JAX/JIA updates

[Steve]

New Airline for JAX announcement at 9AM tomorrow from the airport authority.

Curious who - they already announced Sun Country. Spirit I wouldn't count since Frontier and them are merging (that would be a crappy announcement).

Assuming this is a REAL new airline, then I'd say it's either Alaska or WestJet (low cost Canada airline).

[Charles Hunter]

Aeroflot? 

[jaxdan3]

I'm guessing Breeze

[blizz01]

Something a bit more international would be amazing....

[jaxlongtimer]

Air Canada coming back?  Oops, they missed the winter season .

[jaxdan3]

It's Breeze, flights to Columbus, Hartford, Vegas, New Orleans, Norfolk, Providence, and Richmond. 

[Steve]

Yep. Forgot about Breeze. Interesting mix of markets. I don't think they all will end up working, but it's a shot.

Still tragically allergic to crossing the Rocky Mountains at JAX

[jaxdan3]

Yep. Forgot about Breeze. Interesting mix of markets. I don't think they all will end up working, but it's a shot.

Still tragically allergic to crossing the Rocky Mountains at JAX

Sounds about right since smaller airports like Richmond and Charleston got San Francisco and Savannah got LAX.

[thelakelander]

Breeze it is:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2022/03/08/breeze-airways-new-flights/9347904002/

[Charles Hunter]

Business Journal: https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2022/03/08/jaa-breeze-airways.html?utm_source=st&utm_medium=en&utm_campaign=BN&utm_content=ja&ana=e_ja_BN&j=26950694&senddate=2022-03-08

Looks like the city will kick in $1 million for marketing.

The city is looking to commit $1 million to market seven new nonstop flights from Jacksonville International Airport to a range of cities, including Las Vegas — the top destination currently not served by the airport.

The cities that Breeze will serve from Jacksonville are Las Vegas; New Orleans; Columbus, Ohio; Providence, Rhode Island; Hartford, Connecticut; and Norfolk and Richmond, Virginia

"One single airline coming to town, announcing this many cities, it's never happened before," said Jacksonville Aviation Authority CEO Mark VanLoh. "...This was their biggest major city announcement they have ever done. And, trust me, there will be more."

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said he will introduce legislation that would see the city commit $1 million to market the Breeze routes to and from Jacksonville.

[JaxJersey-licious]

Could this be...an actual airline...not an imaginary one...is considering Jacksonville...as a FOCUS CITY?!?!

Great news for JAX but we really need to get those design plans up and running for Concourse B. My evening flight got seriously delayed because a mechanical issue that sidelined a plane in the morning had other planes scrambling for an open gate the rest of that day.

[Steve]

Concourse B plans are in design now....they're working. Personally I think they'd all agree it was a mistake to pause.

Breeze's model is more of the historic Southwest model - point to point routes versus more of a hub and spoke model.

[landfall]

This is fantastic news, it's all unserved or routes that are either low frequency or seasonal.

[ProjectMaximus]

There's not too much to Battle Creek, unfortunately, but it's close to a lot of cool places. Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids are fun cities, especially if you like craft beer and cider. In the summer we also spend a lot of time around South Haven on Lake Michigan. We love Detroit, it's very underrated IMO. I've never been too far north in MI but my family raves about Traverse City and the area around that. Frankly in the summer I don't think you can go wrong anywhere on the Lale Michigan side.

Thanks. I am quite fond of Detroit as well! The rest of Michigan is a puzzle to me though, because there are just soooo many small-midsized towns that get a ton of love. I don't really know how to break it down or take that first step of exploration. (I spent some time in St Joseph so have gotten a tiny taste)

[Charles Hunter]

JetBlue "suspending" the Jax/Newark route
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jetblue-flights-airline-to-cut-27-routes-this-summer/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab6i&linkId=158770405&fbclid=IwAR309ssSs3UVyIL7yO7LvcYaCgrpAlDrHkY8xigUCbUC46kXR0_bwDHrbOU