Tourism in GR

[snoogit]

Is the success of the smaller players predicated on not having any hubs and only flying direct? How much more is it worth it to you guys to fly direct? I'd pay $30-50 dollars more, would that be high or low compared to the rest of you?

well nm according to orbitz, they can be cheaper

non stop GRR to LAS (Las Vegas) on NW is $466 one stop is $491, and 2+ is $564

[MJLO]

I think that Making GRR a hub would do wonders for the Metro and the Airport, I think we could capatalize on some of the business we lose to some of the smaller regional airports around us, ie, Lansing, Kzoo, and Muskegon.

[WOT]

would Jet Blue give us a competive edge? I don't know that much about them, I know they are nowhere near as big as Southwest, But if they have connections to places that I want to go, and are cheaper than Northwest (not that it would be hard) I'd probabally cry tears of joy.

Jet Blue is / has become almost a "BRAND" just like Starbucks. It has created an almost cult like following and customer base that is fanatical about it's loyalty to JB. I would venture to guess you would pull in some east side of the state biz and maybe northern Indiana biz as well just to fly Jet Blue. If GRR ever were able to lure JB here, that in of itself would make people outside the region take notice.

[Greedo]

much more is it worth it to you guys to fly direct?

Not only is it more valuable to fly direct out of GRR, but equally if not more valuable for direct flights INTO GRR. I work with a lot of NY-ers and that's a huge setback for getting people to visit the area.

As soon as they hear they have to transfer in Cincinnati, Chicago, or the D, they think twice about coming.

A JetBlue hub would be outstanding. Direct flights to Kennedy and Long Beach, you couldn't ask for more.

[GR8scott]

How much more is it worth it to you guys to fly direct? I'd pay $30-50 dollars more, would that be high or low compared to the rest of you?

direct flights are not only more convenient but also cheaper (which is what I look for), but like mentioned business and tourists may look at the convenience more

[chieflenny]

Another excellent and profitable airline is AirTran. I drive to Flint Bishop to take them round-trip to anywhere for around $200 - $250 or less. Nice, new planes with free XM Satellite radio in every seat, excellent service, great flight times, always arrives on time. They just recently added DTW, so I'm not sure if GRR would interest them. They also have a great frequent flyer program and a special thing called "X-Fares" for college students...it's really nice.

[GR8scott]

Air Tran would be nice, I think they fly to Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers from Flint both would be good additions to GRR especially FLL

but really we need expansion out west LA, bay area, denver, salt lake, phoenix, seattle any would be nice

also charlotte, toronto, and boston would probably be good too

but obviosly only 1 or 2 at a time

[joeDowntown]

I read an article on Jet Blue's expansion plans about 8 months ago and Grand Rapids was in their expansion plans.

However, I think Jet Blue is like Southwest in that they are a point-to-point carrier and don't really have hubs. Am I correct here?

No. No. No Southwest please. Jet-Blue is the much better carrier, and its much . Jet Blue is the new Pan Am.

Southwest, it just looks like someone whizzed on their planes and said lets fly!

[MJLO]

Well south west may not rely fully one the hub spoke system that the dinosaur carriers rely on, they do have some smaller hub type airports.

I'd welcome Jet Blue to Grand Rapids, that could be nothing but good.