Grand Rapids Airport (GRR) News and Developments

[walker]

On 5/4/2023 at 2:13 PM, BLUESCRUBS said:

Has anyone seen any renderings of the new Air Traffic Control tower? It keeps being mentioned, but I have not seen any renderings released.

I don't think they are anywhere close to having any renderings yet.  The Detroit News today has a good article about where a new GR control tower stands politically and bureaucratically.  It doesn't seem too promising any time soon.

This article is suppose to be for subscribers only:

 

   https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/michigan/2023/07/06/faa-bill-could-boost-tower-project-at-grand-rapids-airport-but-faces-hurdle/70384898007/

 

[Hoeks]

On 6/17/2023 at 2:00 PM, Hoeks said:

Saturday flight out of expanded A concourse (opened yesterday).  Below are a few pics.  
 

The entire length of center isle,  are shops/restaurants under construction.   The gate agent mentioned they would start opening next week.  
 

I am so impressed, as this is such a transformative feel/experience.  Certainly feels like a big city airport.  Very bright, tall ceilings, tons of comfortable seating options with tables, and the width adds so much space.   
 

The existing gates are now boarded up and appears work as begun.   

One of the center isle vendors was open this weekend.  “ALEtitue”, which includes a dining area, and a separate bar area with TV streaming sports.  I believe serving food, and a full bar with beer taps.  
 

Couple Pics Below:

[MJLO]

Passenger traffic up 11.2% for the month of June, 6.8% on the year.  330k passengers through GRR in the month.  On pace to hit 3.5million+ on the year. I think that's still slightly down from the 2019-early 2020 pace but good news nonetheless.   It's still a bit behind what I'd consider peer markets like Buffalo, Louisville, and Omaha, but GRR has been playing catch up to places like that for decades.  They also benefit from being the largest/cheapest airports within about a 2hrs drive, a luxury GRR really doesn't have. 

To truly reflect the market size I think the airport needs to eventually see upwards of 500k passengers in peak months .  I think that can happen if they stay as aggressive as they are with the changes, and attracting new low cost carriers and destinations.  

[joeDowntown]

Will be interesting to see if new flights / potentially another carrier comes in now that they've added gates? That would help continue the upward trend if less people travel to Chicago or Detroit to catch a flight. Plus, International is coming (I heard it's basically ready and they are just waiting for bureaucratic sign off which is dragging on).

Joe

[GR8scott]

Im waiting for expanding service but theres actually been flight cuts however replaced with larger planes to retain capacity, until they bring back more frequent flights and/or new destinations, its seems like growth will be minimal. I would hope to see some previous destinations restored like Dulles, St. Louis, and Toronto and expanded service year around to MIA, PHX, and LAX and new destinations like JFK, Seattle as well as the international ones mentioned like Cancun. 

[cstonesparty]

15 hours ago, GR8scott said:

Im waiting for expanding service but theres actually been flight cuts however replaced with larger planes to retain capacity, until they bring back more frequent flights and/or new destinations, its seems like growth will be minimal. I would hope to see some previous destinations restored like Dulles, St. Louis, and Toronto and expanded service year around to MIA, PHX, and LAX and new destinations like JFK, Seattle as well as the international ones mentioned like Cancun. 

United restoring direct flight to Dulles would be nice

[joeDowntown]

GRR is in competition for best small airport. I honestly think it is one of the best small airports. If you think so too, you can vote for it here:

https://10best.usatoday.com/awards/travel/best-small-airport-2023/gerald-r-ford-international-airport-grr-grand-rapids-michigan/

and here’s an article from WOODTV about it, and what they’re going to be working on next:

https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/ford-airport-recognized-as-a-top-20-small-airport/

 

[cstonesparty]

On 9/6/2023 at 5:51 PM, joeDowntown said:

GRR is in competition for best small airport. I honestly think it is one of the best small airports. If you think so too, you can vote for it here:

https://10best.usatoday.com/awards/travel/best-small-airport-2023/gerald-r-ford-international-airport-grr-grand-rapids-michigan/

and here’s an article from WOODTV about it, and what they’re going to be working on next:

https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/ford-airport-recognized-as-a-top-20-small-airport/

 

I feel like on previous versions of this there was small, medium, and large airports 

[arcturus]

August traffic was up 12.46% YOY and 8.09% YTD and roughly 38% YTD from 2021.

https://www.grr.org/hubfs/08-2023 Aviation Activity Report.pdf?hsLang=en

 

[Zads]

GRR adding another airline to the mix starting next year: Sun Country, based out of Minneapolis.

"Sun Country initially will operate a nonstop route from Grand Rapids to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport from June 13 to Sept. 1, 2024. Flights will be available biweekly on Sunday and Thursday afternoons and evenings, and travelers can connect to 98 destinations from Minneapolis. "

https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/news/transportation/low-cost-airline-sun-country-coming-to-grand-rapids-airport-in-2024/

[joeDowntown]

Forgot to post this yesterday, but GRR was also voted best small airport:

https://www.grr.org/news/usa-today-best-small-airport

I flew out of Concourse A a week ago, and the new gates/restaurants are really nice. The width and height make it feel really spacious, and the finish materials are really nice. I love GRR. Can't beat getting from you gate to your car in 5-10 minutes.

Joe

[egrguy]

I was looking at Sun Country's route list. Seems like a majority of their routes are seasonal but Minneapolis is one of the airports they have permanent flights. I'd love to see this be successful and maybe even add seasonal flights to LA, SF and/or Phoenix.

[arcturus]

19 hours ago, Zads said:

GRR adding another airline to the mix starting next year: Sun Country, based out of Minneapolis.

 

That should keep Delta a bit more honest with its 4 daily inbounds from Minneapolis, at least for its limited overlap.

[GR8scott]

Any expansion is good, I would expect more to come with the new concourse construction but my one and only experience with Sun Country was HORRIBLE in just about every way so thats the last airline I would want to see, plus MSP already served and not an exciting destination, seems odd would only be in the summer as most of their clientele seems like they are from MN so possibly GRR is the destination? Was really hoping Midwest Express would relaunch or Air Canada would return or possibly Alaska or Breeze I would absolutely be more excited to see Spirit and Jet Blue before Sun Country. Given their current operations, the only good things I could see happening with this is possibly seasonal to Vegas for more competition and Cancun when the ISP opens. 

[Prankster]

I would settle for any new destination that isn’t in Florida. 

[organsnyder]

On 10/18/2023 at 11:50 AM, GR8scott said:

Any expansion is good, I would expect more to come with the new concourse construction but my one and only experience with Sun Country was HORRIBLE in just about every way so thats the last airline I would want to see, plus MSP already served and not an exciting destination, seems odd would only be in the summer as most of their clientele seems like they are from MN so possibly GRR is the destination? Was really hoping Midwest Express would relaunch or Air Canada would return or possibly Alaska or Breeze I would absolutely be more excited to see Spirit and Jet Blue before Sun Country. Given their current operations, the only good things I could see happening with this is possibly seasonal to Vegas for more competition and Cancun when the ISP opens. 

Same here. My wife and I flew Sun Country once out of Lansing, and it was so horrible we decided we'd never consider them again.

[arcturus]

For you critics of Sun Country, care to share your experience and when it happened?

[organsnyder]

On 10/20/2023 at 12:31 PM, arcturus said:

For you critics of Sun Country, care to share your experience and when it happened?

This was a number of years ago (probably 7-8 at this point). We flew out of Lansing to one of the DC airports. We got a notification a few hours before the flight that it was delayed quite a long time (at least four hours, IIRC) because of (again, IIRC) equipment issues. We delayed going to the airport until closer to the rescheduled departure time, and still ended up waiting at the airport a few hours past that later time. By the time we got to DC we were the last flight in for the night, and the rental car counters were closed.

Not too different than other delayed flights, except they operate on such thin margins and sparse flight schedules that any delay has the potential to snowball. It seems to me like an issue with one flight with them can easily lead to an equivalent experience as when one of the major carriers has a system-wide issue.

[GR8scott]

On 10/20/2023 at 10:31 AM, arcturus said:

For you critics of Sun Country, care to share your experience and when it happened?

pretty recently actually went out of my way to "try" Sun Country instead of Delta on the same route as I like to at least try all of them at some point (havent flown Breeze yet). 1st get a text message on the way to the airport that it was suspiciously delayed by 59 minutes (I'm sure an hour would have been a fine or something) ok no big deal, but then they boarded way earlier than I would have expected and that took probably a good hour of sitting on the plane before takeoff (I generally like to board last anyway) so annoying. Of course I was "randomly" assigned a middle seat for refusing to pay extra when purchased, gate agent said they were not able to change, sat on plane for a while and noticed many open seats including entire rows (roughly half full, 2/3 at most) so I moved and flight attended was not having it no matter how I pleaded my case, again annoyed but fine. This is where it gets really bad for me, supposedly a storm at MSP apparently grounded traffic? so we landed at Rochester MN to wait instead of circling then pilot says we are going to refuel while there which "wont take long" It took a LONG time like 2-3 hours, meanwhile on flight tracker it looks like the MSP delay was a matter of minutes, we then get in just after midnight instead of 730pm and my renal car counter is closed at the small sun country terminal, I then walk a mile to the train station, wait to go to the rental car facility, get there and was told the desk agent just left but I could catch someone upstairs, go up there and no one is to be found, call the the rental car agency and was told it was now closed and to cancel I would have to pay a $100 fee for a $120 rental cost (months later, still havent gotten a credit back). Taxi, Uber and Lyft lines are MASSIVE, the wait is an hour and costs $70 to get to my destinantion. I litterally start walking out of the airport a miles or so and catch an uber right away for about $20. OK I get weather isnt there fault ect. but there was an extreme unhelpfulness from both the rental car company and Sun Country and both refused to refund me a dime for my troubles, extra expenses and hours delay.  As another person mentioned their small mistakes and glitches snowballed into a major inconvenience for me and the complete lack of customer service toped it off for me.

I will go out of my way to NEVER use Sun Country or VIP rental car services ever again and I will gladly tell anyone and everyone they should avoid both and dont expect any customer service if needed. 

[walker]

Maybe some of you might find this interesting.  The Historical Society is hosting a presentation on the history of GRR, both the current airport and the predecessor, on November 9.  Usually I'd just post a link to their website but they don't seem to be keeping it up this year, so I've just cut and pasted the following from their newsletter for this month.  These lectures are free and you don't have to be a member.

The presenter, Roy Hawkins, is an airport planning engineer and a long time employee at GRR.  Here's his LinkedIn page:

LINKEDIN: Roy Hawkins

And this is pasted from the newsletter:

History of the Gerald R. Ford 
International Airport
“Preparing the Ground”
Thursday, November 9, 2023, at 7:00 p.m., 
Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch 
Presented by: Roy Hawkins
  

This presentation will consider those who had the vision to bring aviation to the Grand Rapids/West Michigan area. We will discover the history of the many names the airport has held over the years. We will review the major airport historical milestones, air service, and planning efforts necessary for airfield development. We will also look at the different aircraft types, their changes over the years along with their impacts on airport design. From turf strips to thin flexible pavements and then to thick rigid pavements we have today. We will review the airport’s previous location and the airport’s “new” location and what prompted the location within Cascade Township. Planning efforts are continuous at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport. Staff is always and has always sought to make our airport one of the best. That we are! From insurance vending machines in our lobbies to the conveniences we see today. What happened to postage machines and telephones in the terminal? Did you know that once the airport had two fountains?
Did you know the airport was always a place people came to pass their time? Did you know we have one of the oldest Air Traffic Control Towers in the country? What happened to the trees and why? Why is the fence there? What the airport staff looks like, who are they and what do they do? What are the rules the Federal Aviation Administration has for airports? In short, nothing happens at this airport by accident. The glamor and wonder of aviation? It’s impact on the general populous. Airplanes and restaurants. What the people love. Airports are exciting places. They are places of sadness and places of much happiness. These we will discuss. There I so much to tell. “How do those huge planes get off the ground? I’m still amazed!” And finally, what does the future hold for the Gerald R. Ford International Airport?

 

 

Edited October 25, 2023 by walker

[joeDowntown]

Southwest adding seasonal flights to Nashville: https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/news/transportation/southwest-airlines-to-start-nonstop-grand-rapids-flights-to-nashville/

[cstonesparty]

Here’s an idea for the current tower when new one is built…

https://flytecotower.com/

[Cookin_peacocks]

2 hours ago, cstonesparty said:

Here’s an idea for the current tower when new one is built…

https://flytecotower.com/

It used to be a punchbowl social

[arcturus]

October traffic was up 13.24% YOY  and 8.86% YTD.  I believe it was also a single month record.  It looks like we will fall just short of 4 million for the year.

https://www.grr.org/hubfs/10-2023 Aviation Activity Report.pdf?hsLang=en

The numbers have been remarkably consistent over the past few months with September the exception.  It looks like 350K/mth is the cap on traffic unless flights are added.

https://www.grr.org/history

 

 

[walker]

New restroom for non-humans past security at GRR:

PRESS RELEASE GRR: post-security-animal-relief-area