Reports
are out saying that in a few weeks Delaware will be the only state
that does not have major commercial airlines flying to an airport
within its borders.
It
happens when Frontier wraps up some remaining flights. And, turns
out, Frontier leaving isn’t the first time that Frontier leaving
has left the state in this situation. This was also the case less
than ten years ago when Frontier ended service at a different
time. The airline tried to make a comeback a couple of years ago.
Just hasn’t worked out.
I
want you to pause and consider that for a moment, without diving
into research, investigating need or ticket demand or looking
over flight options that never really got to what anyone would
call daily service levels.
Delaware
will be the only state that has no commercial flights in or out.
Rhode
Island. They refer to the airport as Providence, but it’s T.F.
Green and actually sits in the city of Warwick. Southwest, Delta,
American, and United provide a partial list of airlines using
Green. It’s also technically an international airport, with seasonal
flights to Canada offered using Air Canada. More than thirty destinations,
including Los Angeles and Denver, are part of their nonstop flight
offerings.
That’s
Rhode Island. Smallest state in the country. Logan not too far
away in Boston, Massachusetts. Bradley not too far away just outside
of Hartford, Connecticut. They have double-digit airlines using
Green. Delaware is about to have zero.
Now,
when you look at a map, a lot begins to seem much clearer. Washington,
D.C., that’s pretty close. Maryland and Pennsylvania bring in
the Baltimore and Philadelphia locations. And then you have the
looming shadows created by New Jersey and even New York. Just
a quick look and perhaps this isn’t so surprising at all.
Which
in turn shifts this into the realm of a wonderful example of supply
and demand. You don’t operate a large, commercial airport… never
mind potentially as an international airport… if people are heading
elsewhere for their flight needs. Rhode Island has the demand,
has the airlines, and Green is there. Delaware, for the second
time in a decade, not so much.
Many
years ago… many, many, many years ago… I found out that the airport
for Syracuse, New York, well, it just so happens to be the end
of the line. In other words, the journey to Hancock is one where
you wind up there because you are headed there. You do not accidentally
wind up at Hancock and in Syracuse, say as a result of a layover
and a connection. Basically, too far north and too far east to
be a midpoint. Too cold and too seasonal to be top of the list
on any travel destinations. Likely not many repositioning of the
fleet advantages to incorporating it in more plans. You use Hancock
because you are leaving Syracuse or going to Syracuse, end of
thought.
(Except
during the State Fair. The Great New York State Fair, a tradition
like no other. It’s awesome.)
And yet, even as a place that has several only once or twice a
week flight options, Syracuse manages to have multiple airlines
using its runways. (Though not as many as Green, so, yeah.)
I
wish Delaware luck. I sincerely hope that if needed, an airline
gives them serious consideration, along with an honest and great
effort in reestablishing service. But until that happens, you
might want to learn the codes BWI, PVD and SYR.