US 83, 2 blocks from the MFE airport.

Just in case you wanted to know.

[This message has been edited by Viajero Joven (edited 02-28-2002).]