Flying wide of the mark
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In the old market of Sarlat, a new language is increasingly being heard: English. Attracted by the quality of life, including good food and good weather, the English have been buying second homes in the remote Dordogne region of France over the past few years. Why the new interest? Ryanair started direct service to Bergerac (EGC) from London Stansted (STN).
While in Europe many peripheral airports have aggressively courted low-cost carriers, the trend in America has lagged behind. That may be changing.
Scott McNally wrote in his column last week in the Wall Street Journal about the rise of peripheral airports. He cites the new LA/Palmdale Regional airport 50 miles from LA, the Gary, Indiana airport now calling itself “Chicago/Gary” and the fact that the Port Authority bought the lease on the Newburgh airport 55 miles north of Manhattan.
Will we see this as a cheap (if not fast) route to big cities as has been the norm in Europe? Sadly, it seems not. United is scheduled to provide service to LA/Palmdale via their regional jets. Where are the low-cost carriers in the US? Will these far-flung areas experience new growth like the Dordogne with the English? Sound off in the comments below. Interestingly, Ryannair recently said they had to start flying to major airports in order to continue growth.



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March 20th, 2007 at 9:16 pm |
[…] Thanks to Tyler Colman, a.k.a. Dr. Vino, for minding the store in my absence, and for guest-posting earlier today. (And, as an aside, congrats to him for his James Beard Award […]