Should there be a new San Diego Airport along the US-Mexico border, accessible from both countries? (fencing, flight path)

[Vicman]

Originally Posted by iskray917

Umm? I think you are supposing wrong.

Aeromexico supposed that there would be San Diegans flying through Tijuana, which is why the airline started the shuttle service in the first place. I'll see if there is information about when it operates.

EDIT: AM offers bus shuttle services from San Ysidro in San Diego and from other cities: http://www.aeromexico.com/en_us/trav...alifornia.aspx

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by Vicman

Aeromexico supposed that there would be San Diegans flying through Tijuana, which is why the airline started the shuttle service in the first place. I'll see if there is information about when it operates.

EDIT: AM offers bus shuttle services from San Ysidro in San Diego and from other cities: Aeromexico.com :: Travel Information :: Tijuana - Cds. de California

The reason they offer this service is so Mexican-Americans can fly non-stop into Mexico. Almost no one would go to Tijuana to fly to Asia, that is a ridiculous assumption. Again, your ignorance of the region, the attitude San Diegans have towards Tijuana, and your semi-antagonistic denial of the opinions of residents is leading me to believe you are not actually interested in this discussion at all.

[Vicman]

Aeromexico clearly marketed its service to San Diegans. The San Diego newspapers had features about the flight. Creating a connection | The San Diego Union-Tribune

The newspaper says clearly:

Because the airline offers one of the few nonstop international flights from either Tijuana or the San Diego area, Aeromexico is hoping to attract passengers from both sides of the border, including those from as far away as Orange County. The airline offers complimentary shuttle service from San Diego.

Sassberto, the assumption is not at all ridiculous when the San Diego newspaper article discusses how Aeromexico planned to attract passengers from San Diego. If it was really that much of a stretch, Aeromexico wouldn't bother.

If it was a ridiculous assumption, the San Diego-Union Tribune probably would not have printed multiple stories dedicated to the flight.

Another article talked about the flight in a San Diego context: http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...1b30tjair.html

Tim Smith, president and chief executive of San Diego Travel Group, said the flight looks attractive. “We have no other viable alternative,” he said. “You have to go to Los Angeles.” Most direct international flights from San Diego fly to the Mexican interior. Smith predicted the flight would draw travelers from both sides of the San Diego-Tijuana border area and would be particularly attractive to Japanese executives who work in Baja California's maquiladora manufacturing plants.

and...

The flight is one of the few nonstop international flights from the San Diego region. British Airways provided nonstop service from San Diego to London for several years but stopped the service a couple of years ago.

The article also discusses the border crossing:

"“The big question,” Smith said, “is what is the trans-border trip going to be like.”

Because the flight leaves Tijuana International Airport at 2 a.m. Tuesdays and Fridays, that might not be a problem. The outbound flight originates shortly before midnight in Mexico City. It arrives at Narita about 5:30 a.m.

- Note: the Aeromexico schedules indicate that, as of writing, the TIJ-NRT sector of the flight departs around that time:

"Tijuana-Rodriguez (TIJ) to Tokyo (NRT) - AM0058
16/10/09 at 01:55 - 06:45 (+1d) -
Class (Q)
AeroMexico - Non-Stop - Boeing 777"

If it was really that ridiculous of an idea, Tim Smith wouldn't have said that.

Originally Posted by Sassberto

The reason they offer this service is so Mexican-Americans can fly non-stop into Mexico. Almost no one would go to Tijuana to fly to Asia, that is a ridiculous assumption. Again, your ignorance of the region, the attitude San Diegans have towards Tijuana, and your semi-antagonistic denial of the opinions of residents is leading me to believe you are not actually interested in this discussion at all.

[Sassberto]

Anyone who is not a Japanese executive visiting a TV maquiladora won't be using it. The majority of San Diegans will not set foot in Tijuana for any reason. San Diego is really not enough of a business hub to support international business travel.

It's a bus to the airport in TJ, it will be 99% Mexicans using it to visit their families. Especially those in LA or OC. These buses already exist, just not run by airlines. AM just wants to get a piece of that business.

I have flown out of TJ several times, the idea that it will become some sort of mainstream transportation option for Americans is laughable. Most Americans would turn away in fear just driving there.

[Vicman]

Digging further, I found an Aeromexico press release that said that the airline planned to attract Mexican nationals and Mexican-Americans living in Socal to the Tokyo flight... maybe they were the specific people that the airline had in mind, and not most of the Americans on the SD side.

Hispanic PR Wire - Aeromexico to Inaugurate Tijuana to Tokyo Non-Stop Service in Mid-November

“This is very exciting expansion of Aeromexico’s global service,” said Jose Kuri, senior vice president of Aeromexico, U.S. Division. “We believe the service will be particularly appealing to Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in Southern California who want to travel on a flag carrier.”

Kuri said the travel market has been eager for the new service since word about Aeromexico’s plans became known during the past few months.

“We have heard from so many travel partners throughout Southern California and Baja that they are anxious for our new service to begin,” Kuri said. “We are pleased to satisfy the demand in the marketplace.”

This press release was printed for people living in the US side, as it said in the header

Aeromexico, Mexico’s largest airline, today announced it will inaugurate twice weekly non-stop flights between Tijuana and Tokyo’s Narita Airport November 17, providing Southern California a new option for travel to the Far East.

[f_m]

Originally Posted by Vicman

Since Japan Airlines plans to pull out of Mexico (JAL currently operates Mexico City-Vancouver-Tokyo Narita), Aeromexico is planning to increase the frequency of its flights to Japan. In addition Aeromexico is restarting Mexico City-Tijuana-Shanghai.

I would have to imagine that Aeromexico is taking over the business that JAL is leaving, but there must be a reason JAL is leaving. I met a Japanese guy that works as a town car driver, driving mostly Japanese businessmen from LAX to San Diego. I have to believe that riding in a town car this way is more preferrable to taking a shuttle between Tijuana.

[Vicman]

Japan Airlines's flight goes through Vancouver. Canada recently imposed visa requirements for Mexican nationals. News Release - Canada imposes a visa on Mexico - I wonder if the new visa requirement is hurting JAL's flight.

Originally Posted by f_m

I would have to imagine that Aeromexico is taking over the business that JAL is leaving, but there must be a reason JAL is leaving. I met a Japanese guy that works as a town car driver, driving mostly Japanese businessmen from LAX to San Diego. I have to believe that riding in a town car this way is more preferrable to taking a shuttle between Tijuana.

[mini_cute]

an airport on the ocean? check it out:

Crazy Or Brilliant? Plan To Build Giant Floating Airport Off California Coast » INFRASTRUCTURIST

[Vicman]

Yes, there is a whole thread dedicated to the proposal at Airliners.net: Airport In The Middle Of The Ocean In So.Cal — Civil Aviation Forum | Airliners.net - Many of the posters feel that the proposal is not feasible and/or not worthy of implementing

On another note, Japan Airlines has officially announced that it is ending Mexico City: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/bu...bal/06air.html - This will cause more people to take Aeromexico through Tijuana.

Originally Posted by mini_cute

an airport on the ocean? check it out:

Crazy Or Brilliant? Plan To Build Giant Floating Airport Off California Coast » INFRASTRUCTURIST

[Surfer619]

Originally Posted by Vicman

While I have never been to the San Diego area, I found that San Diego's current Lindbergh Field is very constrained, and it is difficult to get international flights from there.

On the other hand Tijuana Airport in Mexico has received service to Asia on Aeromexico, which allows San Diego travelers to avoid LAX. But what if there was a new airport to replace both Lindbergh and Tijuana airports?

On the French-Swiss border there are two airports (Geneva Airport and EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse) that are accessible from France and Switzerland. Until December 2008, when Switzerland became a part of the passport free Schengen agreement, that meant that both airports had separate zones for flights to and from France and Switzerland.

I'm not sure if this is possible practically, but it would be nice if San Diego and Tijuana had a common international airport. One side would be an American side, and the other would be a Mexican side. Domestic US flights depart and arrive from the US side, and domestic Mexican flights depart and arrive from the Mexican side. An immigration and customs point would be in the middle of the airport so passengers can cross from one side to the other.

I'm not sure how this detail would work, but International flights (i.e. flights going outside of the US and Mexico, for instance the Aeromexico flight to Japan) could board passengers from both the American and Mexican sides (the airline could have to keep track of which passengers boarded from where so that, if there is a cancellation of the flight or a forced return, the airline would know where the passengers go) - For arriving international flights, some passengers could elect to be dropped off in Mexico, while others would be dropped off in the United States. That way Americans in San Diego will not have to cross the Mexican border before flying to Asia; they will simply depart and arrive in the United States. If a flight to the United Kingdom was established, that would mean Mexicans would not have to cross in the United States; they would simply depart and arrive in Mexico.

No. The one that San Diego has already (Lindburgh Field) is perfectly fine. Besides, Tijuana already has an international airport right next to the border and a smaller airport (Brown Field) is near the border as well in San Ysidro.