Sammy00

Ditto...I got out of class in the WCOB about 30 min's ago. The little place in the Walker Building is not very impressive. It's pretty much a cheap sandwich place...although the prices aren't cheap. I can't believe there are no computer labs in the new buildings. The ones in the WCOB are most always PACKED during the day.

It's true. There will also be a Mexican restaurant. It's under construction now.

Sounds like your solution lies about 50 miles to the north.

If the aiport has customs, why is it not "Little Rock International Airport." It's not a big deal, but adds a little to the perception.

Sorry, I guess I totally missed out on this, what exactly will the "Art District" entail?

Very strange, but great for the state. Not only do they serve as many cities as LIT, they offer MD-80s to Dallas and Chicago (which often near or exceed sell outs).

I just got back from Ann Arbor, Michigan a few weeks ago, and while I realize they are a larger city than Fayetteville, the downtown is amazing. Their Dickson Street is State Street, just off the Michigan campus, and it serves as the main vessel to an entire 3 blocks of great bars, restaurants, shops, ice cream parlors, theaters, etc... While State Street is great, there is no drop off when walking two streets over. Urban Outfitters (which is in an old theater, pretty cool), two Starbucks, HUGE Steve and Barney's UofM store, old school movie theater (complete with organ players and gold dome ceiling), and all the unique, local stores you would expect. I know it's a bit of a stretch, but I would love to see something like that happen around here someday. -- On a side note, anyone know where to get those "Keep Fayetteville Funky" stickers for your car? --

I honestly don't know how many more cities XNA can handle before more gates are added. We have planes sit on the runway for 20 minutes sometimes because there is nowhere to put it. AA/AE has gotten to where they will park two planes at one gate and just have the passengers walk up to it. They need to get that new concourse going, because they need it as soon as possible. Is it true the concourse will provide a total of 12 actual gates when finished ? I've heard conflicting reports on that...

Definately because of WalMart. But I do believe that every metro with about 500,000 people, like Northwest Arkansas, requires an airport.

He didn't give a time frame for Boston or Las Vegas. Even if AA does want to add a flight to LV, I think someone will beat them to the punch. Sounded like it was in line after Boston. He also didn't say Boston and LV definitively. Just tossed those two out there as possibilities. I also asked him if the airport would be adding a low cost carrier soon, and of course, being an AA guy, he gave me a shrugg of the shoulders. --- Also, the guy that is training me seems to be extremely worried about available space for flights in the future. Said he is worried about the airport being too small after September, which is when they will add another flight to Chicago, LaGuardia, and LA, along with the new DCA flight. He said the new concourse can't get done soon enough. I don't know if he is overreacting, or if it's reality. --- If you guys were wondering, I'm a junior at the UofA right now, and just began working part-time as a Station Agent for AA.

Talked to the head American Airlines guy at XNA today about future flights: Raleigh/Durham will be next, if everything goes to plan. And "most likely" Boston or Las Vegas will be after that. I was very surprised today to see how many people flyout out of XNA with Boston as there final destination.

Yeah, I'll ask them about that, I was kind of wondering the same thing. I was actually talking to a flight attendant today, and I asked her if she enjoyed visiting our airport and how it compared with others. And, of course, she said it was small, but she also said that she could not believe how busy it was and how many direct flights we had. She said she had never been to an airport as small as ours that serves as many people and destinations. I couldn't tell you. I was thinking you guys could help it make sense to me.

Well, today was my first day working with American Airlines out at XNA, and throughout the day I was able to find out a few little things here and there. Some of these things might have already been posted, I didn't check: The next direct flight they are hoping to add (besides DCA which starts in September) will be to RDU (Raleigh-Durham International) which they hope to have in place by December. This September, along with the new DCA flight, they will be adding additional flights to LaGuardia, Chicago, and LA. The new concourse is in the planning process. And they hope to have another runway under construction within the next 10 years (a little surprised by this one). American is also in the process of hiring 40 additional workers to handle current traffic, and future traffic created by more flights. -- This is just American Airlines/American Eagle. I don't know about the other airlines and what they are planning. If you guys want me to ask anything, I'd be more than happy to.

I bet my burn center can beat your burn center...

Little Rock is certainly not world renowned in the medical field to the scale of Houston, however, it is very well known by many throughout the nation, and you're a little off by saying you would "certainly not consider Little Rock." If you recall, there was a mini-series ABC ran nationally about 2 years ago following Little Rock Children's Hospital doctors. It is one of the largest pediatric centers in the nation and was voted as one of the Top 10 in America. It's probably most famous for its burn center. UAMS is well received as well. This hospital alone has a $5 billion impact on the Arkansas economy. It is immense and is undergoing another huge expansion right now. So, while not world renowned like Houston, you could get by with saying nationally renowned. The potential is there.

I know I've got some strong political opinions, and I'm sure some of you guys do too. So how about we get back to the growth of Benton and Bryant before this gets any deeper ?

Alert: I'm a student at the UofA right now, and I finally found me a summer job -- Station Agent for American Airlines at XNA. So you guys better be careful and keep me happy, or I'll have to send your luggage 3000 miles in the wrong direction.

It should also be noted that Benton handed out Saline County's first liquor license to Dizzy's Grill, a local favorite. Hopefully this will continue and Benton will begin to draw a few better restaurants. It will probably be a dry county forever, but this is a start.

Sounds good, thanks for the info. I'm hoping the expanded ticket counter will draw a low cost carrier soon.

That is a good point. I thought about that, but I wasn't sure that would make a $200 difference. If/When XNA lands a low cost carrier, how many flights do you think we'll lose offered by American?

Could someone please explain why a roundtrip ticket through American Airlines from LIT to DFW is $200 cheaper than an American Airlines ticket from XNA to DFW? I know they can jack prices at XNA because of the business and everything, but 200 bucks?!?!?!?

Wow. Considering the size of our airport, I can't believe it offers 18 different destinations. By the time the new concourse is done they will really be needing it.

Maybe this has already been posted and I just missed it, but I saw on the Little Rock board that XNA has added DCA (Washington National) to it's list of destinations.

Thanks for the info. Wish it was further along...but these things take time.

What is the progress on the 412 bypass? I haven't lived in Fayetteville for too long, and really haven't been following this project too closely.