Update.......Little Rock National Airport.

[theman]

Clinton/Little Rock National is losing its non-stop flight to Reagan National in DC on the new American Airlines but will pick up non-stop service to New York LaGuardia on the same carrier.  There will probably be more travelers on the New York flight as compared to the DC one.

[ecity3138]

Clinton/Little Rock National is losing its non-stop flight to Reagan National in DC on the new American Airlines but will pick up non-stop service to New York LaGuardia on the same carrier. There will probably be more travelers on the New York flight as compared to the DC one.[/quote

I think the non-stop flight to New York will be better than Washington D.C route.

Edited January 18, 2014 by ecity3138

[ecity3138]

Judging by the photos posted on their Facebook page, the first phase of the renovation is coming along very nicely and almost finished. I haven't flown out of there since February, but it looks like it's made impressive progress since then.

 

New entrance sign:

 

 

New front to the expanded ticketing lobby:

 

 

I really like the look of the new lobby, very sleek and modern. The sign is nice, but I still wish they'd never have done the whole "Bill and Hillary" part of the name.

Looks very nice and modern. I wonder when will they start Phase two renovation of the airport terminal?

[thewizard16]

Looks very nice and modern. I wonder when will they start Phase two renovation of the airport terminal?

 

I was wondering that too. I have heard several compliments about the airport from first time visitors due to the way the lobby and ticketing area is now, but the terminal itself now looks even worse by comparison. I respect their approach to keeping their finances strong and minimizing long term debt though, so I'll say I respect their choice to spread out the renovations even though my general impatience wishes they could do it all at once.

[Architect]

I was wondering that too. I have heard several compliments about the airport from first time visitors due to the way the lobby and ticketing area is now, but the terminal itself now looks even worse by comparison. I respect their approach to keeping their finances strong and minimizing long term debt though, so I'll say I respect their choice to spread out the renovations even though my general impatience wishes they could do it all at once.

 

I know the intent is to move ahead as quickly as possible, but that it is dependent upon anticipated (future) traffic/enplanements, which were up in 2012 significantly but leveled off and even went down in 2013.

Regarding service/flight announcements, the Saturday edition of the AR Dem/Gaz butchered it...at least in their summary chart (which listed the omitted flights but not the new flights, and then incorrectly listed United service ONLY to Denver, and left off Houston and Chicago):

 

- as stated above, the NYC LaGuardia flight is being added to replace the discontinued Washington D.C./Reagan flight

    (editorial comment:  why the paper leads with the headline about "loses flight" instead of "new NYC flight" is beyond me)

- SWA will resume their direct LIT-Orlando seasonal flight in the spring

[jnholmes]

Now if we could just get Delta to start service to LAX or SLC!

[Arkanzin]

Regarding service/flight announcements, the Saturday edition of the AR Dem/Gaz butchered it...at least in their summary chart (which listed the omitted flights but not the new flights, and then incorrectly listed United service ONLY to Denver, and left off Houston and Chicago):

 

(editorial comment:  why the paper leads with the headline about "loses flight" instead of "new NYC flight" is beyond me)

 

I noticed that, too!  I had to check my upcoming flight as I have a ticket for a direct flight to Chicago coming up in a couple of weeks.

 

As for the editorial comment, bad news travels fast apparently in the eyes of the headline writer. 

[Architect]

Now if we could just get Delta to start service to LAX or SLC!

 

Delta did serve SLC direct from LIT for a short period.  Also, does anyone remember Delta's plan to add direct LIT-MSY (New Orleans) flights just prior to Katrina?  Katrina obviously killed that before it even took off, pun intended.

[jnholmes]

Yes, I remember the SLC service it was 9/11 & bankruptcy that closed that down.

[theman]

With the recession and airline consolidation Clinton/Little Rock National has lost a lot of direct flights; Salt Lake City, Minneapolis-St. Paul, St. Louis, Memphis, Reagan National, Cincinnati, Newark.  With everything that has gone on I guess we need to be thankful that we have the direct flights that we have.

[theman]

I see why Architect and others were confused about the direct flights out of Clinton/Little Rock National.  The airport's own website doesn't have up to date information on direct flights on United, Delta and Southwest.  It's sad that the state's largest airport doesn't have the correct information on it.  Clinton National do a better job!!!!

Edited February 7, 2014 by theman

[Architect]

I see why Architect and others were confused about the direct flights out of Clinton/Little Rock National.  The airport's own website doesn't have up to date information on direct flights on United, Delta and Southwest.  It's sad that the state's largest airport doesn't have the correct information on it.  Clinton National do a better job!!!!

I wasn't confused about it...the Arkansas Democrat Gazette was [i keep up with that kind of nerdy stuff...hence all of our activity here!].

In all seriousness, whenever I read an article in the media that I know above average information about, it's almost always error prone, which just undermines my confidence in the accuracy of ANYTHING I read. I remember the DemGaz did an article on Little Rock hosting the regional NCAA Men's Tourney a few years ago, with the WHOLE point of the story comparing Little Rock to other host cities, specifically size/population. Their number for the LR MSA was HALF what it was supposed to be. How can you screw up the MAIN fact of your article? I emailed the author to point out the error, and their response was dismissive, stating "that's what our data shows"...incredulous. It makes one wonder if they didn't do it on purpose to emphasize or sensatinalize their story.

Okay, rant over.

[theman]

Southwest Airlines is cutting it's flights from Little Rock National from 11 per day to 7 per day.  The flight to Houston will be cut and flights to Dallas Love will be cut from 6 per day to 3 per day.  I saw where Southwest was ramping up service from Love Field with the end of the Wright Amendment and I knew that flights would have to be cut somewhere to add all of that service.  We aren't the only ones losing service from Southwest but Little Rock got hit hardest. Passenger traffic through Little Rock National is down quite a bit as compared to last year.  If this doesn't turn around I wouldn't be surprised to see more reductions in service from other airlines.

[Architect]

Southwest Airlines is cutting it's flights from Little Rock National from 11 per day to 7 per day.  The flight to Houston will be cut and flights to Dallas Love will be cut from 6 per day to 3 per day.  I saw where Southwest was ramping up service from Love Field with the end of the Wright Amendment and I knew that flights would have to be cut somewhere to add all of that service.  We aren't the only ones losing service from Southwest but Little Rock got hit hardest. Passenger traffic through Little Rock National is down quite a bit as compared to last year.  If this doesn't turn around I wouldn't be surprised to see more reductions in service from other airlines.

 

Agreed on all counts.  This is not a surprise, and was somewhat expected with the Wright Amendment.  Certainly the lower passenger count didn't help any, and that in and of itself is perplexing given the improving economy and continued growth of Central Arkansas.

 

Regarding SWA specifically, I'm a bit shocked that they gutted Dallas so deeply, and I'm not sure what cutting Houston had to do with it.  On the upside, the reduced capacity can only help American Airlines service to Dallas...which is a good thing.

[theman]

Maybe SWA cut the Houston flight because it couldn't compete with United which has 6 direct flights to Houston per day.  As far as Dallas is concerned, American will probably get more business just because of connecting flights to other destinations.  American will have better times since they will have 7 daily flights to DFW compared to the three that SWA will now have to Love.  

 

I agree that the low passenger numbers are a surprise.  I wonder if SWA being in Memphis now is effecting the Little Rock National numbers.  A lot of people from Memphis would drive over to Little Rock to take SWA flights.

[Architect]

Maybe SWA cut the Houston flight because it couldn't compete with United which has 6 direct flights to Houston per day.  As far as Dallas is concerned, American will probably get more business just because of connecting flights to other destinations.  American will have better times since they will have 7 daily flights to DFW compared to the three that SWA will now have to Love.  

 

I agree that the low passenger numbers are a surprise.  I wonder if SWA being in Memphis now is effecting the Little Rock National numbers.  A lot of people from Memphis would drive over to Little Rock to take SWA flights.

 

Memphis could be an issue, and the fact that they lost their "hub" service AND gained a low-cost carrier in SWA makes it that much less expensive to fly out of.  But honestly, there's not a large demographic or population center between LR and Memphis to compete against...again, I think the biggest loss is actually people FROM Memphis who had been using LIT on service to the western half of the U.S.

 

The LIT Airport Commission meeting happened the day after the SWA cut announcement and was documented in yesterdays Dem-Gaz.  They had the same questions we do...what is driving down traffic/boardings, and what impact will SWA cuts have.  One board member pointed out there's a difference between available seats and passengers (passengers are fixed...they'll just find other airlines/routes), but there's always some passenger/traffic "loss" with a reduction in available seats.

 

In the broadest perspective, at least we aren't Jackson, MS who lost SWA altogether (though admittedly their market is smaller and their airport traffic is basically half the size of Little Rock).

[theman]

Something is going on in Little Rock though.  When you read about other metros our size that are gaining passengers are not losing as much as Little Rock it is a cause for concern.  Outside the loss of passengers from Memphis, is the loss of passenger traffic from fewer business travelers or fewer leisure travelers?

 

Thank goodness we are not Jackson, MS and even with the loss of SWA service, Little Rock is well served to Dallas on American and United has 6 flights to Houston, so choices are there.

 

We need passenger growth to get direct service to destinations like LA and back to DC.

[Architect]

Frontier Airlines announced a "temporary" suspension of service from Little Rock to Denver from October, 2014 until the Spring of 2015.  Disappointing, but not surprising given the 5% overall lower traffic at Little Rock National this year.  Those in the know might recall their previous 3 year hiatus from 2008-2011.  I hope they are committed to the market, and that they find success when returning next Spring (in time for ski season no doubt).

[theman]

That's not surprising.  They are doing that at other airports around the country while also expanding service at other airports like Cincinnati and Washington Dulles.  Good thing United has direct flights there from LIT for those who want to go to Denver this winter.

[TRB]

That's not surprising.  They are doing that at other airports around the country while also expanding service at other airports like Cincinnati and Washington Dulles.  Good thing United has direct flights there from LIT for those who want to go to Denver this winter.

You forgot Frontier's expanding presence in Memphis where they announced near daily flights to Dallas, every day sans Sat. Memphis is tearing Little Rock a new one since it's evolving into an O&D focused airport.

[theman]

Memphis getting Southwest is hurting Little Rock more than Frontier's expansion there.  Locals don't have to drive here or to Nashville to take flights on Southwest any more.

[theman]

American Airlines is discontinuing the direct flight between Little Rock and New York LaGuardia early next year.  The reason is the load factor on the flights averaged 65% causing the flights to lose money.

[Arkanzin]

American Airlines is discontinuing the direct flight between Little Rock and New York LaGuardia early next year.  The reason is the load factor on the flights averaged 65% causing the flights to lose money.

LIT says it is working on getting LIT-JFK flight to replace this one. 

 

We'll see. 

[Architect]

American Airlines is discontinuing the direct flight between Little Rock and New York LaGuardia early next year. The reason is the load factor on the flights averaged 65% causing the flights to lose money.

That's very regrettable. I've used that flight for business, and so have clients of ours. A 65% load factor sounds decent, but apparently not high enough to keep a flight.

I frankly put this a bit on both the airport and American Airlines. Do you ever see this flight promoted or advertised? The problem with small-medium hubs like LIT is that people (rightly) assume you have to make a connection unless you're going to Atlanta, Dallas or Chicago. It's unfortunate, as a lot of people that I mentioned that flight to were surprised about having it. If people don't know it's available, they can't book it.

[theman]

That's very regrettable. I've used that flight for business, and so have clients of ours. A 65% load factor sounds decent, but apparently not high enough to keep a flight.

I frankly put this a bit on both the airport and American Airlines. Do you ever see this flight promoted or advertised? The problem with small-medium hubs like LIT is that people (rightly) assume you have to make a connection unless you're going to Atlanta, Dallas or Chicago. It's unfortunate, as a lot of people that I mentioned that flight to were surprised about having it. If people don't know it's available, they can't book it.

From what I understand there were funds to market the route but I agree that both did a poor job of doing so.