Huntsville updates

[urbanoptimist]

wow i dont give a s*&t what airline any of you prefer. but i'm glad we got the low cost carrier. .

anyway would anyone want to talk about the green 13 recommendations???
this is big news! and no one on this blog has even brought it up. if implemented as suggested, this could completely rework the downtown area.

http://www.hsvcity.com/green/final_report.php

I'm soooo proud of our local government for doing this. Please read through it

[neilson]

If you're lucky to fly the MD88 from HSV to ATL, then you'll find it goes on to BWI anyway thus negating the need to run around ATL anyway.

I did very well making sure to fly the MD88 up to BWI vs. dealing with a CRJ that would cause me to change planes and concourses. Now, if I do have to go the CRJ route with Delta then I'll look at connecting through DTW or MEM where I'll most likely move into a 737 or MD88 for my flight to any major airport in the Northeast or Midwest.

[nickodemis]

[QUOTE=luvinhsv;4725551]

Originally Posted by nickodemis

I doubt very few people out of HSV will even be more then Gold status, so your experiences will nott normally apply to most of us.

/QUOTE]


...and you are proving my point. I never suggested that it would apply to you. That is why your "not smart enough" comment pissed me off. FOR ME and for current Delta FREQUENT fliers (and there are plenty in HSV), it is better to continue to fly Delta. I have earned Diamond status - certainly nothing prestigous, just the result of a lot of time away from my family -and you get a lot more for that than just Silver or Gold. Why would I want to switch to Airtran when I already get 125% of my miles flown + AMEX miles, plus sometimes class of service bonus. For me to accrue 25K miles, I have to fly about 10K not including the miles on my AMEX. So again, I ask you - Why should I switch? So you can have Airtran come to HSV for lower fares?

...and to say that Airtran's baggage fees are less than Delta's? Again, not for Medallion members, so again, why should I switch?

...and the Crown Room? In your vast (week in week out as you say) travel, have you NEVER been stuck in an airport for 3+ hours on a delay or layover? That is when and only when I use the Crown room. I don't go to a Crown room when I get to an airport, nobody does. And yes, it is nice since I always get a plug for my computer, not crowded and while you are paying your "Airtran SAVINGS" for $8 beers, mine are free. And no kids running around...again, why should I switch?

Your argument is valid for new business travelers. No question! But MY point all along was that it wouldn't be very common for an ESTABLISHED Delta flyer to switch cold turkey.

Finally, all these horrible feelings toward Delta are clearly the results of your bad experiences. Keep in mind, not all of us have had these experiences. I'm perfectly happy with Delta. That being said, I would love to see Airtran come to HSV and I would hope it will succeed. I'm sure there are plenty people who would support it. Howevr, given my particular set of circumstances, I won't likely be one of them. But if you want to fly to BWI every week nonstop? More power to you!

Realistically, how many business travelers out of Huntsville do you think are higher then Gold status? You are the exception to the rule, I would imagine.

The point is that the average business traveler probably has silver or maybe gold status at most and 50K or less points. I am saying they are not smart enough to realize that within 8 round trips, they would have the same elite status with Airtran and free flight.

I am not saying that the Delta customers are stupid, just that they have been fooled by the Delta into believing that their points are worth something. How many times has Delta changed their FF program. At first it was 25K miles for a free flight anywhere in the Continental US and now its 37K or more. Sure they say its still only 25k miles for a free flight but realistically those flights are almost impossible to find, so you have to pay more miles to get a free flight. Why would Delta give away free flights when it's losing millions each quarter.

With Airtan, 8 points = 1 free oneway flight (16 roundtrip). You earn 1 point per flight. That's it. Almost all of their flights have plenty seats available for point redemption. Not to mention you buy your way into first class for $40 on most flights.


BTW, I normally don't get stuck at airports because I mostly fly Airtran. Delta is losing money left and right, so they can't afford to maintain their planes or the staff of employees. Think about it, would you rather fly an airline that makes record profit each quarter or one that losses millions in revenue. Something has to give.

[nickodemis]

Originally Posted by urbanoptimist

wow i dont give a s*&t what airline any of you prefer. but i'm glad we got the low cost carrier. .

anyway would anyone want to talk about the green 13 recommendations???
this is big news! and no one on this blog has even brought it up. if implemented as suggested, this could completely rework the downtown area.

http://www.hsvcity.com/green/final_report.php

I'm soooo proud of our local government for doing this. Please read through it

Probably because no one cares. We all want to save Green, as in $$

[urbanoptimist]

Originally Posted by nickodemis

Probably because no one cares. We all want to save Green, as in $$

how about you create a new thread called "huntsville international airport 'news' " then? because this has no "huntsville development" relevance except for that huntsville international got a new carrier

[luvinhsv]

Originally Posted by David1502

Another consideration after you have made the 25 minute flight (48 minute total trip time) to ATL is that once you are in the C Concourse (where all of their ASA and Comair flights arrive from HSV) your connecting flight will be on either Concourses A, B (most likley one of these two) or Concouses D and occasionally E. On the other hand, if you fly AirTran, 75% of their flights are on Concourse C (from Gate 21 to Gate 36, with the remaining 25% of connections on Concourse D) so there is less time(and stress) in making a connection. Using Delta and its affiliates, you are guaranteed to have to use the underground train at Hartsfield. When making a connection every minute (and sometimes second) counts.

Also, if you travel primarily travel out west, why don't you fly American (with their full body MD80's) to DFW instead of flying east to ATL to turn right around and fly back west. Also, for going to MSP, both American and United have flights to Chicage O'Hare. I'm not criticizing, - just wondering why you fly southeast to eventually go west or north (to MSP) by going via ATL.

.

Look, if you really want to know, I am from MSP originally. I built up a ton of miles on NWA. They became partners with Delta shortly after I moved to HSV. I decided to switch to Delta because there were way more flights to ATL daily than to Memphis on NWA. So I switched to Skymiles AMEX etc... Had I not had the relationship with NWA, I might have switched to AA or United at the time. But I already had all the perks and about 450k miles in my account. Which brings me to my original point - why should I start from scratch to gain a level I already have? The relative convenience of a connection in Dallas vs. ATL is not worth it to me.

As for flying east to go west? Really? You want to go there? What are all these Airtran supporters going to do when they want to go west? Fly further southeast or east to MCO or BWI to get west?

Like I've said all along - this is what works for me. Might not for most others. No need to criticize. I hope Airtran comes to HSV. Really do!

[luvinhsv]

...and on to significantly more important things...

When do we expect to see some vertical movement on Constellation?

[David1502]

Originally Posted by luvinhsv

Look, if you really want to know, I am from MSP originally. I built up a ton of miles on NWA. They became partners with Delta shortly after I moved to HSV. I decided to switch to Delta because there were way more flights to ATL daily than to Memphis on NWA. So I switched to Skymiles AMEX etc... Had I not had the relationship with NWA, I might have switched to AA or United at the time. But I already had all the perks and about 450k miles in my account. Which brings me to my original point - why should I start from scratch to gain a level I already have? The relative convenience of a connection in Dallas vs. ATL is not worth it to me.

As for flying east to go west? Really? You want to go there? What are all these Airtran supporters going to do when they want to go west? Fly further southeast or east to MCO or BWI to get west?

Like I've said all along - this is what works for me. Might not for most others. No need to criticize. I hope Airtran comes to HSV. Really do!

No problem, and I didn't mean to sound critical, I was just trying to get to the logic or reasoning behind the decision. I can relate to having loyalty to the perks offered by some companies - For example normally I am a loyal Hertz No. 1 Club Gold customer and try to rent from them because I don't have to wait in any lines to get a car. However, recently in preparing for a trip to San Jose, I compared prices and Hertz was $240 for the exact same car which I could rent from Avis for around $80. For $160 difference, I gladly stood in the line at the Avis counter for a couple of minutes.

All things being equal, the price is the deciding factor (why pay $75 for Polo at a Dept. strore when I can buy it for $29 at the outlet). Dave Ramsey makes a big point that airline frequent flyer programs are one of the biggest scams as people will pay thousand for a free ticket when you can buy them for $300 or less - check out the current summer sale which AirTran is having now - a one way from ATL to LAX of $129. When you see how little airfares can be, winning free tickets is not such a big deal. All the other perks of prestige Delta offfers, I find laughable. I have seen a Delta gate agent tremble in fear when he had to tell all of the Medallion members that First Class was full and they would have to board using their coach seat - and the flight was an hour and ten minutes from Raleigh to Atlanta. Many of the passengers groaned!
The other consideration is if one is paying out of their own pocket or not. I have always been self employed so I try to watch my costs. If I was working for a big company, I am sure that I would see things differently.

For those who have been bored with this discussion, keep in mind that HSV has the dubious distinction of having the highest fares in the U.S. (more than $100 greater than the second highest city) and that is not a distinction that the the mayor of Huntsville, the area chambers of commerce and many companies in the area (like ADTRAN and Toyota) are proud to have.

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by urbanoptimist

how about you create a new thread called "huntsville international airport 'news' " then? because this has no "huntsville development" relevance except for that huntsville international got a new carrier

Nah... I think we will just keep it here. The local development threads for all of our cities are generally a mixture of (often obscure) topics. When true development stuff happens, we move on to the next subject.

On a much lighter AirTran note, this caught my eye in the Atlanta Journal Constitution this morning:

http://www.ajc.com/business/flight-attendants-protest-airtran-342568.html

Flight attendants protest AirTran swimsuit plane
By Kelly Yamanouchi
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A revealing image on the runway has some AirTran Airways flight attendants fuming.

Orlando-based AirTran, which has its largest hub in Atlanta, has adorned one of its Boeing 737 jets with the image of a swimsuit-clad woman in heels, as part of a partnership with Sports Illustrated for the magazine's swimsuit edition.

The promotion is ending and AirTran will remove the image from the plane soon, spokesman Christopher White said.

The AJC has learned that the Association of Flight Attendants at AirTran voiced its objections in a message to members.

"It is our feeling that this is not only contrary to the family image that this company tries to promote, but also potentially offensive to their female employees, the majority of their flight attendants who will have to work on this aircraft," the union said, adding that it "creates a potential for verbal abuse by male passengers."

White insisted the airline's swimsuit decal is "subdued and classy," in a World War II pinup style.

"We have the highest respect for all of our crew members, male and female," White said. "We also went to great lengths to ensure that the image that we put on the side of our planes was very tastefully done and very much a family-friendly image."

Last year when Dallas-based Southwest Airlines had the partnership for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, it put a giant picture of a lounging model in a bikini on one of its planes. Southwest and other carriers like Spirit Airlines have a history of using risque marketing tactics, from revealing flight attendant uniforms in the past to racy references in advertising campaigns today.

Patricia Friend, international president of the Washington-based Association of Flight Attendants, plans to send a letter to AirTran management on the swimsuit plane, spokeswoman Corey Caldwell told the AJC.

"As a union, we have fought hard and we have come a long way to bridge the gender discrimination gap," Caldwell said. She said a marketing campaign that features any "lewdness" is "a step backward in this progress."

Images from other past AirTran promotions:

[nickodemis]

Originally Posted by urbanoptimist

how about you create a new thread called "huntsville international airport 'news' " then? because this has no "huntsville development" relevance except for that huntsville international got a new carrier

Look, lowering ticket prices at HSV airport is a huge step in getting new companies to move/expand to Huntsville. The cost of travel is very important factor when selecting locations to grow a new or existing business.

It is also a big factor when trying attract a highly skilled labor force. A company will not expand or move to Huntsville if it can't hire enough skilled labor to support it needs. Let's face it, most of the skilled labor is located outside of Huntsville and as a company, if you can't convenience people relocate to your Huntsville, then why build an office there.

I am not saying HSV doesn't have any skilled labor, just that it has a history of people relocating to HSV for highly technical jobs. Not to mention HSV is still a small city in terms of population.

FYI, more people, means more taxes revenue, which means more roads being built, better schools, bigger sports teams, more entertainment options, etc.

[g-man435]

So is there anything else going on in Huntsville right now besides a stupid debate over Airtran? Some of you guys need to relax and go have a beer or something. Wipe me down.

[neilson]

Originally Posted by g-man435

So is there anything else going on in Huntsville right now besides a stupid debate over Airtran? Some of you guys need to relax and go have a beer or something. Wipe me down.

Sure it's easy for you to call this discussion "stupid". You live near GSP, which is only the #5 rip-off airport in the country. Congratulations, you're slightly better then HSV because you still have Alligant Air.

[huntsvillefan]

Originally Posted by urbanoptimist

wow i dont give a s*&t what airline any of you prefer. but i'm glad we got the low cost carrier. .

anyway would anyone want to talk about the green 13 recommendations???
this is big news! and no one on this blog has even brought it up. if implemented as suggested, this could completely rework the downtown area.

http://www.hsvcity.com/green/final_report.php

I'm soooo proud of our local government for doing this. Please read through it

I have downloaded the green report and it is very exciting. Good city leadership makes for a great city. I would love to see Huntsville lead in the green movement because I believe that will bring more green to Huntsville's citizen's pockets. Furthermore it will help citizens stay healthy (which is really far more important than green in the pocket).

[nickodemis]

Are there any talks of building a new baseball stadium in downtown for the Huntsville Stars?

I really feel that Huntsville has not promoted development in downtown as other cities have. I've been to Greenville, SC quite a few times and they have great downtown area. Lots restaurants and they have a really nice minor league baseball stadium. Greenville is probably the same size as Huntsville/Decatur area.

It seems like there is hardly any new development downtown Huntsville. There is tons of space around big spring park for commercial development (with guidance by from the city council). There is so much potential to increase the quality of life for the residents of Huntsville. Would the local's support, financially, new restaurants and entrainment in downtown?

I also think Huntsville should have more festivals besides Panopoly. The city could have a BBQ or Chili cook off or something along those lines. There is a lot opportunities to increase the tourism in the Huntsville area, which means more tax revenue.

The city does nothing to promote the Space and Rocket center. Why? Maybe they can do some kind of join marketing campaign with the discount airline. Fly to Huntsville and attend Space Camp or something.

[huntsvillefan]

Downtown Huntsville is ripe for exploding redevelopment.

[HSVTiger]

Good for the infrastructure if we get it

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- The Rocket City is applying to become a test market for Google's new ultra-high speed broadband network, Google Fiber.

Wayne Brooks, Huntsville's interim information technology services director, said he is working with the Chamber of Commerce to gather all sorts of information requested by Google, including income levels, the percentage of high-tech jobs and existing Internet connection speeds here.

Cities competing for Google Fiber -- and there are many, including Seattle, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. -- have until March 26 to turn in their applications. Google plans to build and test the fiberoptic network in one or more trial communities later this year, serving as many as 500,000 people.

It will deliver Internet speeds 100 times faster than what most Americans currently have access to, Google says.

"I'm going to try to provide them with the best picture I possibly can of Huntsville so they'll want to come," Brooks said this morning. "We're definitely giving it the old college try."

Mayor Tommy Battle plans to create a "Get Google" task force in the coming days to rally community support for Huntsville's application.

You can get behind the idea now by joining the "Google4HSV" fan page on Facebook. Started by Huntsville resident Peyton McNully, it already has more than 2,800 members.

[HSVTiger]

A new report on commercial real estate conditions in Huntsville and Madison shows more than 20.9 million square feet of occupied industrial space at the end of 2009, with nearly 1.9 million square feet of empty space. That represents a vacancy rate of just over 9 percent, according to figures released by the Huntsville office of Graham & Co., a Birmingham-based commercial real estate firm.

The Huntsville area's office market had more than 16.4 million square feet of occupied space at the end of 2009 and about 1.5 million square feet in empty space, leaving a vacancy rate of 9.33 percent. Local commercial Realtors say the older office properties are getting hit the worst with vacancies, while occupancy at Cummings Research Park is at about 95 percent.

[David1502]

If you look on the AirTran website, and specifically at their route map, Huntsville is now on their route map with flights to both Baltimore and Orlando. As I had speculated they chose not to take on Delta with flights to the ATL hub. Delta would have lowered their fares (It is currently more than $300 round trip between HSV and ATL). This is extremely unfortunate because the North Alabama market is not allowed to take advantage of having low fares to all ot AirTran's destinations out of ATL. Delt awould have been forced to match these, too.

Just the same congratulations are due to the Huntsville Airpor Authority and Chamber of Commerce. Maybe in a few months AirTran will (after building up a base of local flyers) then be bold and offer direct flights from HSV to ATL. Go AirTran!

[stewdog1]

Originally Posted by David1502

If you look on the AirTran website, and specifically at their route map, Huntsville is now on their route map with flights to both Baltimore and Orlando. As I had speculated they chose not to take on Delta with flights to the ATL hub. Delta would have lowered their fares (It is currently more than $300 round trip between HSV and ATL). This is extremely unfortunate because the North Alabama market is not allowed to take advantage of having low fares to all ot AirTran's destinations out of ATL. Delt awould have been forced to match these, too.

Just the same congratulations are due to the Huntsville Airpor Authority and Chamber of Commerce. Maybe in a few months AirTran will (after building up a base of local flyers) then be bold and offer direct flights from HSV to ATL. Go AirTran!

Well, it's better than nothing. Glad we have another choice.

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by David1502

If you look on the AirTran website, and specifically at their route map, Huntsville is now on their route map with flights to both Baltimore and Orlando. As I had speculated they chose not to take on Delta with flights to the ATL hub. Delta would have lowered their fares (It is currently more than $300 round trip between HSV and ATL). This is extremely unfortunate because the North Alabama market is not allowed to take advantage of having low fares to all ot AirTran's destinations out of ATL. Delt awould have been forced to match these, too.

Just the same congratulations are due to the Huntsville Airpor Authority and Chamber of Commerce. Maybe in a few months AirTran will (after building up a base of local flyers) then be bold and offer direct flights from HSV to ATL. Go AirTran!

Congratulations HSV!