Vegas_Sioux Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 More regional airport news. Delta dropped the Saab and cant land the Barbie jet when it's windy in devils lake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ole in MSP Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 More regional airport news. Delta dropped the Saab and cant land the Barbie jet when it's windy in devils lake. ND should get smart like Wisconsin, Iowa etc. and build a regional airport midway betweend GF, Fargo, Devils Lake and whatever city is the closest to the NS line west of Fargo (Jamestown?). Central Wisconsin Airport and Eastern Iowa airport have proven to be big benefits to each region. The population of Eastern ND is not large enough to support 3 airports that will handle major airlines and likely will not be in the foreseeable future. Those in Fargo may think they deserve their own, but realistically they are still a small player in the airline world with cost considerations being far more important than providing connections service. I am sure this will never happen as the climate for working together is zero, but long term, this is a better option than fighting to maintain local services. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teeder11 Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 ND should get smart like Wisconsin, Iowa etc. and build a regional airport midway betweend GF, Fargo, Devils Lake and whatever city is the closest to the NS line west of Fargo (Jamestown?). Central Wisconsin Airport and Eastern Iowa airport have proven to be big benefits to each region. The population of Eastern ND is not large enough to support 3 airports that will handle major airlines and likely will not be in the foreseeable future. Those in Fargo may think they deserve their own, but realistically they are still a small player in the airline world with cost considerations being far more important than providing connections service. I am sure this will never happen as the climate for working together is zero, but long term, this is a better option than fighting to maintain local services. I always thought North Dakota missed the boat (or plane) decades ago by not building a regional airport between Mayville/Portland and Hillsboro, N.D. Just think, it would not be inconceivable for people to drive from Grand Forks, Fargo, Devils Lake, Jamestown, Wahpeton, Thief River, Crookston, Grafton and all points around those areas for more air service options and presumably cheaper fares. The Hillsboro area economy would have benefited greatly just as the rest of the region would have from better air service. Besides, you know what they say, Hillsboro is only one cup of coffee away from Grand Forks and Fargo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
star2city Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 I always thought North Dakota missed the boat (or plane) decades ago by not building a regional airport between Mayville/Portland and Hillsboro, N.D. Just think, it would not be inconceivable for people to drive from Grand Forks, Fargo, Devils Lake, Jamestown, Wahpeton, Thief River, Crookston, Grafton and all points around those areas for more air service options and presumably cheaper fares. The Hillsboro area economy would have benefited greatly just as the rest of the region would have from better air service. Besides, you know what they say, Hillsboro is only one cup of coffee away from Grand Forks and Fargo! A couple of years ago I would have agreed with you. Now, I think Fargo-Moorhead would be better off having an airport in SE Clay County 20 miles or so from Moorhead off I-94, so it could help keep leakage to MSP to a minimum from Fergus Falls/ Detroit Lakes. Putting an airport in Hillsboro makes a drive to MSP a no-brainer for the Lakes area residents as well as Wahpeton and other SE ND towns. For Grand Forks, an airport north of town off I-29 closer to Drayton so to better serve TRF/Roseau/Winnipeg, is making more sense as the years go by. Allegiant now has four flights a week out of Grand Forks to Orlando, vs only two for Fargo. Where are those travelers coming from? Winnipeg. The last couple times I've flown into Grand Forks, seems like so many of the Delta passengers were either from Canada or from Thief River Falls area, flying with DigiKey. US-bound flights out of Winnipeg are much more expensive than out of GFK. The growth of DigiKey has been unbelievable (adding 500 employees or so per year), and they have offices in Japan, China, S Korea, Hong Kong, and Europe. The employment growth at DigiKey may actually be almost as significant as the Canadian trade for the recent growth of retail in Grand Forks, as most retail/restaurant chains won't even consider TRF. As an aside, a Delta manager I talked to recently said that Minot is gaining so much business fare traffic (and profitability), that further flights and probably more competition to that city were inevitable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegas_Sioux Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Delta has suspended air service into devils lake. All passengers scheduled to fly out have been rebooked through grand forks. Also delta maybe be fined for violating essiential air service contracts with the federal govt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkster Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Delta has suspended air service into devils lake. All passengers scheduled to fly out have been rebooked through grand forks. Also delta maybe be fined for violating essiential air service contracts with the federal govt Sounds like the Essential Air Service program might be on it's last legs. I read a while back it didn't have too many friends in Washington and really, how hard is it to just drive to Grand Forks or Fargo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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