Des Moines International Airport News

[dmluvr]

Don't make this a liberal issue---i'll be the first to admit I"m one of those 'bleeding heart liberals' and I think this is f**king crazy. I havn't seen anything or read anything---go figure--something important like this and the reggie misses it--can't blame them--you know--their busy with big stories like some fatty eating a greasy pig on a stick or some hick couple getting married at the fair. Damn--that liberal reggie--they'll get ya.

well no question this doesn't help dm's cause for getting SW. Frankly--this sucks complety donkey a*.

[HKG_Flyer1]

The reggie actually did print a story with the highly misleading title "Harkin acts to protect American Airlines flights" or something similar (but this was several days after the fact and only after people starting calling the Des Moines airport and the newspaper asking what was going on).

In retaliation, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) filed a bill to close both the Des Moines and Tulsa airports (Sen. Jim Inhofe of OK signed on because AA employs something like 8,000 people in Tulsa and AA aparently put the arm on him)

Rep. Hensarling said he won't seriously pursue it (closing DSM)... he was just making a point.

[dmluvr]

I don't blame him though--I'd do the same thing. You know--I'll be the first to admit harkin can do some lame a** crap. It's like harkin--buddy--put down the crack pipe and get with it.

Perhaps a letter campaign to SW airlines would help. "a look, we realize that harkin is sort of retarded and please don't hold it agaisnt us! letter"

[Ingersoll1978]

Direct flights to Las Vegas via Northwest Airlines! This was part of an email sent out by Northwest.

Des Moines has Hit the Jackpot!

On October 30, 2005, Northwest will begin nonstop service between Des Moines, IA and Las Vegas, NV. Roundtrip service will operate Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays beginning October 30.

[jetsetr]

AND, they are using Airbus A319 jets - NOT Northwest Airlink regionals!

[dmluvr]

Hell yeah!! That's great to see!! As long as central iowa keeps supporting dm airport--it'll just keep getting better.

[NOG]

AND, they are using Airbus A319 jets - NOT Northwest Airlink regionals!

Does anyone know what Alegiant flies for its direct flights to Vegas.

[Peachtree]

AND, they are using Airbus A319 jets - NOT Northwest Airlink regionals!

Does anyone know what Alegiant flies for its direct flights to Vegas.

I'm thinking Allegiant's fleet is all MD-83's (DC-9ish plane) and an Airbus 319 is no prize really either, a cramped version of the 737.

[audiored]

Direct flights to Las Vegas via Northwest Airlines! This was part of an email sent out by Northwest.

Des Moines has Hit the Jackpot!

On October 30, 2005, Northwest will begin nonstop service between Des Moines, IA and Las Vegas, NV. Roundtrip service will operate Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays beginning October 30.

and northwest files bankruptcy today..
http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/14/news/fortune500/bankruptcy_airlines/index.htm?cnn=yes

[Brady]

Just of interest --- Alleigent Air recently began a service to Las Vegas from Fargo, ND's hector international airport ....anyway I just saw in the Fargo paper the other day that Northwest plans to add Fargo-Las vegas service as well. Airport officials here, however, are wondering if it will be over saturated. Northwest is the one airport's primary carriers ...the other being United --- they only have flights to Msp, Chicago, Denver, and now Las vegas. Anyway I just thought it was interesting that the same thing happened at two differently-sized airports...sorry to get a bit off topic of DSM airport

[dmluvr]

Curse you Brady!

That is interesting though how that worked out. anyone w/ details or a theory??

[DMRyan]

Didn't United and American Airlines both file for bankruptcy within the past 10 years? It seems like the airline industry just does this every couple of years to rid the debt they've accumulated. They still seem to operate just fine and have futures as a corporation.

Must just be the current state of nearly the entire airline industry, minus a few specialty carriers like Jet Blue and Southwest.

[Ingersoll1978]

What saved Southwest from huge financial pressure was that they locked in jet fuel prices for years. It makes you wonder why other airlines didn't do the same thing. I was reading Virgin Airlines want to build their own refinery to produce their juice. What a great idea!

[audiored]

What saved Southwest from huge financial pressure was that they locked in jet fuel prices for years. It makes you wonder why other airlines didn't do the same thing. I was reading Virgin Airlines want to build their own refinery to produce their juice. What a great idea!

That isn't what saved southwest. it is likely part of how they can cont. to make money, but a small portion. what saves southwest is they don't allow unions and their workers get paid substantial less with far fewer benefits and costly pensions.

since 2001 there have now been 4 major bankruptcies for national airlines. yeah part of it was the drop in air travel right after 2001, and some other issues. but mostly, and the more honest economists will admit this, it is to off load expensive labor contracts and pensions and drop hundreds of routes that don't make enough profit.

so with the information that they are extending routes in dsm and fargo (and probably other small markets), i strongly suspect these routes will be very short lived. since they were announced with in days of them filing.

[NOG]

From KCCI:

DM Airport Travel Dips In 2005
Airfares Remain Competitive

POSTED: 2:02 pm CST January 25, 2006
UPDATED: 2:16 pm CST January 25, 2006
DES MOINES, Iowa -- An annual review released by the Des Moines International Airport shows passenger boardings in 2005 were down slightly over the previous year.

In 2005, there were 951,604 passenger boardings in Des Moines, down 5 percent from the previous record-breaking year.

Boardings at airports of comparable size in Midwest cities also dipped. Boardings in Madison, Wis., were down percent and the airport in Grand Rapids, Mich., saw a 2 percent decrease, according to an airport news release.

Takeoffs and landings in Des Moines dropped 4 percent, and cargo handling jumped by 10 percent.

Cargo handlers at the airport moved more than 204 million pounds of freight and mail, which was the first year since 2002 that the airport saw more than 200 million pounds of cargo, the release said.

U.S. Department of Transportation data show Des Moines remains competitive with other regional airports in average ticket prices the release said.. The average one-way fare at Des Moines in 2005 was $161, compared to Kansas City's average one-way fare of $126 and Omaha's average airport one-way fare of $134.

[Des Moineser]

Warmer weather is probably to blame, when Des Moinesians aren't seeing the weatherman predict 10 feet of snow and -40 degree temps, they won't spend money to go to Florida or Pheonix.

[NOG]

From KCCI.com

Des Moines To Offer Non-Stop Salt Lake City Flights

DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Des Moines International Airport announced Tuesday that Delta Airlines' partner Skywest will start non-stop service from Des Moines to Salt Lake City on June 8.

Skywest will fly a 50-seat regional jet from Des Moines at 8:45 am daily and arrive in Salt Lake City at 10:26 a.m, a news release said. The return flight to DSM will leave SLC at 4:55 pm and arrive in Des Moines at 8:25 p.m.

The airport's aviation director said in a statement that the non-stop flight to Salt Lake City means good connection times for flights to West Coast destinations. He also said that more people are taking flights to San Francisco and Seattle from Des Moines, and that Los Angeles continues to be the No. 10 destination from the airport.

Tickets for this new service are available immediately.

[Brady]

From KCCI.com

Des Moines To Offer Non-Stop Salt Lake City Flights

DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Des Moines International Airport announced Tuesday that Delta Airlines' partner Skywest will start non-stop service from Des Moines to Salt Lake City on June 8.

Skywest will fly a 50-seat regional jet from Des Moines at 8:45 am daily and arrive in Salt Lake City at 10:26 a.m, a news release said. The return flight to DSM will leave SLC at 4:55 pm and arrive in Des Moines at 8:25 p.m.

The airport's aviation director said in a statement that the non-stop flight to Salt Lake City means good connection times for flights to West Coast destinations. He also said that more people are taking flights to San Francisco and Seattle from Des Moines, and that Los Angeles continues to be the No. 10 destination from the airport.

Tickets for this new service are available immediately.

Delta announced this new Salt Lake City service for Sioux Falls and Fargo. This brings a new airline servicing Fargo, I'm not certain about Sioux Falls. Too bad Cedar Rapids didn't get this - though Delta did recently add service to Atlanta.

overall i think it's good to have more western US service from iowa. for the most its the typical MSP, chicago, atlanta, more midwestern/eastern cities.

[Ingersoll1978]

Good news for DM Int'l!

[Des Moineser]

If you'll look back in the past, you'll notice that no one expected that one. Great news for Des Moines, seeing as that is a completely new route. (Also love that SkyWest livery)

[Des Moineser]

Speaking of that, how many Des Moines-Salt Lake travelers are there annually?

[Ingersoll1978]

I bet this flight is more for connections to other west coast cities than Salt Lake City.

[jhuston]

SLC is of course a big Delta hub.

[DMRyan]

Salt Lake City may be no International port of entry, but it's a direct flight to some of the best ski country in the US.

[Ingersoll1978]

Good news for March!

BEST MARCH IN
HISTORY AT AIRPORT

CONTACT: ROY CRISS OR GARY HAGAN
515-256-5093

“Air travelers at Des Moines International Airport (DSM) in March were part of the airport’s biggest
enplanement March in history”, reveals Deputy Aviation Director Tim
Stiles. “We are excited about this. It puts us ahead of our recent record pace and
continues to position us for further air service enhancements.”
DSM enplaned (boarded) 87,323 passengers in March 2006, a 3% increase over March of
2005. This brings the first quarter enplanement total for ’06 to 232,794. That puts the
airport at 1,600 enplanements ahead of last year’s pace and 1,500 ahead of 2004’s one
million enplanement pace. Greater enplanement totals are the chief reason why
Delta/Comair and American Eagle recently announced non-stop service to Salt Lake
City and New York, respectively.
The US DOT also released data for calendar year 2005. DSM was the 91st most active
commercial airport in the nation. The average one-way fare for the year at DSM was
$166.80. Omaha’s average one-way fare for the year was a mere $33 less and Kansas
City’s was only $38 lower.

[Norwalker]

. . . The average one-way fare for the year at DSM was $166.80. Omaha’s average one-way fare for the year was a mere $33 less and Kansas City’s was only $38 lower.

With gas prices being what they are now, you can count on spending at least $20 - $25 just driving to and from these airports from Des Moines. I admit I might still drive over to Eppley if I found I would save a couple hundred bucks (I have in the past and wouldn't blame someone else doing the same to save big money), but it looks like we've gained a lot of ground on our neighbors.

[ICGuy]

So those average fares are better? I was wondering when I read the article whether the average fares for DSM were making headway compared with Omaha and KC. Since most people don't fly one-way and you're really looking at an average of $60+ for each roundtrip. For a single traveler, that difference might not be worth driving, but for more than one traveler, that difference still seems daunting.

Good news for DSM, though - all airports in Iowa (and also MLI) are places really benefitting from the regional jet revolution with many more available destinations than there used to be.

[Des Moineser]

Hopefully another new route annoucement comes out of this.

[NOG]

Not quite a new route but another flight being added.

From KCCI:

DM Airport Gets Another Non-Stop Dallas Flight

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Iowa air travelers have another way to head south.

Des Moines International Airport officials said that American Eagle is adding another non-stop flight from Des Moines to Dallas-Fort Worth.

That brings to the total number of daily non-stop flights to and from Dallas to seven.

The new additional flight will depart from Des Moines at 1:20 p.m. and arrive DFW at 3:15 p.m. each day except Saturday. It also gives central Iowans another choice of returning to DSM. The plane will depart Dallas at 11 a.m. and arrive DSM at 12:55 p.m.

The latest U.S. Department of Transportation data shows that Des Moines DSM has held its position as the 90th most active commercial airport in the nation.

[Ingersoll1978]

I don't know how many times now Kevin has had problems trying to find seats out/in to Des Moines. Many flights are sold out and the options are either to wait a day or so more to come home or to fly into another airport. Before we moved, the airport was his biggest issue. It's been relatively easy though...except for this inconvenience of having no seats available a couple of days ahead. I'd expect to hear more announcements of flights being added to current non-stop destinations.

He was in Chicago a month or so ago...waiting to get home. United starting cancelling planes due to weather issues. It would be 2 days until the next available seats were available (that were actually open). For some odd reason, United decided instead of all these people going on standby, they took a Vancouver, BC flight and had it stop in Des Moines. He said half the plane got off in Des Moines.

I had to postpone going to Seattle for the same issues of seat availability. I'm leaving Thursday...