Quote:
Originally Posted by isangpogi
Respectfully, I disagree... I think Boise is well-poised for additional service at this point from a stable airline. Both Frontier's and American's pullouts had more to do with problems at the corporate level than they had to do with Boise ridership. Certainly, if either route had been immensely profitable, the airline would have kept it going regardless. But maintaining a ground and gate presence for only a couple flights per day is a losing battle. American and Frontier would have needed to commit to higher flight frequency to make efficient use of their presence at BOI. Because of the financial state of both airlines, they couldn't afford the gamble and cut their losses by pulling out.
Boise is still served very well, with fairly frequent nonstops to regional hubs like San Fransisco (5 Daily), Salt Lake (5), Denver (7), Seattle (7), etc. Boise gets two dailies to LA, Chicago and Minneapolis (increasing to 4 for the summer!). We are also lucky for a market our size to have a few non-hub routes like Sacramento, San Jose and Lewiston. Just as it's always been, one can travel from Boise to anywhere in the country and many international destinations with one stopover. For a market the size of Boise, we have decent service.
I suspect that as things continue to show signs of recovery, airlines will begin to reinvest in Boise. Spirit Airlines has been rapidly expanding from their Las Vegas and DFW bases. As much as I'd hate to pay to carry on a bag, they would be a good fit for the very cost-conscious Boise market.
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No arguement Boise has decent service now. But right now the recovery isn't happening. A six percent year to year decrease is quite large, especially during spring break months. I'm not trying to be a negative nancy or spar with you, but with the exception of Sacramento, I don't believe any new route or airline has stuck around in the last decade, even in the best of times. Southwest already flies to Las Vegas twice daily while offering connections and continuations. America West tried this route as well a couple times when they had a large Vegas hub. I think you'd see Allegiant to Hawaii before Spirit to Vegas.
I can't think of another airline that would serve Boise right now. In part, because airlines are disappearing and/or consolidating. Maybe a few additions by airlines currently serving. Perhaps United to Houston, Delta or Alaska to LAX (fingers crossed, I won't fly United!). I hope I'm wrong!