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Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 949
Location: Carmel, IN

From Inside Indiana Business this afternoon:

NEWSROOM

Officials Trying to Finalize Intrastate Air Service
InsideINdianaBusiness.com Report

1/20/2006 12:46:55 PM

The Evansville Courier & Press is reporting that Evansville Regional Airport officials now have proposed contracts in their hands that could allow Evansville to Indianapolis flights to resume by mid-March.

However, the contracts include cost increases that could raise ticket prices enough to make the airline unworkable.

An intrastate airline with Evansvilleâ??Indianapolis flights operated for several weeks early last year. However, flights were halted in March when ATA filed for bankruptcy.

Since then, airport officials have sought another airline to operate the flights. Tennesseeâ??s RegionsAir has submitted a proposal.

Source: Inside INdiana Business

Site Admin

Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Posts: 2316
Location: Indianapolis, IN

I don't know why they don't try and get NW to bring in a couple of their props to fly the routes like Evansville and South Bend. At least that way people would have a connection opportunity once they got to IND.

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Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 949
Location: Carmel, IN

I agree. I think they tried that, though, and NW said they couldn't do it without certainty that the service would be profitable.

When TZ tried it, they made a push with the city leaders in SBN, EVV, and FTW to sell seats to local businesses in a "book." That is, Company X would buy a book with prepaid tickets for something like 25 roundtrip flights, good for one year. And even with the push from the cities, they couldn't get enough business to make the plan work.

I think it's a great idea for leaders in the state to keep trying to get air service from EVV, FTW, and SBN - and even GYY - to IND. But I also think the problem is one of matching frequency with volume. There's probably enough demand to fill a small plane in the morning and another one in the evening on each route. But if the people who represent that demand don't match up with the flight times, then their alternative is to drive - which is what they're probably doing now.

The other major problem with the service - with any really short-haul service - is the trade-off between the cost of the flight and the cost to drive, including the cost of time spent waiting at airports, etc.

So if I've got to go from IND to EVV for some meetings, I'll want a 7:30 a.m. flight that will get me there at 7:30 (time change), in time for an 8:00 or 8:30 meeting in downtown EVV. I'll then want a return flight between 4:00 and 5:00, which will have me back to IND by 5:00 or 6:00 and home for dinner by 7:00 latest. And I'll pay about $120 for the convenience of flying, max.

That would go for EVV and SBN, since there is no direct highway route (yet) to either city. For FWA, I'd drive no matter what, since I live in Fishers. But if I lived on the south side, I might pay $75 to fly and avoid the hassle of I-69 at rush hour. Same story for GYY - I could drive interstate all the way there on I-65, but I might pay $100 max for the convenience.

But why do the powers that be stop with just intrastate service? What about nonstop flights to Louisville? Lexington? Grand Rapids? Dayton? Columbus? Toledo? These might be markets with as much if not more demand for service to IND as FWA, SBN, GYY, and EVV. Just because they're not INTRAstate doesn't mean there's no demand.

You know, they have some services like this to small cities in Kansas. At least I think you can still fly those routes from MCI to cities like Great Bend, Salina, Dodge City, Manhattan, Witchita, etc. US Airways runs these routes with Beechcraft turboprops. You might have to stop in one city on your way, but otherwise the service isn't bad. Why couldn't we do that here? Have a flight from Grand Rapids to SBN to IND. TOL to FWA to IND. EVV to SDF to IND. GYY to LAF to IND.

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Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Posts: 2316
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Unfortunately when Chicago Express died so did the chance of having routes like that. I'd be happy to set something like that up if someone would write me a check for a few mil

Would it be worth it for the people of this state for either the City of Indianapolis or the State of Indiana to offer a grant to a major carrier to offer the instate service like that?

Site Admin

Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 949
Location: Carmel, IN

You know, I think it's in the best interests of the state and the city of Indianapolis to have service to SBN and EVV. Until I-69 is built and until US 31 is upgraded to interstate-grade highway, there's no easy connection between these two important cities and their state capital. So until those roads are in place, the state should consider subsidizing air service as an alternative. I could see two airplanes that each leave at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time, one from SBN and one from EVV, get to Indy in about an hour, and then go up to the opposite city. That way, you connect SBN and EVV with one-stop service as well. Then, the planes each leave at 5:00 Eastern time from those two cities, stop in Indy, and go back up to the opposite city again. Five days a week only. Priced at $50 per EVV/SBN - IND segment, or $100 round trip. $200 round trip for EVV-SBN.

Site Admin

Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Posts: 2316
Location: Indianapolis, IN

The only problem with using an airline like RegionsAir is that it makes the flight point to point only. It has to be Evansville to Indy or South Bend to Indy only. Lets assume they are 50 seat planes just to use nice numbers. In order to fill the flight you'd have to have 50 people wanting to come to Indianapolis. If you used a company like NW you could have 40 people coming to IND and the other 10 flying on to MCO, LAS, or somewhere else. It makes the flight more valuable to the airline as well as the customer. I'd make each route 3x daily which matches up with alot of NW's other routes. Time the flights so poeple could catch connections to other destinations or just stay in Indianapolis. If it is found to be successful NW could easily add other routes like GRR or DAY.

Member

Joined: 11 Oct 2006
Posts: 248
Location: Lexington ky

i agree especially evv sbn and gyy