Two Airlines, Two Failures?
Vision Airlines is a new entrant into the Florida leisure markets suddenly and I don’t see this going anywhere anytime soon. Vision is a charter company that owns a number of 737s and a few 767s as well. The truth is, they do a bit of everything. Vision runs a tour operation using Dornier aircraft out of Las Vegas. They do charter flights to Cuba. They work for the United States government transporting spies for a spy trade. And now they’ve decided to find a way to use their 737s a bit more and they’re going to operate scheduled services.
These scheduled services are primarily to the Destin, Florida area although there are a few flights into Gulfport/Biloxi. Their flying routes from places like Macon, GA and Asheville, NC and Shreveport, LA to Destin/Fort Walton Beach Florida. They do have some flights from Atlanta, Orlando, Tampa, and Miami but not because they have other flights to those cities feeding traffic.
Frankly, I see this going nowhere in a great hurry. The smaller destinations aren’t going to originate enough traffic for 737 flights and the larger destinations have, you know, real airlines like Southwest and Airtran serving them.
In New Mexico, I read THIS interesting story about New Mexico Airlines. New Mexico Airlines plans to offer service between Clovis, NM and Albuquerque. Currently, that route is serviced by Great Lakes Airlines using Beechcraft 1900D aircraft twice a day during the week and once a day on the weekend. A quick look at the Great Lakes Airlines’ website reveals a non-refundable fare of about $89/each way and a refundable fare of about $189/ each way. This service is subsidized by EAS (Essential Air Service).
New Mexico Airlines (a division of Hawaii’s Pacific Wings) intends to come in with an even smaller, unpressurized aircraft and charge $600 round trip between the two cities. But they’ll offer 1 more frequency each day. They’ll have to since their Cessna Caravan’s can seat 9 people and the Great Lakes Airlines’ Beechcraft can seat 19. NMA’s President said:
“There has to be more to your business model than collecting subsidies,” NMA President Gabriel Kimbrell said. “Otherwise, it’s just airline welfare.
“It’s the only sustainable approach.”
And I find that attitude interesting since they themselves were established in New Mexico by EAS contracts. The truth is, New Mexico is sparsely populated and it will be decades before some cities grow enough to justify unsubsidized service. While I’m no fan of EAS in general, it would appear that this is working OK in Clovis and at what appears to be an economically efficient price.
If New Mexico Airlines really thinks it is going to succeed by doubling prices, well, I don’t. I think they’ll fail miserably. For anyone wanting to travel beyond Albuquerque, they can drive to Amarillo or Lubbock which are just 100 miles away and fly on Southwest Airlines. Don’t kid yourself that they won’t. If Great Lakes Airlines goes away and New Mexico Airlines takes over at those prices, people will simply drive. It is the only economical thing to do. If they’re traveling beyond ABQ, they’ll drive to Amarillo or Lubbock and fly from there. If they’re going to ABQ, they’ll drive the 220 mile trip.
Then New Mexico Airlines will fail and Great Lakes Airlines will come back under the EAS program.
There is only upside to what Vision is doing in the southeast. All the cities that have service to NW Florida are intimately familiar with Destin because they have been vacationing there for years! They have been making the yearly 10 hour drive from Louisville since they were kids and now they have the opportinity to visit more often and for less than $99 each way. This is a no brainer! They will come more often since visiting for the 3 day weekend is now a reality.
It’s possible that Vision will prove me wrong but I do not believe that they can serve those very small cities and fill 148+ seat 737s on a regular basis.
It is not “on a regular basis” as you say. It is less than daily service 2-4 times weekly. Also, to better fill the airplanes there are many “through flights” such as Baton Rouge – Destin- Orlando/Sanford, as one of the many examples. You may want to check their flight schedule at http://www.visionairlines.com