WEEK TV reports that our main airport guru is fighting for upgrades. You know what I think? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Okay, I know we lost our direct flights to Denver and Orlando, but I still like the Peoria Airport. Free parking! Try finding that at any other airport. I feel safe at PIA, even late at night. The furnishings aren't modern, but they are spotlessly clean. PIA's bathrooms are the cleanest in town. The wi-fi works, works well, and is free. When my broadband is down, I've been known to go to PIA to suck up the free wi-fi. Frankly, what's not to like? The airport is rarely crowded, the staff is friendly. If you arrive with only a few minutes to spare before your flight, they still have time for the post 9/11 body cavity search without bitterness.
I know, I know, it costs quite a bit more to fly in and out of a smaller market like Peoria. When I'm not traveling on my bosses dime, I fly out of Chicago or St. Louis. However, even if they upgrade the airport, that won't change. A new terminal? Lots of huge airports have added palatial terminals for not. Unlike a new school building, a new terminal will not bring more people to Peoria. Airlines can't afford to locate hubs or add flights simply because a particular airport has plush surroundings. They go where the travelers go. They go where the money goes. Ever fly in or out of Chicago's Midway Airport? It is a cess pool. A busy, profitable cess pool.
The Peoria Airport is a blast from the past. A retro experience. I say recover the gate chairs in burnt orange, harvest gold, avocado green, and sea foam green vinyl, add a Starbucks to go along with the wi-fi, and call it a day.
If your mind is too open, your brain will fall out. Warning: Names, identities, descriptions, and pictures have been changed and/or used to protect the innocent as well as the guilty. PollyPeoria should not be used or quoted as a source for your senior college thesis.
Friday, April 28
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12 comments:
Polly,
You are *so* right. Building a newer and nicer airport is not going to secure us reliable jet service to other destinations. But in my 40+ years here in PIA, it seems that airport has always been under construction.
I always have preferred to fly out of PIA. Once I drove to Chicago O'Hare for a trip to Philidelphia. It took me longer to drive to O'Hare than it did to fly from there to Philidelphia.
A few years ago, there was someone from Peoria trying to get a regional airport built somewhere along 155, between here and Lincoln. The goal was to service people from Peoria, Bloomington, Lincoln, Springfield and Champaign. This airport would supposedly be at most an hour's drive from these cities and would be able to support reliable service to more places. If I remember, it even had some support from Southwest Airlines, but the proposal was killed in some political wrangle.
But I agree, leave the Peoria Greater Airport as is.
Polly,
Couldn't agree more. However, if they ever change my direct flights to Vegas, there could be war. I kind of think the Retro look goes with Peoria anyway. The land that time forgot.
Did it ever occur to these people that if there was profit in having more routes in Peoria, the free market would provide?
Perhaps the expansion is freight-related? MOST of the traffic at GPRA is freight, not passenger, and the freight traffic is huge for our economy,
The Peoria airport is used primarily for freight transport, not passengers. It may well be that Fedex, UPS... heck even Caterpillar needs more runway for their business.
Cat sends a lot of stuff out of Peoria for their support network.
To Bill...Sometimes we want things the free market won't provide, so we subsidize. The great thing about the subsidies the airport offers is that there is basically a 1:1 offset since there was no income coming in before the flight is secured. Since many of the incentives are waiving of fees there is 0 cost for that, the other incentives are offset by the ripple effect of the new service. Even if that does not completely cover the cost, there is an innate benefit to better air service. Business are more comfortable locating in your community if you have better air service. Also, the more destinations, the more efficiently those business can operate (employees are expensive, have them spend less time in the air). Also, you have to keep in mind that the true economy is nothing like that presented as the ideal in an Econ class. Other cities offer subsidies, therefore to compete for the limited number of flights the currently skidish airlines with to provide we need to subsidize.
To the main point of the post...
We need a more aesthetically pleasing entry point into our community. While functionally the airport is ok, it could use some work elsewhere. Also, I do not think we will lose things such as free parking if the airport is upgraded. Free parking is what helped the GPRA recapture share versus CIRA (when CIRA was the only one offering free parking). Unless all the local airports start charging for parking I do not think we will lose that perk.
Common Sense Dude Wrote:
"Building a newer and nicer airport is not going to secure us reliable jet service to other destinations."
The GPRA is not proposing to build a "newer and nicer airport." It is proposing terminal improvements that are deemed necessary. Other airport terminals in this state have their ticketing and baggage claim on the same floor, but Peoria's is on separate floors.
In addition, there is no more room in case a new airline comes in or an airline presently serving Peoria requires another gate due to adding another hub destination.
Mahkno said:
"The Peoria airport is used primarily for freight transport, not passengers."
Not true. Federal Express has 14 weekly flights at our local airport; UPS (formerly Menlo, nee Emery) has 10 weeklies; UPS feder line Air Cargo Carriers also has 10 weeklies, thus there are only 24 weekly cargo flights in and out of Peoria each week. Compare that to the 230 weekly passenger flights offered by Allegiant Air, American Eagle, Delta Connection, Northwest Airlink and United Express.
If the local airport doesn't effectively compete with neighboring airports such as the one at Bloomington-Normal, we will likely miss out on many opportunities for air service improvements. There needs to be a constant effort to improve service since changes, positive and negative, are bound to occur.
GPRA officals in the past have not learned this lesson and that is why we suffered from high air fares and poor air service for much of the 1980's and 1990's.
That Bloomington-Normal gained AirTran Airways in 1996 over Peoria (whose airprot officals were flippant about it) is a mistake that may haunt us for years to come. Many airports serving cities similar in size to Peoria serve twice the number of travelers. Why can't Peoria?
Correction:
That should have been 34, not 24, weekly cargo flights in and out of the Greater Peoria Regional Airport.
Should have double FedEx flights - total weekly cargo flights at Peoria is 34. My point is the same.
Aargh! Early AM. 48, not 34!
... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
This is going to irk you libraterians out there but the truth is the airport is going after federal FAA dollars for improvements that you've already paid for. The truth of the matter is Peoria is long overdue for federal capital improvement dollars, and these dollars have instead been funneled to competitor communities.
Don't expect a tax break for forgoing on a new terminal. There will still be a new terminal built on your dime, it just may be in Fort Wayne Indiana instead of Peoria.
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