Metro Orlando Airport News

[spenser1058]

Southwest to cut several nonstop flights to and from Orlando in January:

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/2049341001

From USA Today 

[shardoon]

11 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Southwest to cut several nonstop flights to and from Orlando in January:

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/2049341001

From USA Today 

Well crap..... I have a wedding to go to in Francisco and was gonna fly into Oakland. I guess I'm stuck with United which is now the only nonstop to San Francisco 

[AmIReal]

1 hour ago, shardoon said:

I guess I'm stuck with United which is now the only nonstop to San Francisco 

Doesn't Alaska Air still fly direct? Or, maybe that is seasonal...?

[shardoon]

57 minutes ago, AmIReal said:

Doesn't Alaska Air still fly direct? Or, maybe that is seasonal...?

Wow, I had no clue. Definitely a better and cheaper option than United. 

[jrs2]

15 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Southwest to cut several nonstop flights to and from Orlando in January:

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/2049341001

From USA Today 

well, if there's not that much demand for those routes, then maybe that won't affect the overall numbers at OIA.

On 6/27/2019 at 3:56 PM, shardoon said:

The march to 50 million continues. Calendar year through May is 49,154,000 passengers.  We added 383k to the total for the past month. At this rate, by the end of the year, we should be close to 52 million passengers. These numbers are mind blowing. I can see us reaching 60 million real fast once terminal C opens. 

you seem to be the resident expert on this...any newer updates on OIA numbers?

[shardoon]

50 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

well, if there's not that much demand for those routes, then maybe that won't affect the overall numbers at OIA.

you seem to be the resident expert on this...any newer updates on OIA numbers?

Yep, on track to push past 50 million this year. Through June 2019 via 12 month rolling calendar, we are at  49,318,525. This includes a 12.81 percent increase in international traffic from a year ago. When combined with domestic traffic, it is a 5.47% increase from a year ago.  For the few less traveled routes that Southwest is dropping , one which was only a Saturday service to LGA, new routes continued to be added to Cincy, San Diego, Charlotte via Southwest and Frontier. Edmonton Canada is another added route. Also lots of Seasonal Service is starting back up, which doesn't really add to anything from a year ago. 

[spenser1058]

In-house legal counsel proposed for GOAA as embattled authority attempts to unwind web of corruption (at least Champ Williams’ Krugerrand scandal was entertaining...)

Meanwhile, Mayors Dyer and Demings were unamused about a consent agenda for items they deemed way too important for their consent without discussion resulting in a free for all. As usual, the governor’s appointees stacked the deck against them and things barreled on. WWF has nothing on these folks!

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-ne-orlando-airport-lawyers-20190828-uqz565hiyvdxzjq27gztcgtzqe-story.html?outputType=amp

From the Sentinel 

 

Edited August 28, 2019 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

Surprise, surprise... it turns out Chris Dorworth, one of the sleaziest characters in local political circles whose tomfoolery led to the O-OCEA blowing up, turns up again in the undercover coup that popped up this week at GOAA.

Glad to see Mayors Demings and Dyer have cried foul and that Scott Maxwell will be digging in:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/scott-maxwell-commentary/os-op-orlando-airport-hurricane-dorian-scandal-scott-maxwell-20190904-dlve7edbkjda5gntynxkbedo5y-story.html?outputType=amp

From the Sentinel 

Edited September 4, 2019 by spenser1058

[Camillo Sitte]

On 8/20/2019 at 10:27 AM, jrs2 said:

well, if there's not that much demand for those routes, then maybe that won't affect the overall numbers at OIA.

 

These routes were moderately profitable. Cutting them is a direct result of the grounding of the 737 Max 8. 

With the grounding of the Max 8, WN has ~40-50 fewer planes than they need to  operate their full schedule, so they are cutting routes and frequencies and reallocating resources - meaning planes - to routes where they can make the most money with those limited resources.

Edited September 9, 2019 by Camillo Sitte

[Camillo Sitte]

On 8/20/2019 at 8:36 AM, AmIReal said:

Doesn't Alaska Air still fly direct? Or, maybe that is seasonal...?

Alaska's flights to San Francisco and San Diego are routes they inherited and kept when they bought Virgin America.

[jrs2]

18 hours ago, Camillo Sitte said:

These routes were moderately profitable. Cutting them is a direct result of the grounding of the 737 Max 8. 

With the grounding of the Max 8, WN has ~40-50 fewer planes than they need to  operate their full schedule, so they are cutting routes and frequencies and reallocating resources - meaning planes - to routes where they can make the most money with those limited resources.

are they going to replace those 737's and restart those routes?

[Camillo Sitte]

3 hours ago, jrs2 said:

are they going to replace those 737's and restart those routes?

I have no idea. 

There are all kinds of rumors and speculation about how they will cope. Not being an expert and not having any "inside" sources, I would tend towards an Occam's Razor view, that they aren't going to be making any bold or radical moves re: their fleet and are holding out hope that the FAA re-certifies the Max 8 sooner rather than later, like before the holiday travel season soon.

Edited September 9, 2019 by Camillo Sitte

[spenser1058]

Frontier to offer nonstop service from Green Bay to Orlando - Cheeseheads Rejoice!

https://amp.greenbaypressgazette.com/amp/2268879001

From Green Bay Press Gazette 

[HankStrong]

Oh thank, wait.  Nevermind. 

[spenser1058]

It appears the mess at GOAA is going to eclipse the one we had to survive at OOCEA. And, to no one’s surprise, one of the most greedy, amoral politicians in modern Florida history, Chris Dorworth, is turning up everywhere. We can do better than this - let’s not turn into New Jersey, please.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-orlando-airport-board-desantis-appointees-20190911-2gvtnnqc5rhjlblckwij3hwuhu-story.html

From the Sentinel 

Edited September 12, 2019 by spenser1058

[codypet]

Interesting, you could almost chart this happening ahead of time.  Tallahassee trying to boot the local mayors sent a huge red flag.

[Camillo Sitte]

5 hours ago, codypet said:

Interesting, you could almost chart this happening ahead of time.  Tallahassee trying to boot the local mayors sent a huge red flag.

Tallahassee?

Sounds more like it's coming as much if not more from D.C. and Matt "when I'm not driving under the influence I'm inviting infamous white supremacists as my plus-one to Trump  SOTU speeches" Gaetz.

Edited September 12, 2019 by Camillo Sitte

[popsiclebrandon]

12 hours ago, Camillo Sitte said:

Tallahassee?

Sounds more like it's coming as much if not more from D.C. and Matt "when I'm not driving under the influence I'm inviting infamous white supremacists as my plus-one to Trump  SOTU speeches" Gaetz.

I'm more than happy to blame Gaetz for a million horrible things he does and he is certainly a part of this mess but this all ties back to the Gov.

 

Is there anything anyone can do to stop this from moving forward? Or do we just have to hope elections next year tilt things back towards sanity then wait another 2 years after that to hopefully remove the Gov?

[spenser1058]

2 hours ago, popsiclebrandon said:

I'm more than happy to blame Gaetz for a million horrible things he does and he is certainly a part of this mess but this all ties back to the Gov.

 

Is there anything anyone can do to stop this from moving forward? Or do we just have to hope elections next year tilt things back towards sanity then wait another 2 years after that to hopefully remove the Gov?

It’s fun to try and blame this equally on both parties but if you look at where these guys causing the problems right now come from, it’s not.

Democrats last year showed ramping up turnout with urban, younger and minority voters couldn’t quite put us over in statewide races because of the huge influx of retirees who reflexively vote Republican without knowing anything about Florida politics.

We’ll keep working on it (ironically, Texas currently may flip quicker than we do). But it’s up to our Republicans to tell their minions like Chris Dorworth and Confederate sympathizer Baxley from Ocala (!) to stop meddling in our affairs. If y’all really believe in good government on the red side of the aisle, here’s your chance to prove it. Godspeed to you, each and everyone.

[jrs2]

1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

It’s fun to try and blame this equally on both parties but if you look at where these guys causing the problems right now come from, it’s not.

Democrats last year showed ramping up turnout with urban, younger and minority voters couldn’t quite put us over in statewide races because of the huge influx of retirees who reflexively vote Republican without knowing anything about Florida politics.

We’ll keep working on it (ironically, Texas currently may flip quicker than we do). But it’s up to our Republicans to tell their minions like Chris Dorworth and Confederate sympathizer Baxley from Ocala (!) to stop meddling in our affairs. If y’all really believe in good government on the red side of the aisle, here’s your chance to prove it. Godspeed to you, each and everyone.

how is the governance of GOAA similar or different than MIA and TPA or FTL?  Is it it's own thing or is it the same statewide at all the major airports?

[spenser1058]

9 hours ago, jrs2 said:

how is the governance of GOAA similar or different than MIA and TPA or FTL?  Is it it's own thing or is it the same statewide at all the major airports?

I’m not sure about the others but the state took control of GOAA in the aftermath of Champ Williams’ Krugerrand scandal. The irony is that Champ could only look on in awe at how much more corrupt the Tally cronies are than he ever was.

Edited September 13, 2019 by spenser1058

[jrs2]

4 hours ago, popsiclebrandon said:

I'm more than happy to blame Gaetz for a million horrible things he does and he is certainly a part of this mess but this all ties back to the Gov.

 

Is there anything anyone can do to stop this from moving forward? Or do we just have to hope elections next year tilt things back towards sanity then wait another 2 years after that to hopefully remove the Gov?

say what you will about DeSantis, but the man has a full head of hair not seen since Blago.  He's also got a meaty face, unlike Gollum.

11 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

I’m not sure about the others but the state took control of GOAA in the aftermath of Champ Williams’ Krugerrand scandal. The irony is that Champ could only look on awe at how much more corrupt the Tally cronies are than he ever was.

so now the issue is that the Reps out vote the Dems on the Board, and can use that leverage whenever they want, right?

[spenser1058]

24 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

say what you will about DeSantis, but the man has a full head of hair not seen since Blago.  He's also got a meaty face, unlike Gollum.

so now the issue is that the Reps out vote the Dems on the Board, and can use that leverage whenever they want, right?

Well, that’s the starting point but it’s also the fact that they’re trying to engineer the coup without following Sunshine and other procedures.

The fix also seems to be in to move money toward their “friends” without proper due diligence.

Let’s face it - as I’ve noted many times, Buddy is no stranger to working with big corporate interests. If even he’s gobsmacked by the current goings on , you know it’s really over the top.

There is a breaking point to all the schmoozing which was hit on OOCEA and now are looking at several of the same players doing with GOAA. 

Edited September 12, 2019 by spenser1058

[popsiclebrandon]

I thought the airport was a city asset? How did the board being appointed by a governor ever come to be in the first place?

[spenser1058]

Scott Maxwell gives us the latest from Ron DeSantis’ Bumbling Airport Gang:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/scott-maxwell-commentary/os-op-orlando-airport-scandal-desantis-scott-maxwell-20190913-tavb7m7ffvcbdjvzkhskh7cpji-story.html

The Sentinel is definitely earning its keep on this one - this is what journalism is all about, not just publishing the latest press release from a developer. Hopefully, OBJ is taking notes.