cmc722

I visited the airport today, as I found out there were two Frontier planes at the terminal. Flight 532 from Chicago was a little over an hour late, arriving at 3:40 this afternoon. Meanwhile, flight 930 from Detroit arrived 10 minutes earlier. I have to wonder how they were able to handle two nearly full planes arriving at the same time inside the small baggage claim area and the two full loads of passengers waiting to depart to Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale in the waiting area. There were no parking spots available (not even in the new parking lot). Some people even made their own parking spots in an unfinished section of the new parking lot.

It seems like Frontier's new routes are doing well.

Jerseyguy

Few updates on what is going on at TTN

Sky Lounge at Ewing Bar is now open for business
http://flic.kr/p/ebYtrE

Grab and Go food/beverage area is also open in the Observation area next to SkyLounge.
Items include Soda, Water, Gatorade. Local Papers and USA Today. Snacks and Candy Bars. Fresh Salads, Sandwiches, etc. Ham/Cheese Wrap about $8.50 (not horrible for airport pricing).
(Sorry no pictures)

Observation Area
http://flic.kr/p/ebSPiz
(Thats Yesterdays (4/16) Frontier 929 to DTW if anyone is wondering)

http://flic.kr/p/e9acLi


Frontier has 2 "Gates" on the tarmac for when 2 aircraft are there at the same time.

Gate 1 (See Gate 2 off to the left)
http://flic.kr/p/ebYtu3

Gate 2
http://flic.kr/p/ebYtjU

Yes, I saw. Apparently the airport wasn't too fond of it as they put up parking cones with police tape to block off the "spots" that weren't in use.

Earthlings

What kind of cars do they have at TTN Budget and Avis?

jonu

I assume this is all pre-security?

Does it appear it would be okay to bring outside food to the observation area?

Jerseyguy

Yes all is pre security and there is no reason to believe that outside food prohibited. Although tables are reserved for bar or grab and go customers only, so nothing that can't be eaten in chairs is advisable.

Jerseyguy

Didn't look but it appears that inventory is around 10-12 cars because that is the number of reserved spots

myleguy

Thanks, Jersey Guy for your postings on TTN details. I think it's an interesting experiment and I hope F9 succeeds there. I would think there will be some hard data coming out soon that will (I hope) confirm what seems like a successful operation so far.

Jerseyguy

Your welcome, I am very excited for this new service (maybe overly so) and really want this to succeed as it is close to my house and very convenient for me. It is a very easy 35 minute drive all highway and toll free while Newark is 1:15, half of which is on crowded roads with traffic lights. Philly is 1:30 but a much better ride mostly highway but has tolls.

I hope that the renovations to the terminal that they are rumored to be doing during the F9 suspension in September are adequate to avoid overcrowding and that they figure out a way to do TTN-DEN nonstop for all the connections that it would bring.

A big concern I have is that apparently there are scheduled times where there are 2 planes on the ground at once. The current configuration which will last through September is just not built for that many people arriving and departing. I hope that everything works out and passengers aren't turned off by the crowding.

davywavy

I think the traveling public may be more resilient than you credit - they may moan and groan a bit, but they'll put up with a lot for low fares and convenience.

And both the airport and the airline are very conscious of the constraints and both are getting voluminous feedback from the public.

TTN has had three tests: (i) would TTN-MCO work? (ii) Would TTN to other Florida work? (iii) Would TTN to anywhere other than Florida work?

I think we can be reasonably confident about (i) and (ii) and - for the summer - (iii). What happens after the summer with the non-Florida routes is anyone's guess. The anecdotal evidence is that ATL is the leader of the pack - somewhat to my surprise - but could that sustain in winter?

Equally, I'm not sure how much traffic there would be from/to RDU or CMH in deep winter.

I think there will always be Florida - and perhaps more than we have now - while the rest may be more seasonally adjusted.

Just a guess. :-)

jonu

Thanks from me, too, Jerseyguy. Looking forward to my first trip this Friday. I am only 15 minutes away, so this will be great, especially for family/personal travel. Let me know if anyone has any other questions, and I will do my best to answer them.

My biggest concern right now is parking. When I stopped by last Saturday AM, it is clear that the overflow remote lot does get some use. This is going to compel me to get there sooner than I would have without the parking concerns. At least I know now, thanks to Jerseyguy, that there is a decent place to get some food and hang out. Having been to the old restaurant there before it closed, there is quite a lot of space there.

rtalk25

I have to imagine that with the flight times for TTN-RDU (6:30am departure), maybe one of the local companies will have employees using it?

If F9 wanted a more leisure friendly route in the Carolinas, I'd suggest TTN-CHS. Charleston is supposedly nice for leisure, golf appeal, more coastal, and more south than Raleigh for warmer weather, necessary in January and February.

It's also 3 hours to Charlotte and 4 hours to Raleigh, 2 to Myrtle, so one could fly TTN-CHS, rent a car in CHS and drive elsewhere in North or South Carolina.

I was checking usairways.com fares and PHL-CHS seems to be $651 r/t next month. I think it's definitely a route that could see stimulation. Boston and New York/JFK have jetBlue flying into CHS, and DC has Southwest via BWI, but Philly has no low fare carrier to CHS.

TTN-CMH and TTN-DTW timings look more leisure oriented. I'm not sure how TTN-CMH will be viable given that few will go to Columbus for leisure unless they are VFR. Maybe it'd cancel it in favor of more TTN-DTW or TTN-MDW service.

Jerseyguy

Wow 15 minutes thats GREAT!!! Yeah, you may have to use the remote lot, so yeah its advisable to leave some extra time. Though you may get lucky when I was there Yesterday, there were a number of parking spaces available in both the main and new lot.

I would say don't go thru security till close to your boarding time listed on the boarding pass because security won't take that long and make sure to check for delays via your cellphone because its probably going to be crowded in the post security area. Also reminder NO BATHROOMS past security (also no exit from security you need to ask a security guard to get out via the Baggage claim area) so go before you go thru security. Bathrooms are near the SkyLounge Bar and right next to the Budget/Avis counter in the lobby. Also observation area and SkyLounge Bar aren't well marked they are up the flight of stairs in the lobby closest to the Frontier ticket counter.

I hope you are right. I'm glad to hear that they are recieving feedback


Yeah, I'm surprised to hear about ATL too, though Newark doesn't have LCC service to Atlanta. I would have thought MDW would have been #1 but I do agree about RDU/CMH. Also DTW unless there is some VFR traffic I don't know about.

davywavy

It's America - everyone has an opinion, and isn't shy of voicing it.

But look on the bright side - crowding at TTN is only a problem if the planes are full. :-)

Jerseyguy

Well, yes except in America, usually the person one voices their opinion to is not the person who its about (or the business its about). Usually people just tell friends and family, perhaps put it on the internet but never tell the business.

davywavy

I can't speak for other airlines, but s long as Ive been aware of Frontier - fifteen years - I've known that the feedback from the traveling public has been enormous.

Then social media came along and bumped it up even more.