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Being close to Charlotte explains part of CAE's passenger number declines, but not all. CAE has been declining year over year for the last several years (look at the charts), while both GSP and CHS are seeing double digit percent increases.
In real numbers, GSP and CHS have been ahead of CAE for years now.....CAE has been number 4 in the state in passenger numbers for years, behind CHS, GSP and MYR.
So, while Charlotte may be part of the reason, there must be other issues as well, since GSP it also close to Charlotte and not being negatively impacted the same.
I assume this was occurring before SW arrived in both cities? I wonder what it could be? Maybe its tourism? Charleston and MYR obviously have more.. Greenville and Columbia may be more equal with Greenville leading slightly because of the Mountains? That being said, I am sure most Columbians are content with driving to Charlotte to fly in order to save a couple of hundred bucks.. Even with parking and the cost of gas it is definately worth it. Sure it would be more convenient to be able to fly directly into CAE but hey... as long as we have options *sigh* I still miss Independence Air
I assume this was occurring before SW arrived in both cities? I wonder what it could be? Maybe its tourism? Charleston and MYR obviously have more.. Greenville and Columbia may be more equal with Greenville leading slightly because of the Mountains? That being said, I am sure most Columbians are content with driving to Charlotte to fly in order to save a couple of hundred bucks.. Even with parking and the cost of gas it is definately worth it. Sure it would be more convenient to be able to fly directly into CAE but hey... as long as we have options *sigh* I still miss Independence Air
I think the tourism angle between Greenville and Columbia is negligible. If one truly wanted to fly close into the mountains, they would fly to Asheville. The Cliffs resort development up in the SC side of the mountains isn't enough of a big tourist draw to drive airport passenger numbers.
The bottom line is that Greenville is a business/industry town, and Columbia is a government/university/military town with a few basic corporate entities (e.g., SCANA, BCBS, F.I.R.E. offices in downtown, etc.) rounding it out. The former type of city is going to generate more consistently higher profit-margin passenger traffic than the latter. As such it is not surprising (if disappointing to Midlands residents) that Southwest chose Greenville.
Also, give the fine folks who manage Charlotte's airport great credit - they have kept costs extremely low for such a large, busy hub - and as such can charge parking rates far more favorable than the ones here at CAE (or even GSP for that matter). They never go tempted into building large, overbuilt, fancy terminal facilities despite being one of the fastest growing airports in the country. As much as I like the terminal complex here at CAE, with the costs involved and the lack of mainline jet traffic, one wonders if a more model facility could have done the job. GSP and CHS have gotten by in much older terminals (though refurbished over the years), and only now is GSP about to launch a major terminal overhaul.
Unfortunately they were a flash-in-the-pan that was not sustainable - their business model assumed oil at $30/barrel (oops! ). They could not deploy newer, more fuel efficient Airbus jets to overcome their legacy fleet of fuel-hungry small regional jets.
What we need now is connectivity to the national and global economy via the three major airline alliances. To grow this we need to attract blue-chip industry installations (and not just secondary branch plants/distribution centers).
I think the tourism angle between Greenville and Columbia is negligible. If one truly wanted to fly close into the mountains, they would fly to Asheville. The Cliffs resort development up in the SC side of the mountains isn't enough of a big tourist draw to drive airport passenger numbers.
The bottom line is that Greenville is a business/industry town, and Columbia is a government/university/military town with a few basic corporate entities (e.g., SCANA, BCBS, F.I.R.E. offices in downtown, etc.) rounding it out. The former type of city is going to generate more consistently higher profit-margin passenger traffic than the latter. As such it is not surprising (if disappointing to Midlands residents) that Southwest chose Greenville.
Also, give the fine folks who manage Charlotte's airport great credit - they have kept costs extremely low for such a large, busy hub - and as such can charge parking rates far more favorable than the ones here at CAE (or even GSP for that matter). They never go tempted into building large, overbuilt, fancy terminal facilities despite being one of the fastest growing airports in the country. As much as I like the terminal complex here at CAE, with the costs involved and the lack of mainline jet traffic, one wonders if a more model facility could have done the job. GSP and CHS have gotten by in much older terminals (though refurbished over the years), and only now is GSP about to launch a major terminal overhaul.
I agree.. seems like alot of money was spent of fancy jetways and now most of the planes in CAE dont even require a jetway. There airport is still nice, but as you said, you wonder if there was a more cost effective way to redesign it. I remember back in the day when CAE had the old blue Canopy at the entrance and you could walk out onto an outdoor deck to watch the planes take off. Of course that is back when you could actually walk your loved ones to the gate through security. Good Ole Eastern Airlines was flying back then.. Damn Im getting old There will soon be a nice new expressway to connectI-26 with the airport.. which in my opinion is long overdue. I used to hate taking/picking up relatives from CAE.. they would always marvel over the fact that you had to drive down a "street" to get to the airport as opposed to getting off of a freeway/expressway like in most large cities. CLT is kinda the same way.. though its more of a parkway as opposed to a street...lol
I believe when SW announced they were going to service Greenville and Charleston they said Greenville interested them do to the upstate business growth and Charleston primarily for it tourist trade and residential growth.
I believe they saw them as two different market/growth areas.
There will soon be a nice new expressway to connectI-26 with the airport.. which in my opinion is long overdue. I used to hate taking/picking up relatives from CAE.. they would always marvel over the fact that you had to drive down a "street" to get to the airport as opposed to getting off of a freeway/expressway like in most large cities. CLT is kinda the same way.. though its more of a parkway as opposed to a street...lol
Well that's pretty arbitrary. Ever been to Chicago Midway?
I think Midway is an odball rarity as its a busy airport in the middle of a neighborhood, although still close to the freeway (Stevenson). Most larger airports in America are accessible via the interstate system or an expressway.
I think Midway is an odball rarity as its a busy airport in the middle of a neighborhood, although still close to the freeway (Stevenson). Most larger airports in America are accessible via the interstate system or an expressway.
Sure, Midway's a bit of an oddball. Though it's no closer to the Stevenson than CAE is to I-26. Still, I think it's pretty arbitrary to declare that airports should be directly connected to expressways because that's the way it is in big cities. I mean, the stretch of Airport Blvd between 26 and the Hardee Freeway that basically runs through the airport itself is less than a mile and, while it has a few stoplights, is multi-lane and moves along pretty well. It seems like there should be higher infrastructure priorities than sticking in a chunk of freeway when there aren't major accessibility issues as it is.
Sure, Midway's a bit of an oddball. Though it's no closer to the Stevenson than CAE is to I-26. Still, I think it's pretty arbitrary to declare that airports should be directly connected to expressways because that's the way it is in big cities. I mean, the stretch of Airport Blvd between 26 and the Hardee Freeway that basically runs through the airport itself is less than a mile and, while it has a few stoplights, is multi-lane and moves along pretty well. It seems like there should be higher infrastructure priorities than sticking in a chunk of freeway when there aren't major accessibility issues as it is.
Honestly, maybe it could be cheaper to try to *really* "beautify" the Airport Blvd/SC 302 section between Hardee Expressway and I-26, but unfortunately I think that is probably less politically palatable then building a new "greenfield" limited-access interstate connection. That's because you would have to disrupt existing business and billboard owners, even if it were just to make a cleaner, less cluttered, true "boulevard"/"parkway" (with a nice landscaped median, etc.) look. Actually, that would pretty much look like Hardee Expressway with some businesses and traffic lights thrown in. I don't know if that option was seriously looked at. Seems like something a decently-concerned Cayce or Springdale resident or someone might have looked into.
At one point I remember actually seeing some sort of "Airport Blvd. Beautification" project billboard, with sponsors listed as City of Cayce, Town of Springdale, SCANA, etc. Did anything ever come of this? If they did anything, it wasn't anything worth noticing so far.
Last edited by Chi2Midlands; 09-29-2011 at 11:48 AM..
Sure, Midway's a bit of an oddball. Though it's no closer to the Stevenson than CAE is to I-26. Still, I think it's pretty arbitrary to declare that airports should be directly connected to expressways because that's the way it is in big cities. I mean, the stretch of Airport Blvd between 26 and the Hardee Freeway that basically runs through the airport itself is less than a mile and, while it has a few stoplights, is multi-lane and moves along pretty well. It seems like there should be higher infrastructure priorities than sticking in a chunk of freeway when there aren't major accessibility issues as it is.
I think part of the thinking, whether justified by pure planning/traffic/engineering numbers or not, is to have a nice "front door" coming into Columbia from the airport (which is why the current John Hardee Expressway portion was built as it is - as an eventual high-quality corridor leading straight to I-26).
Speaking as a Chicago native, I think most people agree that O'Hare is the main gateway into Chicago, especially for international traffic, and it clearly has a prime, direct interstate connection via I-190. Midway, until 20-25 years ago, was the red-headed stepchild until the old Midway Airlines and later Southwest put it back on the map, and the previous, dumpy old 1950s terminal wasn't exactly screaming for a nice, clean interstate connection. That being said, it's a fairly straight shot from the terminal to I-55/Stevenson Expresway via Cicero Blvd., and Cicero is wide enough to feel like a bona fide arterial road despite some somewhat rough-edged commercial stuff on the sides (which seemed to have improved in appearance lately anyways). Compared to Airport Blvd/SC-302 Cicero still feels like a major city road.
For Columbia, there is only one airport to act as a gateway/front door to the core of the city. It's interesting to note that the drive from Charlotte via I-77 and I-277 is more visually pleasant entrance into downtown Columbia than from CAE itself, since that last stretch of I-277 has a nice landscaped median with palmettos as you approach Harden St. Most of the thoroughfares from CAE to downtown through West Columbia or Cayce are a relatively rag-tag collection of small commerical strip properties (some are better than others (Meeting St. isn't bad as you get closer to the river), but SC 302 to US 21/Charleston Hwy looks pretty shabby). I have no qualms about the aesthetics of those businesses in their own right, but in trying to market the region they aren't exactly great selling points. Especially considering the access corridors and immediate vicinities of GSP and CHS.
Last edited by Chi2Midlands; 09-29-2011 at 11:51 AM..
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). They could not deploy newer, more fuel efficient Airbus jets to overcome their legacy fleet of fuel-hungry small regional jets.
