arkansas_buff

Ron Mathieu talked to Fox 16 about all that's on tap for the airport.

The airport website has an excellent pdf overview of the complete terminal renovation project. You'll find it here. There are some very intriguing images of what will essentially be a completely new terminal.

That's just awesome. Can't wait to see how this develops.

American Eagle will begin offering First Class service on their CRJ-700's to O'Hare and DFW beginning July 2nd. Full story here.

LIT is working to establish non stop service to LAX this year. Airport leaders will be meeting with at least one airline later this month. The full story is on Fox 16's website.

LIT has a brand new website! Looks sweet! www.fly-lit.com

This article lays out US Airways realignment plans--most of which includes cuts--but does add service from LIT to DCA in 2010.

Seems that the AA mainline service to DFW will begin in April '10. The change will mean a reduction in the number of daily departures from 12 to 7 (4 will be on MD-80's and 3 on 50-seat ERJ's). The total number of seats per day lost will be 22 from the current 740/day. The USA Today article is here.

By the way... did anyone comment on SAL resuming service from LIT to PHX? Happened in August I believe.

Great news! Thanks for the update. Did you hear that LIT received a $5 million grant to upgrade the closed circuit surveillance system? Apparently they are still using VCR's. Yikes! Full story here.

Has anyone seen this conceptual drawing of a new terminal at LIT? It was at the top of this MSNBC column by Rob Lovitt. It can also be seen in a paper from Gensler titled "The New Airport" (from May '09) on page 11. However, I don't know that it's anything more than a dream at this point. Anyone else have any insight?

Hot dog! That's good news!

Wouldn't a 27% pre-sale number be good for a condo development at this stage of the game... Since folks can't even move in until May (8 months away)? I'm not an expert, but this seemed like good news to me... especially in light of the housing situation nationwide.

Could the River Rail be carrying passengers to and from LIT within the next 2 to 3 years? The director of CATA seems to think so. Here's an interesting article on the plans to expand the River Rail to the airport. Highlights of the article include: -Designs from Jacobs Consultancy have RR stop just outside the terminal. -Metroplan has contracted with Fort Worth's URS Corporation to conduct a study. -First streetcar rolls to airport within 2 years of study's completion. -Shared cost between LR, NLR and Pulaski Co.

4th of July traffic at LIT was up over 15% compared to the same period last year. Less flights... more passengers. Like I mentioned before, the long-term outlook clearly shows that air travel will only increase in the future. This is just a short term bump. The markets will sort it out. Keep your chins up.

I'm not so sure actual passenger numbers are down (although perhaps slightly) so much as the airlines are simply cutting back the number of available seats in order to "tighten the belt" and remain/become profitable in spite of the rising cost of fuel. In fact, the 2008 forecast from the FAA is pretty bullish through 2025. You can read the report here. The report comments that, "in spite of these challenges, the number of passengers traveling has grown, demonstrating the value of air transportation to the public. Last year, that number was a record 765 million. U.S. commercial aviation is on track to carry one billion passengers by 2016. In addition, international traffic is growing at much faster rates than domestic traffic."

More info came out over the weekend regarding the pursuit of an international flight from MEX. You can read the AP story here. Apparently, an entourage from LR are in MEX right now exploring options and expanding opportunities. Thought is was interesting.

Check out this photo of the fireworks during RiverFest 2008!

That SE corner seems pretty isolated on Google Maps. The restaurant would be a great help for a hotel. I always enjoy a nice restaurant within walking distance of where I'm staying.

MEM has AirTran nonstop to MCO. Cheap, too.

Continental is adding 2 flights daily to Cleveland beginning May 4th. Both will use ERJ-145. 7:35 AM & 2:35 PM on departures. Flight time is approx. 1 hr 55 min.

This rendering can be found on the Travelerocity blogsite. It was from January '07. Sure would be nice.

From the looks of it, this can be easily seen from the I-30 bridge... tragic.

Just a quick, off-topic response to the Louisville, Memphis conversation. King Willie Harrington, mayor of Memphis, is currently pushing the 13-year-old proposal to consolidate the Shelby county governments. This would be great for Memphis, but terrible for Collierville, Germantown, Bartlett and the county as all the welfare recipients and Harrington backers in Memphis would be living off the tax dollars of those outside of Memphis. However, it's not gonna fly.

About a hundred people are moving to make way for the expansion of Little Rock National Airport. They live in the Hollinsworth Grove Housing Project at the corner of East 6th and Picron Streets. You can read the entire KTHV story here. Of course this is simply an update regarding old news. However, I believe KTHV is mistaken when they repeatedly say "new runway." I think what they mean is "runway extension," right?