City airport possibly to start with new commercial airlines company?

[3WC]

I probably flew to and from that airport at least 50 times on Southwest and that little commuter airline that served Cleveland and Chicago [[Midway Airlines?)

SW used to fly from DTW and the DTW flts were always full. They terminated service out of Detroit ostensibly because they needed the planes on other routes.

[rbdetsport]

Here's an idea.. Acquire the rest of the land directly to the west of City Airport and build a parallel runway from the cemetery to Gratiot. You could reach a 9,000 foot runway which would be sufficient for many regional airlines. For comparison, the runways at Midway Airport in Chicago are only 8,000 feet tops. In regards to what this airport expansion could mean for the city, I truly believe this would be the airport of choice for many in Macomb County and on the city's east side. With a Gratiot transit line, it could mean big growth in that area of the city. It would be great if the Wayne County Airport Authority bought the airport and used it to grow their holdings. Maybe get Delta to run there more regional flights out of City Airport? If only..

[313WX]

I probably flew to and from that airport at least 50 times on Southwest and that little commuter airline that served Cleveland and Chicago [[Midway Airlines?)

SW used to fly from DTW and the DTW flts were always full. They terminated service out of Detroit ostensibly because they needed the planes on other routes.

Southwest Airlines stopped flying out of Detroit? Since when?

[Danny]

Last time I went to the Detroit City Airport I got on Pro Air. Their small commercial airliner was a broken down 25 year old Boeing 747 on route to New York City with a friend. It's a safe flight, but its cheap and great.

[Zacha341]

I don't want to fly in any carriers 'old' anything. I prefer the newer Airbus series. Had the chance to fly on an Embraer mid-sized jet ala United Airways once on a night flight. My, my did she fly smooth.

Last time I went to the Detroit City Airport I got on Pro Air. Their small commercial airliner was a broken down 25 year old Boeing 747 on route to New York City with a friend. It's a safe flight, but its cheap and great.

[emu steve]

I don't want to fly in any carriers 'old' anything. I prefer the newer Airbus series. Had the chance to fly on an Embraer mid-sized jet ala United Airways once on a night flight. My, my did she fly smooth.

How many seats? I think I flew an Embraer from D.C. to NYC. Small but nice.

[Zacha341]

I'm thinking about a 75-100. It was not a commuter model Embraer but it was very narrow. Night flight with the moon light, nearly cloudless -- awesomely smooth. The pilot was quite proud.

How many seats? I think I flew an Embraer from D.C. to NYC. Small but nice.

[3WC]

Sorry, SW used to fly out of both DTW and Detroit City.

It terminated its Detroit City routes in the early '90s. Those flights ere always full and I hated to see them discontinue the flights because it was so convenient to fly out of City.

[Gistok]

Sorry, SW used to fly out of both DTW and Detroit City.

It terminated its Detroit City routes in the early '90s. Those flights ere always full and I hated to see them discontinue the flights because it was so convenient to fly out of City.

Amen to that!!

I once flew SW from City Airport to Midway, most convenient flight ever!! Being an eastsider it was so fast and easy. Parking near the terminal? It was as easy as parking to shop at Kroger...

[emu steve]

Amen to that!!

I once flew SW from City Airport to Midway, most convenient flight ever!! Being an eastsider it was so fast and easy. Parking near the terminal? It was as easy as parking to shop at Kroger...

Could a 100-seat regional airplane such as the Airbus A318 [[don't think I've flown it) work? Or would it need to be a little smaller?

[DetroitBoy]

There has never been a 747 using City. The runways are not long enough.

[Hermod]

There has never been a 747 using City. The runways are not long enough.

I think he misspoke for one of the original, small 737s.

[mikefmich]

There has never been a 747 using City. The runways are not long enough.

An unloaded 747 could land there. But that's a moot point.

[archfan]

The Airbus 318 requires 6000 ft at maximum takeoff weight, according to Wikipedia.

[MSUguy]

I totally agree with you. Now that Midtown/Downtown are getting some life back into them, I would think City Airport would become more useful. The question is who's going to make the investment to make it a real, functioning, useful City airport?

I wonder if the Wayne County Airport Authority would be willing to be more involved?

One thing people haven't mentioned in an expansion is the potential for cargo operations, there is a lot of rail infrastructure nearby that could be attractive for cargo operators or logistics companies

[313WX]

I wonder if the Wayne County Airport Authority would be willing to be more involved?

One thing people haven't mentioned in an expansion is the potential for cargo operations, there is a lot of rail infrastructure nearby that could be attractive for cargo operators or logistics companies

Now that you mention it, I wonder if City Airport will be involved in the possible plans Lear and Penske have to move near I-94 and Mt. Elliot [[given also the plan to expand I-94)...

[Hypestyles]

a formal, public proposal needs to take place ASAP. Putting it off constantly is irresponsible.

[ABetterDetroit]

Jeeze guys, the city just got back on its feet weeks ago and now you all are piping up about how they should get in bed with Wayne county [[construction project thieves) and build a new airport with a new 9000 ft runway that couldn't be done without eminent domain and about a billion dollars? How about if they just focus on supplying quality city services for the residents for a while? They could learn how to take care of fire trucks and buses and leave the airport business that has been nothing but a sink hole for cash alone for the time being. If it was worth anything standing on its own, someone would've already been asking to lease or buy it is my thought.

[CLAUDE G]

The expansion has been quietly going on for years. Look at the condition of the neighborhoods between French and van dyke.

For every house that burns down, every family that gets tired of the crime and moves out, and every business that decides to move away, is another property the city or wayne county gets for free.

The only way to expand the airport is to the west to van dyke.

If you expand north, you got Mt Olivet Cemetery and you can't move peoples graves. If you go east across conner, then you got lots of homes where It will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to buy all the home owners out.

If you go south, you got to deal with Gratiot, more homes and yet another cemetery.

West to van Dyke, and possibly moving van dyke is definitely a possibility

[Newdetroit]

Claude: I agree with you. Except, I think that the airport could also be expanded south with Gratiot and I-94 being the southern border.

Also, I remember flying out of city airport in the late 90s to DCA on ProAir on a 737.

[Dexlin]

I'd never even considered reconfiguring the airport so that the runway could be extended south along Gratiot. It'd be quite a bit more difficult than simply going north, as you'd have to practically move the runway to the east right up along Conner, which would then require moving the terminals and hangars to French and Lynch roads on the west borders of the airport. It'd also require taking Gratiot underground, which would be like hell trying to get the state to pay for that or agree to it. But, I guess it's technically possible.

[Hermod]

I'd never even considered reconfiguring the airport so that the runway could be extended south along Gratiot. It'd be quite a bit more difficult than simply going north, as you'd have to practically move the runway to the east right up along Conner, which would then require moving the terminals and hangars to French and Lynch roads on the west borders of the airport. It'd also require taking Gratiot underground, which would be like hell trying to get the state to pay for that or agree to it. But, I guess it's technically possible.

We just put six lane SS-1 [[Federal Highway) underground to expand the south runway for the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Airport. Breezy Point Naval Air Station in Norfolk has a runway which a four lane access road runs under.

[Dexlin]

I believe that you missed my point. Of course it's not technically impossible to put Gratiot underground at the location. The point was that the Michigan electorate is very likely to vote down the long-term road funding ballot coming up in a few months. We're going to mostly just be patching roads for quite a few cycles until Michiganders give up on this tea party "no new taxes for anything ever" self-implosion. This theoretical project would not be an inexpensive one. It's possible to see how much federal money we could round up for a project like this. Again, my point wasn't that this is technically impossible, rather this would be politically impossible, particularly with the mood the electorate is in and with the legislature we have. We still got sitting legislators bitching about the Detroit bankruptcy "bailout."

[SpartanDawg]

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...lift/70523064/

here we go again.

[Gpwrangler]

I happen to love jet noise but imagine the lawsuits when you have heavy aircraft glide paths over the East Side and the lake. I'm gettin out the lawn chair and cooler of beer!