Smaller cities losing airlines

[jcole]

Travelling west from Detroit or Royal Oak or Pontiac takes about 6.5 hours to Chicago. You stop at least 7 stations between RO and CHI downtown. You normally get stuck in the yards for a while and then your outbound train may or may not be on time. Once we waited 3 hours because someone on the line from Rochester NY decided to commit suicide by train near Buffalo and we had to wait for several passengers also heading with us to Denver. The trip to Denver is usually on time but it varies by an hour or so sometimes. The return trip from Denver to Chicago can be as much as 6 hours late pulling into the Denver Union Station because of issues coming in from the mountains. In the three trips from Denver I have 1. had to wait for a church bus to take us back to Detroit, where we arrived with the sun rising over the city; 2. Taken a Greyhound with clogged toilets and pulled into RO at 3 am and 3. Spent the night in Chicago and missed work the next day. I love the train ride but it is very unreliable.

That's always the trade-off with trains - how many stops to make. More stops means more passengers picked up and less who want to board because of all the stops.

[Richard]

It’s like that with all modes of transportation but what we are seeing now is from rail,greyhound and airlines where they stopped serving population centers of under 25 - 50,000 in the past an increase like in this case where the population is 275,000 + .

That creates a pretty big void.

People like convience,are they really going to want to drive to Detroit,a region they know little about,store their vehicle in a location that they are unsure of and even more so if they are coming for an international flight where they are going to be gone 2-3 weeks?

Given the option of Chicago which as posted is 2 hours away,but somebody picks you up,and brings you in comfort right up to the terminal with zero hassle and you do not have to worry about storing your car,is it worth that extra hour on a 12-15 hour international flight an extra hour playing on the phone is nothing.

Sure somebody local can drive across town in an hour,but it is what you do so you are comfortable with it,you know every street,you are talking about somebody coming from a smaller town that constantly hears how scary a city is,they are not going to be that comfortable and they are always going to choose the easiest option that has the least amount of hassles.

Amtraks east coast auto train that runs from Sanford Fl to DC is one of their most profitable runs,the train is not that full when the snowbirds are settled until you get up to the Virginia to DC region and then it becomes packed,some board just for a 10 mile ride.

In this case there was a need otherwise American and the other companies would not have set up there in the first place and now a void has been left,the demand or the people did not disappear,the cost to the airlines increased due to fuel and lack of pilots contributed to that.

All I am saying is there is going to be a fallout and those people are going to take the path of least resistance,they would have spent 2 hours anyways by the time they drove to the airport checked in and boarded for the 1 hour flight to Detroit,so the 1 hour or two hour drive time is irrelevant just as how much time it takes for somebody local to drive from one end of the city to the other,which happens under totally different circumstances.

I am not an expert in this,you do not have to be to understand how free enterprise and capitalism works.

Orlando were I lived for 30 years was a international and countrywide tourist city,in the 80s I could fly from Orlando to Miami for $50 commuter flights,you walked right out on the tarmac and boarded the plane,those were Delta and American Airlines run planes.

They stopped that service and private enterprise took over,they filled the void,Miami did not lose customers,they just arrived in a different mode of transportation.

So what happens in this case if the customers choose no hassle convenience,given the choice Detroit over Chi - they are going to take the path of least resistance,what does Detroit have to lose,they are telling you $15 million off of one airline alone,that translates into jobs and revenue for the city.

Its not the fact that Toledo is losing regional service it is the trickle down and who fills the void.

[Richard]

I agree they are great for seeing the countryside as long as you do not have to be somewhere at a specific time,running on shared tracks where freight has priority creates a lot of pull over and wait time also.

I took a greyhound from Mlps to Fla one time,when they stopped at every tiny town along the way,talk about a never ending ride,I think it took over a week.

The way airlines are as of late it does not look like there are not really any reliable options,outside of just getting into the car and drive.

In June airlines were cancelling over 35,000 flights per day - thats insane if you are trying to get somewhere.

We seem to be going backwards more then advancing when it comes to cross country travel.