Metro Orlando Airport News

[jrs2]

I just don't understand the Fed's reasoning.  Sounds like a larger lobby wants to get rid of the competition. maybe there was a change in JetBlue's plans ala absorbing versus acquiring Spirit and the rival airlines want them gone period...

[shardoon]

1 hour ago, codypet said:

True.  But when it comes to low fare airlines you still have Alaska, Allegiant, Frontier and Southwest. 

Exactly. It just feels like they were singled out. 

1 hour ago, jrs2 said:

I just don't understand the Fed's reasoning.  Sounds like a larger lobby wants to get rid of the competition. maybe there was a change in JetBlue's plans ala absorbing versus acquiring Spirit and the rival airlines want them gone period...

It sure does sound fishy. I certainly do think the legacy carriers and their lobbies succeeded behind the scenes. 

[WAJAS]

12 hours ago, shardoon said:

Sure, but this merger was small potatoes compared to the legacy mergers, but yet they were allowed through. Their reasoning was also sketchy..... specifically calling out that they like Spirit's low fares and do not want to see them go away...... like hello..... there is a reason they are teetering on bankruptcy. 

The way the government defines what a agreeable vs disagreeable monopoly is changes decade to decade and administration to administration. I wouldn't act like just because previous mergers of similar nature were allowed that this one must be,  or vis versa.

[shardoon]

9 hours ago, WAJAS said:

The way the government defines what a agreeable vs disagreeable monopoly is changes decade to decade and administration to administration. I wouldn't act like just because previous mergers of similar nature were allowed that this one must be,  or vis versa.

That true and it's entirely not right. There should be one set of rules to play by for everyone, but clearly there is not...... and you are correct when you say it changes from administration to administration. It's the DOJ who files the lawsuit which in turn makes it controlled by politics and lobbiests. Obviously, Jetblue need to hire better lobbies to pad the pockets of those in charge. 

[WAJAS]

15 hours ago, shardoon said:

That true and it's entirely not right. There should be one set of rules to play by for everyone, but clearly there is not...... and you are correct when you say it changes from administration to administration. It's the DOJ who files the lawsuit which in turn makes it controlled by politics and lobbiests. Obviously, Jetblue need to hire better lobbies to pad the pockets of those in charge. 

I don't really agree that there should be a set of rules. Each situation is unique both in its details and in its context. Also, while at times annoying, I consider the ebb and flow of policy and enforcement between administrations an integral part of our government.

The FTC has more authority on antitrust on the larger scale than the DOJ does by the way. The DOJ tends to more enforce policy that is developed by the FTC, rather than developing the policy themselves. Most of the time, the DOJ won't get involved because companies won't challenge the FTCs ruling.

Edited March 7 by WAJAS

[aent]

On 3/5/2024 at 9:51 AM, codypet said:

True.  But when it comes to low fare airlines you still have Alaska, Allegiant, Frontier and Southwest. 

Alaska and Southwest aren't in the same price range as the "Ultra" Low Fare providers like Frontier and Spirit.

[shardoon]

6 hours ago, aent said:

Alaska and Southwest aren't in the same price range as the "Ultra" Low Fare providers like Frontier and Spirit.

I agree. Southwest is no longer low fare in my book. They are rarely the cheapest and many times higher than legacy carriers. They may have 5 seats designated on each flight that are really cheap, but its been years since I was ever able to find one available. Maybe it's because I don't book out greater than 6 months out. 

[codypet]

I'm surprised to see that.  I rarely pay for a Southwest flight, but when I do its $40-$50 (Raleigh to Orlando seems to always be on sale).  I've never paid for spirit, but is it cheaper than that?  

[shardoon]

1 hour ago, codypet said:

I'm surprised to see that.  I rarely pay for a Southwest flight, but when I do its $40-$50 (Raleigh to Orlando seems to always be on sale).  I've never paid for spirit, but is it cheaper than that?  

Definetely note. Those are great fares, especially since you have to factor that bags are still free on Southwest. I just have not had any luck with getting the cheapest fares on Southwest. They are always sold out of those fares. 

[codypet]

I will say it definitely depends on the Cities you're traveling to and from.  I suspect Orlando has very few of those flights being Orlando.  I would guess a flight from Raleigh to anywhere is constantly on sale. 

[jrs2]

6 hours ago, codypet said:

I will say it definitely depends on the Cities you're traveling to and from.  I suspect Orlando has very few of those flights being Orlando.  I would guess a flight from Raleigh to anywhere is constantly on sale. 

I've taken Spirit to like Ohio, Chitown, other cities...and it would be cheap if you caught it right.  But I think if you are a frequent Spirit flyer, you sign up and pay like $65/yr and you log in and they offer cheaper flights.  I did that one year when I knew I would be flying very often to OH-IO, and the tix were cheap.

[aent]

On 3/7/2024 at 8:37 AM, codypet said:

I'm surprised to see that.  I rarely pay for a Southwest flight, but when I do its $40-$50 (Raleigh to Orlando seems to always be on sale).  I've never paid for spirit, but is it cheaper than that?  

It all depends on the date, but Frontier and Spirit typically are the cheapest by far. I just selected a date exactly a month from now, and while Spirit doesn't seem to fly this route, Frontier does (and they are typically the same price), and Frontier is $58, JetBlue is $130, and Southwest is $195 for a roundtrip flight.

*Note: If you need to take anything with you, you likely need to sign up for their membership, or the price difference is a lot less, Frontier does not include any carry ons or checked bags. Also, since the Frontier-Spirit merger failed, Frontier has gotten a LOT stricter with nickel and diming the crap out of everyone, and seems to have encouraged their employees to be a lot meaner, if your lucky enough to get any sort of customer service at all. While I didn't have a direct issue myself, seeing multiple other people's issues and how it was handled last Frontier flight I went on, I elected to pay more for a better airline on my last few flights.

[jrs2]

 

[jrs2]

click the link.  this is a good construction update in the video:

https://www.wftv.com/news/local/goaa-ceo-shares-vision-strategies-growing-orlando-international-airport/JWJEQCNMPNGZXPTKG2GAAUSO3E/

[dcluley98]

This is part of what I was talking about with new Parking Garage/CONRAC Rental Car Facility, Bus Station, APM, and additional terminal additions. I have heard upward of $4 BILLION worth of potential work. 

[codypet]

I loved the social media reaction of people complaining to leave Terminal C as is because they like the quietness in its current configuration. 

[shardoon]

Wanted to circle back around to a discussion we had in the past about narrow body aircraft, mainly the A321XLR. Jetblue seems to be scaling down West Coast operations. If they plan on expanding to Europe, Orlando is primed for an international Jet Blue hub with minimal competition. They purchased orders for A321XLR aircraft.

When we're were discussing its range, we had it pegged at 4700 miles, but what we didn't realize was that these are nautical miles. Converting it to regular miles, it is actually 5400 miles. This puts all of Europe from Rome as the furthest distance within range of Orlando. 

Lots of options to work with. With that being said, they have not had strong success with their current Europe routes, but I feel that's a product of major Northeast hub competition. 

[jrs2]

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2024/03/21/jetblue-cuts-several-routes-including-orlando-international-airport/

[jrs2]

https://allears.net/2024/03/01/low-fare-airline-adds-new-flight-at-orlando-airport/

https://orlandoairports.net/flights/new-service/

https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2024/03/17/budget-airlines-are-canceling-routes-to-the-orlando-airport-should-we-be-worried/

Edited March 21 by jrs2

[shardoon]

11 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2024/03/21/jetblue-cuts-several-routes-including-orlando-international-airport/

I didn't even know there was a direct from Orlando to SLC. Delta has that covered already.  I knew they were pulling out of the West Coast. Fort Lauderdale scale down was known as well since they are relying heavily on making Orlando a Caribbean hub. 

[jrs2]

12 minutes ago, shardoon said:

I didn't even know there was a direct from Orlando to SLC. Delta has that covered already.  I knew they were pulling out of the West Coast. Fort Lauderdale scale down was known as well since they are relying heavily on making Orlando a Caribbean hub. 

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/02/22/orlando-internationals-busiest-airlline-southwest-sees-record-activity-in-coming-year/

says SW Airlines is eyeing Orlando as its hub for Intl flights (Caribbean...).   I think we knew this a few months back when they were canceling routes from FTL.

[jrs2]

I wonder if they hit these numbers as anticipated:

https://allears.net/2024/03/05/orlando-international-airport-anticipates-over-197000-passengers-in-a-single-day-soon/

New flights for 2024...

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2024/02/14/florida-airports-add-new-allegiant-american-breeze-delta-silver-southwest-flights-for-2024/72594647007/

Edited March 21 by jrs2

[Alleri459]

So Aeromexico, Avianca, and Copa (If I read correctly) will be moving over to Terminal C. I feel like United would be a good fit to transfer over to Terminal C after the expansion since many partner international airlines are all there and would make a better transfer hub. Delta has really taken advantage of this capitalizing on the Sky Team international airlines with routes here and with the new Miami route. I have spoken to multiple United Flight attendants where many have hinted on potential international expansion from Orlando within the next two years, although there is no article I have seen stating this. Shifting an airline with numerous flights will help offload the traffic in Terminals A/B, having only Jetblue was so unserious, but it explains the potential route and ops expansion out of Orlando. 

[codypet]

Looking at the map of Terminal A and my experience with the traffic there........Is most that gridlocked traffic generated by only Southwest, Frontier and Spirit?  That's insane.

[shardoon]

23 hours ago, jrs2 said:

I wonder if they hit these numbers as anticipated:

https://allears.net/2024/03/05/orlando-international-airport-anticipates-over-197000-passengers-in-a-single-day-soon/

New flights for 2024...

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2024/02/14/florida-airports-add-new-allegiant-american-breeze-delta-silver-southwest-flights-for-2024/72594647007/

They announced a record for March 16th. They recorded over 200,000 on that day.