Tallahassee airport (Lakeland, Winter Haven, Christmas: spring break, how much, hotel)

[JMatl]

Originally Posted by TD*

I wish people would be loyal to their local airport and quit driving to surrounding areas.

It's all about the fares, Gainesville is in the same boat pretty much. Their advantage is that the are much closer to Jax, Tampa and Orlando for alternate options.

[pdm_ad]

I have family in Tally and they often drive to ECP because they have nonstop flights to their destination of choice whereas TLH does not. The time spent driving to ECP is basically equal to the layover and the hassle of connecting in a major hub is a big drawback in their opinion.

[hackensacknj]

The debate about TLH airfares has gone on since the Wright Brothers invented airplanes. Without a customer volume, there is not going to be more service and there will be higher prices. The # of customers drives everything. I am of the belief that when I travel, particularly cross country or overseas, when I land back in the US on my final flight, I want to be home. I do not want to be in Atlanta or JAX or Orlando and still not be home. Worth the money to be at home without the added flight.


I also do not believe the savings are that great for single travelers to drive 5 hrs to ATL OR 3 hrs to JAX. Now if you are talking a family of 4-6, perhaps . . .

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

I used to work down in the Panhandle. Smaller air carrier airports freak people for some reason, I guess they expect every airport to offer the same things ATL, DFW and LAX do. You have a lot of smaller airports along the coast, so the big thing there is convenience, but you also have to pay for that convenience.

I strongly recommend using your smaller local airport. You'll likely save money over the duration of the trip, especially if you can neutralize parking by having someone drop you off. The more people that use it, the more revenue they generate, the better the flights, the more options you have, and the cheaper it will eventually get.

[TD*]

I totally agree. Driving hours to another airport is a big time waste, not to mention gas cost and parking at the other airport.

If everyone would quit driving to other airports our flights would stay full and signal to the airlines demand is up. In turn, more demand = more planes and cheaper prices.

[HeartofFlorida]

Originally Posted by TD*

I totally agree. Driving hours to another airport is a big time waste, not to mention gas cost and parking at the other airport.

If everyone would quit driving to other airports our flights would stay full and signal to the airlines demand is up. In turn, more demand = more planes and cheaper prices.

Tallahassee needs to figure out how to keep the 1000+ people a day from utilizing other airports. Price is typically the #1 deciding factor followed by direct flights. Population is also an issue. Tallahassee will NEVER be a bustling metropolis which makes the overall quality of life quite pleasant when compared to other parts of the state. However, that is a con when airlines set fares in/out as they already know that on a regular basis, there are only so many seats that will be filled (even if ALL travelers) patronized TLH. What major industries does Tallahassee have that could boost the demand for air travel? Does the city have plans to or actively working on bringing major companies that could help bolster the airport?

[EliEverIsAHero]

TLH really only gets used for short-range domestic flights. For anything further afield, you want a different airport entirely.

The local powers-that-be changed the designation to "International Airport" a few years ago but I'm scratching my head to think of any international flights I've seen at the gate.

The closest foreign country to Florida is the Bahamas, but to my knowledge the airport does not even offer flights there.

[beachmouse]

Originally Posted by EliEverIsAHero

The local powers-that-be changed the designation to "International Airport" a few years ago but I'm scratching my head to think of any international flights I've seen at the gate.

All ‘international airport’ means is that the facility has the ability to handle immigration and customs operations in some fashion. For small airports in border states, including many smaller airports than Tallahassee, this works out to being an ‘on call’ service handling immigration and customs for general aviation flights who make that special request when they file a flight plan when coming back from the Bahamas, Canada, Mexico, etc rather than scheduled commercial flights. So unless you own or fly private, it’s effectively a marketing thing to make the airport sound bigger than it is.

[HeartofFlorida]

Originally Posted by EliEverIsAHero

TLH really only gets used for short-range domestic flights. For anything further afield, you want a different airport entirely.

The local powers-that-be changed the designation to "International Airport" a few years ago but I'm scratching my head to think of any international flights I've seen at the gate.

The closest foreign country to Florida is the Bahamas, but to my knowledge the airport does not even offer flights there.

Originally Posted by beachmouse

All ‘international airport’ means is that the facility has the ability to handle immigration and customs operations in some fashion. For small airports in border states, including many smaller airports than Tallahassee, this works out to being an ‘on call’ service handling immigration and customs for general aviation flights who make that special request when they file a flight plan when coming back from the Bahamas, Canada, Mexico, etc rather than scheduled commercial flights. So unless you own or fly private, it’s effectively a marketing thing to make the airport sound bigger than it is.

Exactly! As beachmouse pointed out, the "international" label is a designation that allows flights to clear customs without having to make intermediate hops at another airport before reaching TLH. It's actually a smart move to increase revenue when it comes to charter flights, future commercial service and cargo. My hometown of Lakeland did this a few years ago even though the airport hasn't had dedicated commercial air service since 2012. Although the Lakeland/Winter Haven area has a larger population base than Tallahassee, Lakeland's biggest problem with commercial service is it's proximity to other airports and that makes for fierce competition.


However, the airport has increased operations with a regional Amazon cargo hub, NOAA, Draken International and other supporting landside/airside businesses and 2 on-site hotels. Collectively, this has generated an estimated economic impact of 1.5 billion over the last 12 months. According to the master plan, more changes are forthcoming. Tallahassee can do the same and really turn TLH into an economic generator in other ways.

[Lakeland-Winter Haven MSA]

Originally Posted by Jimrob1

Thanks for your replies and comments. Unfortunately airports the size of TLH generally charge higher fares. Personally I think TLH a city pushing 200,000 pop, should have better air service by this time.

There has to be a demand (ie business or pleasure). City size is irrelevant. The metro is under 400,000, plus America does not view Tallahassee as a "destination". Until one or both of those demand indicators improves, Tallahassee will always get the short of the stick when it comes to flights and fares.