JAX/JIA updates

[thelakelander]

Very much so - though I'm jealous of Nashville as their growth (not mentioned in the article) is part of Delta making Nashville a "Focus City", where JAX's growth is mainly due to Low Cost Carriers. To me that makes Nashville's a little more secure in the long run.

Nashville's become a sort of red neck Vegas of the east.   It's it's own wonderful thing in many ways, too.  The result is a butt ton of O/D traffic disproportionate to the city's population.   Southwest Airlines already has a hub there.

As for driving to Orlando, I can understand doing it.  I don't want my grandma to have to switch planes when she comes and visits and MCO is the best choice for that.

As for cost, I'd be curious what their actual costs are.  A lot of people focus on certain aspects of pricing but not the total picture.    The problem I have with Orlando is that to fly out you either get a flight later in the day because you have 2 1/2 hr drive + 2 hours checkin before flight + 20 minutes remote parking or you get a hotel overnight.  For a noon flight I need to be in the car by 7am to make sure I don't get caught up in traffic in JAX.  And I'll probably hit some in Orlando.

Maybe they're lured by the pricing Frontier, Spirit and others provide.  When you start comparing apples to apples those prices aren't always so cheap.     They're good for some folks in some situations.  From my experience though a lot of folks aren't good at making sure they're comparing the same thing nor pricing in risk nor pricing in driving nor pricing in their time.


Question - Does anyone who drives to MCO.  Do you prefer to vear off of I95 onto I-4 and go through Orlando?  Or do you take I95 down to Cocoa and then FL528 straight across?

I fly out of JAX, MCO or TPA, depending on a lot of factors. Price (especially if buying for several people), if the flight is direct (I rather do a 3 hour direct flight than an 11 hour, 2 stop flight), and where I'm heading to the airport from or need to be the day after my return (I also work in Central Florida) all play an important role in my decision making process. I've mastered MCO now and I avoid checking bags, so for me it's pretty easy to get in and out of. Actually, these days, most airports are easy to get through. Atlanta is the one, I still avoid like a plague.

If traveling from JAX, I take I-95 to 417 to drop the vehicle off and then a shuttle via 528 to 436 and to the airport terminal. If the trip is for work, I park in the garage any airport terminal and expense it back to the company. Time is money to me, so driving to MCO to take a flight generally means I want a direct international flight and the JAX option means having to deal with long or multiple layovers. I rarely do it for price these days. Fares for the places I go in the US tend to be pretty competitive between the airports and when airfare is cheaper at the other airports, by the time you drive, pay for gas, parking, food, etc., things equal out.

[Steve]

Related to our airport:

- Apparently HMS won (again) the RFP to be the concessionaire at the airport
- Southern Grounds is opening in Concourse A - Right now there are three retail bays occupied by Brooks Brothers and Brighton. They're going down to 2 and Southern Grounds will take the remaining one. Opening later in 2020.
- Once Concourse B opens (looks like late 2022 at this point), BurgerFi will open in there.

[JAX_ASD]

Hey Steve - Southern Grounds is actually going right next to Gate A4, across from Ciao. The BurgerFi location was originally slated to go in one of the vacated retail spots you mentioned, but is now rolled into the Concourse B construction.

[Sonic101]

I welcome any place past security that offers more breakfast options.

[Steve]

Hey Steve - Southern Grounds is actually going right next to Gate A4, across from Ciao. The BurgerFi location was originally slated to go in one of the vacated retail spots you mentioned, but is now rolled into the Concourse B construction.

Good to know-thanks!

[JaxAvondale]

Alaska Airlines is joining One World.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/13/alaska-airlines-american-partner-for-international-flights-from-west-coast.html


Interesting moves between Delta and American.

[Snaketoz]

Interesting story link.  Is Jacksonville being considered? https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/08/jetblue-founders-new-airline-breeze-to-boost-midsize-cities-service.html?__twitter_impression=true&recirc=taboolainternal

[Steve]

Interesting story link.  Is Jacksonville being considered? https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/08/jetblue-founders-new-airline-breeze-to-boost-midsize-cities-service.html?__twitter_impression=true&recirc=taboolainternal

If he's considering 500 city pairs and targeting mid-sized cities, there's no way JAX is NOT being considered at some level.

I do find this airline strategy interesting. Basically it's JetBlue but focused on Midsized cities. I'm assuming the competition will be Allegiant and Spirit?

[Steve]

Alaska Airlines is joining One World.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/13/alaska-airlines-american-partner-for-international-flights-from-west-coast.html


Interesting moves between Delta and American.

Look at this as American firing back at Delta for Delta stealing American's South American Mistress, LATAM. Alaska was enjoying their time bouncing between dates but not putting on the ring. Looks like it's time for them to settle down!

American is definitely making their move and from a competition perspective it's fun to watch. AA's biggest challenge is profitability and streamlining their operations (still too many hiccups at this point). American in the northwest is like United in the southeast - nonexistent. The nonstop from SEA to Bangalore is clearly targeted at the tech community and could be a winner. The London addition also is targeted at Delta and could work very well considering their partnership with British Airways.

They do have to deal with some regulatory issues stemming from Alaska's purchase of Virgin America and those issues would likely prevent anything more than an alliance between the carriers - don't wait for an announcement that American is buying Alaska.

JAX should definitely look to see if there's opportunities there for them to take advantage of, but at this point SeaTac is bursting at the seams. Probably no more major expansion until they finish their terminal project (which I believe is slated to be early 2021).

Side note, I still don't get what United is doing in all of this. They've made ZERO play for the southeast, which is their biggest weakness the fastest growing part of the country. It makes no sense.

At the end of the day, I'm holding onto my Delta stock. Still room to go for them.

[jsjax37]

According to this Wikipedia entry, JAX does seem to be in the mix.  I also think that I have seen JAX mentioned in one other article regarding Breeze, but can't remember where.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeze_Airways

[Charles Hunter]

From the linked wiki

Breeze will offer point-to-point service between secondary airports, potentially including;[11][5]

    Austin–Bergstrom International Airport
    Boston Logan International Airport
    Fort Worth Meacham International Airport
    Gary/Chicago International Airport
    Hartford Bradley Airport
    Hollywood Burbank Airport
    Lehigh Valley International Airport
    Jacksonville International Airport
    Long Island's Islip Airport and Farmingdale/Republic Airport
    MidAmerica St. Louis Airport
    Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport
    Oakland International Airport
    Ontario International Airport
    Orlando Sanford International Airport
    Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport
    Providence T.F. Green Airport
    Scranton International Airport
    Sarasota Bradenton International Airport
    Seattle-Tacoma Airport
    St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport

Where would we like to fly?
Where do we think they will fly?

[ProjectMaximus]

From the linked wiki

Breeze will offer point-to-point service between secondary airports, potentially including;[11][5]

    Austin–Bergstrom International Airport
    Boston Logan International Airport
    Fort Worth Meacham International Airport
    Gary/Chicago International Airport
    Hartford Bradley Airport
    Hollywood Burbank Airport
    Lehigh Valley International Airport
    Jacksonville International Airport
    Long Island's Islip Airport and Farmingdale/Republic Airport
    MidAmerica St. Louis Airport
    Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport
    Oakland International Airport
    Ontario International Airport
    Orlando Sanford International Airport
    Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport
    Providence T.F. Green Airport
    Scranton International Airport
    Sarasota Bradenton International Airport
    Seattle-Tacoma Airport
    St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport

Where would we like to fly?
Where do we think they will fly?

Well...this is from the source that was cited in your quote from wiki:

Possible city pairs include Seattle to Jacksonville or Hartford, or Austin to Boston, which Ozores says are "thinner routes that don't have direct service today."

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/all-of-the-details-we-have-on-david-neelemans-new-domestic-airline

So that's where they got Jax from, because of this one brief mention. And heck yes I'd take a nonstop to Seattle.

[Steve]

The thing is, this is based on the Airbus A220, which they're planning on buying. It's economics were actually designed around "long, thin, transcontinental routes. Said a different way: when Delta was running JAX-LAX, they used a 737-800. For them, that was about the smallest plane they had that could serve the route.....and it held 160 people.

The A220 can handle that range with no issues, and holds 109 people on Delta's config.

Personally, I don't see JAX-SEA in our future, but I'd love to be wrong!

[JaxAvondale]

A Jax to Ontario flight would be awesome. That is a good flight for people who want to drive to Vegas as well. Straight shot once you hop on I-15 leaving the airport.

[Snaketoz]

I'd like to see cities such as Daytona, Pensacola, Gainesville, Savannah, Tallahassee, Panama City, etc., be routed thru JAX instead of CLT or ATL.  It would be preferable to those cities as well as JAX.  With the new concourse coming online about the same time as Breeze, it would work out well.