Augusta Airport growth (Atlanta: construction, living in, price)

[pb4au]

I know i can look this up but its fun to get you all talking and there is no better info then real life info and isnt this the reason for the forum...

What major carriers fly out of Augusta Airport? Whats the typical routes and has anyone flown out of the airport on a regular basis? how was it?

Is there talk about expansion, has the airport authority done their jobs and have moved in a positive growth direction? well managed?

is the airport nice or run down? Geographically speaking, it sits in a perfect spot and poised to really take off if that I-3 ever materialized. it could do wonders for southern augusta growth.

[AugustaREGroup]

It has been recently renovated. It is still pricey to get flights to and from Augusta. Most major trips people in Augusta drive to Atlanta, or pay a little extra and have a flight from Augusta to Atlanta that then takes them to their distention.

Competition: Atlanta: a very large airport 2.5 hours away, Charlotte: fairly substantial airport fairly close by, Columbia: eh, clean and nice building with beautiful scenary around it... but not much growth as far as flights, etc. To be fair Columbia does have the space to expand and the location.

Unbiasely though (relating to your future decision) Augusta's and Columbia's airports are similar after Augusta's renovation. That being said Augusta seems more interested in growing in the future.. if not just for the Masters alone.

For Master's Augusta airport: Delta will have direct trips to Philadelphia and New York. U.S. Airways will also have direct trips to New York and Philadelphia.
GQ: Are more direct flights going to be offered out of Augusta? | Breaking News, Weather, Sports and Entertainment for Georgia and South Carolina | Good Question

[nortonguy]

The airport is still undergoing construction. The new terminal was completed in late 2007. Augusta airport is very nice. Here's a small portion

[lilmusket]

Nice new facility 9 so much better than what we had... seriously the old airport terminal was an embarrasment.. you actually had to go outside to board your flights.. and the terminal looked like a Greyhound Bus terminal.
The new building is on par with Columbia, slightly smaller though, but very nice. Unfortunately there are still not a lot food options like what you get in larger airports.
There are essentially only two airlines that service the airport ASA, which is a shuttle service for Delta airlines... it connects to Delta flights in Atlanta. Then US Airways which runs a shuttle service connecting to flights in Charlotte. There is talk about one of the airlines offering direct flights to New York...that would be nice.. when continental was here.. they had direct flights to NYC and Houston.

[joeyrun]

Augusta Regional Airport officials released numbers today that show the facility has managed to increase the number of passengers for 24 straight months.

13.6 percent increase in enplanements, or originating passengers, in 2007. It also increased 2008, this time by 12.5 percent

Augusta Regional Airport reports improving numbers for 2008 012809 - The Augusta Chronicle

[joeyrun]

25 percent increase in people taking flight in Augusta. Airport officials say they think the changes to the terminal has helped their parking look like this on a daily basis, packed with cars. So we think the terminal is part of it but in addition, it's the really low fares we've seen and the fact the airlines are really reliable out of here," said Johnston.

And while other airports are cutting back on flights because of the economy, Augusta Regional is adding more. "Because we've had such a huge increase in folks using our airport, we're seeing additional seats. So the airlines have actually given us an extra flight or two above some of the other airports.

And with more flights coming to the city, Augusta Regional hopes to see more people lining up to fly out. "As more folks start to use us, we hope to see another airline at some point and time," said Johnston.

The airport expects to see an even bigger increase during the week of the masters. Officials say they'll have direct flights from both New York and Philadelphia to accommodate the extra travelers.

Augusta Regional seeing more people flying out

[lolo2]

The Augusta airport is probably bigger than Columbia. But the Airport is going through tremendous growth.

[CanukInAugusta]

ok, I'll chime in.

I am frequent business flyer, and I almost always fly out of Columbia vs. Augusta, despite me living in Augusta.

Why?

Augusta has direct flights to two (count 'em; 2) cities; Charlotte and Atlanta.

So, for example, if I want to fly to Cincinnati, I would first have to fly to Atlanta, then walk over to another gate and fly to Cincy.

I can get cheap and direct flights from Columbia to Cincy; in the end Columbia is both faster (despite the 60 minute car drive) and cheaper.

[joeyrun]

I fly out of Augusta the flights tend to be cheaper than Columbia.

[lilmusket]

Some times it is cheaper in Augusta, sometimes not.. it all depends where and when you are flying. Columbia has more airlines, hence more competition..and usually that means lower fares. For leisure travel where you have a month notice or more and your dates are flexible.. Augusta fares can be competitive and sometimes cheaper, but for business travel where you have shorter notice and have to fly on specific dates.. Columbia is cheaper like almost 80% of the time. The new augusta airport terminal is nice, but they are going to have to get another airline (especially a discount airline) to service Augusta.. with direct flights to cities other than just Atlanta and Charlotte.
I have flown out of Augusta and Columbia... the Columbia airport is certainly bigger than Augusta's.. it's very obvious if you have been to both.. there are more than twice the # of airlines at at The Columbia airport.. which means you have more choices. I would much rather have the convenience of flying out of Augusta... but don't like being limited to just 2 airlines: Delta and US Airways and then having to connect in either Atlanta or Charlotte. It would have been great if an airport could have been built halfway between Columbia and Augusta.. I remember there was talk of this 20 yrs ago, but it went no where, and its very unlikely it will happen now. I always check airfares out of Augusta, and if the price is reasonable, I fly out of Augusta.. but it is usually a better deal to fly out of Atlanta or Columbia.