Does anyone have any news? Was the bid successful?
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11-28-2008
03:23 PM
12 Loves
The change fee is a big one. Once Southwest is able to serve New York better, I'll be quicker to buy flights if I'm not sure I'm only about 70% sure I want to take them. The baggage fee is also a big one. I'm flying to Utah this winter. I had a choice between a nonstop on Delta or a Denver transfer on Southwest. The $80 to check my skiis is what made me decide to take Southwest instead.
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12 Slots are not that many. As much as I want LGA to MCO services. I can really only see non-stops and BWI and MDW. The other problem I see with LGA is that flights are delayed. If Southwest is smart, they will reroute any flight that is expected to be delayed more than three hours to ISP when the airport is too crowded and provide ground transportation. Considering that th airport collects terminal fees, those fees are what should really go to funding the ground transportation, but this would benefit Southwest anyway. This would be an inconvenience for passengers, but one that beats waiting longer time at the terminal. This will also save them fuel if planes are placed in holding patterns and have to fly around for more than an hour consuming fuel. With such a contingency plan, the plane might even be able to take off if the airport has a ground hold.
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All Southwest really needs to do to get into the New York Market is to make getting to ISP easier. Considering the delays associated with New York airports, an extra hour of travel to ISP should be comparable to an extra hour or two fo waiting at LGA or JFK. What people living in New York City need for this to be a viable solution is a way to get there without a car. This could be accomplished by relocating the terminal to the north side of the airport, so it is within walking distance of the train station. The train ride is within a reasonable amount of time from the city, however, the connecting shuttle bus currently makes the trip too long.
Southwest could also provide bus service from the city, but would need frequent service that is cheap enough for people to use.
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