Huntsville updates

[David1502]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Airport news, many don't realize that AirTran used to fly to Huntsville years ago.


Allegiant Air ended service here in May 2008 after less than a year, Independence Air operated here from October 2004 to January 2006, and AirTran was here from October 1994 to May 1995.


HSV Times

Correction: AirTran never had passenger service to HSV. During the period described from October 1994 to May 1995, ValueJet, the predecessor to AirTran, had their pilots do training - (takeoffs and landings) at HSV. There never was any passenger service. ValueJet chose the airport because of the light traffic and its close (48 minute trip time 22 actual flying time) to ATL. The Airport, obviously, received payment from ValueJet during this period. By May 1995 enough pilots had been trained and ValueJet evidently found other airports for training or discontinued the program.

It is unfortunate that ValueJet never began passenger service to HSV. ValueJet was different from AirTran in that it catered almost entirely to leisure travelers and a few cost conscious business travelers. Therefore they didn't consider the Huntsville area to be a good market for their profile of customers. (The highest fares in the country ranking which HSV just recently received proves that point.)

AirTran on the other hand began with a focused strategy of attracting business travelers while keeping the cost conscious leisure traveleres ValueJet already had. AirTran began a businesss class and a frequent flier program - neither of which were offered by ValueJet. AirTran also emphasized customer service whereas ValueJet's attitude was essssentially "If you don't like it, pay twice as much and fly Delta."

Because AirTran caters more to business travelers and has probably four times as many destinations as ValueJet had at the Atlanta hub, HSV has a lot greater chance of being a viable market where AirTran can make $. However, AirTran has to be a little — shy after their Mobile experience where they had to pull out of that market because when Delta, which previously had exorbitant fares, began to match AirTran's low fares, the locals in Mobile were too stupid to realize that Delta was only doing it because they had to. They didn't fly AirTran - so AirTran lost $ and had to pull out of the market. After that Delta raised fares back to their previoulsy high levels since they no longer faced competition. This is a lesson for all cities when they get a low fare carrier.

[neilson]

Originally Posted by David1502

Correction: AirTran never had passenger service to HSV. During the period described from October 1994 to May 1995, ValueJet, the predecessor to AirTran, had their pilots do training - (takeoffs and landings) at HSV. There never was any passenger service. ValueJet chose the airport because of the light traffic and its close (48 minute trip time 22 actual flying time) to ATL. The Airport, obviously, received payment from ValueJet during this period. By May 1995 enough pilots had been trained and ValueJet evidently found other airports for training or discontinued the program.

It is unfortunate that ValueJet never began passenger service to HSV. ValueJet was different from AirTran in that it catered almost entirely to leisure travelers and a few cost conscious business travelers. Therefore they didn't consider the Huntsville area to be a good market for their profile of customers. (The highest fares in the country ranking which HSV just recently received proves that point.)

AirTran on the other hand began with a focused strategy of attracting business travelers while keeping the cost conscious leisure traveleres ValueJet already had. AirTran began a businesss class and a frequent flier program - neither of which were offered by ValueJet. AirTran also emphasized customer service whereas ValueJet's attitude was essssentially "If you don't like it, pay twice as much and fly Delta."

Because AirTran caters more to business travelers and has probably four times as many destinations as ValueJet had at the Atlanta hub, HSV has a lot greater chance of being a viable market where AirTran can make $. However, AirTran has to be a little — shy after their Mobile experience where they had to pull out of that market because when Delta, which previously had exorbitant fares, began to match AirTran's low fares, the locals in Mobile were too stupid to realize that Delta was only doing it because they had to. They didn't fly AirTran - so AirTran lost $ and had to pull out of the market. After that Delta raised fares back to their previoulsy high levels since they no longer faced competition. This is a lesson for all cities when they get a low fare carrier.

Mobile also has Biloxi and Pensacola to the west and the east, respectively. Yes I know Airtran has left Biloxi but Southwest is still in Pensacola.

[MovingAL]

I have been told that although AirTran serves the main destinations for HSV that, because AirTran doesn't bid on gov't contracts, AirTran wouldn't be as profitable as many think by serving HSV.
Gov't employees fly airlines that win bids for shuttling them.

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by neilson

Southwest is still in Pensacola.

??? Are you SURE ???

[David1502]

Originally Posted by neilson

but Southwest is still in Pensacola.

No, AirTran is still in Pensacola. Southwest has never offered service to Pensacola. AirTran has discontinued service to the Gulfport/Biloxi airport - service they began as a result of a contract with the Beau Rivage Casino as part of a package deal to transport gamblers to their resort. Since the economy has slowed down, casinos have really hurt and as a result AirTran's business to the MS Gulf Coast has fallen off leading them to discontinue service.

In regards to Govt. Contracts for airline service - I don't know the particulars on that however, probably four years ago the HSV Airport made an effort to establish a fare bank in which local businesses would commit so much money to a low fare carrier. Each time one of their employees flew AirTran money would be deleted from the account. If the companies didn't use all of the $ in their account on tickets, AirTran would still get the remaining funds. This is the way that Wichita, KS (and maybe a few other cities) was able to win service by AirTran.

[HSVTiger]

Wintzell's Oyster House comimg to the Rocket City.
While it won't have the charm of being on the water or an old downtown historic building it will be in a great location..the old Green hills Grill building
which is near Research Park and busy University Drive. It should do very well there. A Guntersville location opened back in June. This famous Mobile restaurant is expanding rapidly. A Decatur location may also be in the works

[ThatGuy]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Wintzell's Oyster House comimg to the Rocket City.
While it won't have the charm of being on the water or an old downtown historic building it will be in a great location..the old Green hills Grill building
which is near Research Park and busy University Drive. It should do very well there. A Guntersville location opened back in June. This famous Mobile restaurant is expanding rapidly. A Decatur location may also be in the works

That is great news! I thought the food was pretty good when I tried it out.

[HSVTiger]

Might possibly impact potential future service to Huntsville.
Hate to see Frontier may fade away,

The officials said that AirTran will give its 10 slots, its single gate and a jetway at Newark to Continental. In exchange, the people said, Continental will give AirTran four slots at LaGuardia and six slots at the Washington airport.

Low-cost carrier AirTran, a unit of Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran Holdings Inc., plans to add new service to Indianapolis from LaGuardia as a result of its slot pickup from Houston-based Continental Airlines Inc.

AirTran's departure from Newark will come after serving the market for 10 years.

"Consolidating our operations at both Reagan National and New York's LaGuardia creates a much more efficient operation and also significantly improves our presence in both of these leading airports," Healy said.

AirTran said the new flights it will add will better connect important markets in the Midwest and South to business and government centers and play an important role in its overall network structure.

Southwest's increased bid Monday to take Frontier out of bankruptcy protection is well above the $108.8 million offered by regional jet operator Republic Airways Holdings Inc.

Buying Frontier would give Southwest service in several new cities and take out one of its two big competitors in Denver.

Southwest has said it would keep all of Frontier's current markets, including Atlanta, one of the last big markets where Southwest doesn't currently fly. It would phase out Frontier's Airbus fleet in favor of Southwest's fleet of Boeing 737s over about two years.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

ALDOT reverts to it's old ways, kill any economic stimulus, hold cities hostage and dispute projects with the threat of major delay in construction.
You can probably bet this project won't happen

By Keith Clines
Times Staff Writer [email protected]
Blake Bottom work should be on city's tab, agency insists

The Alabama Department of Transportation said Tuesday that the coding in the state transportation plan that shows the state paying for a Blake Bottom Road overpass at Research Park Boulevard is wrong. ALDOT said the coding should be changed to show the City of Huntsville as the source to pay for the overpass.

ALDOT spokesman Tony Harris on Tuesday said that agency Director Joe McInnes sent a letter to Madison County Commissioner Dale Strong earlier this month explaining that the designation of state money to pay for the overpass is a mistake.
Strong argues that the city had no authority to reach an oral agreement with the state to move the Blake Bottom overpass money to the extension project because none of the Blake Bottom intersection is in the city.

The area Metropolitan Planning Organization, a group of local leaders who adopt long-range transportation plans, included the Blake Bottom overpass in the transportation improvement plan, but incorrectly designated the money to come from the state instead of from Huntsville, McInnes said in the July 8 letter.

McInnes wrote that "as you know, funding for this overpass is Huntsville's responsibility" and that the "MPO should change this designation."

The state plans to extend the limited-access portion of Research Park Boulevard past Alabama 53 and build an overpass over Alabama 53. But the project does not include a Blake Bottom overpass.

McInnes said the Blake Bottom overpass would add $8 million to the cost. State officials have also said that adding the overpass would mean a delay of at least a year for the design plans to be redrawn.
The state could begin building the limited-access extension of Research Park Boulevard this year if the county agrees to contribute $750,000 to the cost over two years. The city has agreed to supply $750,000, and ALDOT will supply $1.5 million.

McInnes said in his letter that if the county doesn't approve the $750,000 by Sept. 1, the state will reschedule the $24 million project.

ALDOT said earlier this year that it was moving the project from 2012 to June 2009.

something better than nothing it would seem

"The Alabama Department of Transportation is putting up $25 million dollars for the Research Park Boulevard extension.

In order for that to happen, Madison County has to put up $750 thousand dollars of their money.

"It is very frustrating that Madison County watching every dime that comes in and goes out now we're being asked to give $750,000 for a state highway. I understand the significance of $25 million to extend Research Park Blvd., but we will never stop trying to get an overpass at Blake Bottom," said Commissioner Strong.

Here's what's expected to happen. Crews will extend Plummer Road 4,000 feet past Highway 53 to include an overpass over Highway 53.

Not what County Commissioner Dale Strong had pitched for drivers who travel Dan Tibbs Road and Blake Bottom Road.

"When this road is built they will be forced to go 1.9 miles to Highway 53 loop under the overpass and come back to get home. It makes no sense," said Commissioner Strong.

In the end Commissioner Strong says something had to be done to save lives.

"Don't like it, but the bottom line is we've got to move forward. We can't afford not to have Research Park Boulevard extended. So we go forward with it. So that's where we are today," said Commissioner Strong."

[HSVTiger]

This cool project will get a lot of attention, probably good and bad

In May 2010 till June 2010, the 37-story Saturn V rocket will be "wrapped," in more than 8,000 pieces of hand-made fabric panels, and will become 'The Dream Rocket."
This morning, Jennifer Marsh, a visiting art professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, spoke to more than more than 50 people at at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center about her vision for Huntsville's most visible landmark.

Dubbed "a global collaborative public art project," The Dream Rocket will feature more 37,000 square-feet of hand-made panels.The panels, according to Marsh, will come from volunteers and sponsors from "every state in the U.S and 100 countries."

[HSVTiger]

always something to slow things down

New flood lines kill proposal to sell site to private developer

Forget about those condos and shops opposite Huntsville Hospital.

The Huntsville Housing Authority said Monday that it can't sell any of the three acres east of Gallatin Street for private development. That's because the city has redrawn its flood-plain maps, and about a third of the lot now sits in a 100-year flood zone.

As a result, the authority will move a proposed senior center about an acre to the south, killing plans to sell 1.3 acres along Gallatin and St. Clair Avenue for condos.

The proposed four-story private development, first making headlines in May, had been known as Resonant Pointe. T1 Development had offered $1.6 million for the land, and the authority initially embraced the pitch.

But on Monday, during the board's monthly meeting at the Oscar Mason Community Center, there were no options for private development. Instead, development consultant Paul Widman and architect Frank Nola flipped through various sketches of new locations for the senior center.

Last fall bulldozers razed 56 units in the eastern portion of Councill Courts. Since that time, Widman said the city redrew the 100-year flood lines, absorbing about an acre of the property closest to the culvert known as Fagan Creek.

Nola and Widman also said a new city parking ordinance would demand more land, requiring the proposed senior center jump from 86 parking spaces to 129.

In the end, the board agreed Monday to lift its proposed three-story senior center, known as Gateway Place, and move it an acre to the south and safely outside the flood zone.

The $10 million, horseshoe-shaped center will now sit in the middle of the property, bordered by a parking lot to the south and some parking and green space to the north.

[HSVTiger]

Downtown interchange ramp improvements

The council awarded APAC Mid-South Inc. a $205,730.51 contract to build another turn lane at Clinton Avenue for motorists who have exited from northbound Memorial Parkway.

The work will widen the exit ramp to add another right turn lane at Clinton. Now, there is a left turn lane and a right turn lane at the intersection. The project will add a third lane to have a left turn lane, a middle lane for turning left or right, and a right turn lane.

And I-565 lighting
At I-565 and Greenbrier Road, the Alabama Department of Transportation will buy and install new streetlights at the interchange

[HSVTiger]

Madison County home sales increased July for the third consecutive month, the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors said Tuesday.

Last month, 497 homes were sold, an 11.2 percent increase over 447 homes sold in June, up from 429 homes sold in May, the association reported. Compared with last year, July's sales showed an 7.8 percent decrease from the same month last year.

[ThatGuy]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

The $10 million, horseshoe-shaped center will now sit in the middle of the property, bordered by a parking lot to the south and some parking and green space to the north.

—? Wasn't that $10 MILLION facility supposed to be paid for from the profits of selling that land? This project should be put on hold until that profit is realized.

[JuanHunt]

Isnt the standard floodplain solution to put a parking deck on the first few floors?

When I hear the $1.6million number I cant help but think of the $4miilion paid by the city for the old homeless shelter property.

[HSV79]

Well Toyota Motor Manufacturing has announced a new project that will be coming to the Huntsville plant. The plant here builds the V6 and V8 for the Tacoma, Tundra and the Lexus suv. Now the plant has been awarded by the mother company "TMC" Toyota Motor Corporation the 4 cylinder. This new engine will begin production in May 2011 and is expected to add around 240-250 new jobs. The new 4 cylinder will go into the Camry. The Huntsville plant will be the only Toyota engine plant in the world to build the 4,6,and 8 cylinder engines all in one plant.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSV79

Well Toyota Motor Manufacturing has announced a new project that will be coming to the Huntsville plant. The plant here builds the V6 and V8 for the Tacoma, Tundra and the Lexus suv. Now the plant has been awarded by the mother company "TMC" Toyota Motor Corporation the 4 cylinder. This new engine will begin production in May 2011 and is expected to add around 240-250 new jobs. The new 4 cylinder will go into the Camry. The Huntsville plant will be the only Toyota engine plant in the world to build the 4,6,and 8 cylinder engines all in one plant.

4 cylinder, wow, great news from Toyota. They should build cars as well here.

[HSVTiger]

A rendering of the planned Veterans monument downtown
This will be located in the current Gateway park area between the Washington St/Jefferson St viaduct.

From WHNT

This will be an excellent addition downtown

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

A rendering of the planned Veterans monument downtown
This will be located in the current Gateway park area between the Washington St/Jefferson St viaduct.

From WHNT

This will be an excellent addition downtown

When do they plan to ever break ground on this nice project?

[ThatGuy]

Whatever became of the lawsuit concerning the new fountain near the Embassy Suites Hotel? The fountain was supposed to create different patterns and effects but didn't.