So Long, Philly, Hello Charlotte

TWEED IS THE GREATEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO NEW HAVEN. PAVE OVER THE ENTIRE CITY SO WE CAN ALL FLY TO EXOTIC PLACES LIKE CHARLOTTE. THIS CITY IS SO AWESOME!! #GSCIA #NHV #NEWHAVENISRAD

I love this. Flying to an airport more southerly is a win. Philadelphia and New Haven have very similar weather. Getting to Charlotte before storms will avoid hassles. The 175 is a tremendous aircraft and its use by American at Tweed shows the potential of this market. The other carriers have taken notice of this plane here. Delta and United use the 175 which could open up Atlanta and Chicago with runway improvement. I haven't even mentioned Breeze Airlines started by the founder of JetBlue who is starting in 2021 with the A220. I think even Philadelphia will come back when this crisis ends.

I can imagine that it would probably definitely be a win for New Haven if there was more connecting flights that came from more places all across the country. A bigger airport that's more convenient should certainly be what would make New Haven more a of an attractive city.

As is pointed out in the article, it's all about the connections. Few people are actually flying to Philadelphia or Charlotte from here, rather, they fly through hubs to a final destination. If Charlotte gives us connections to 20 more cities than Philadelphia, then it's a good thing.

While Philly was a good connection hub, Charlotte is great. Now how about Milwaukee or Chicago, and north or central or south Florida? We have lots of New England snowbirds and for area businesses and colleges having a Florida and a major midwestern airport hub would be desirable for residents and are always a topic of interest to businesses considering locating or staying in CT and higher education institutions having students and faculty flying in and out of the state.

Charlotte is a much better destination.

Add Detroit or Chicago and we'll be in good shape.

I've been for the last few months checking AA flights from Bradley field to both Philadelphia, PHL, and Charlotte, CLT and there were more CLT flights, more passengers and larger planes when compared to PHL.
This should work out well for Tweed as CLT has more daily departures to more destinations.
So AA trades PHL for CLT and gives area travelers more options.
Hopefully soon United will commit to Tweed with flights to Chicago O'hare, ORD. In the past United offered flights from Tweed to ORD and they were very popular. Years ago I was waiting at ORD to board a 737 to Tweed and the flight was oversold and they were asking for passengers to give up their seats for a later departure and a voucher for future air travel. The 737 had 130 seats.

Charlotte is a great connecting point for Orlando and other FL cities. That is if we ever get to travel again. Some day soon I hope. Anyway I am still hoping they will upgrade to slightly larger planes like an A319/320 or 737. I have only flown on E175s a couple of times but found them a bit cramped. If another airline starts flights to Atlanta or Chicago that would be great but unless it is on a larger jet I think I still would prefer using Bradley.

Some context about the dire straits that American Airlines and, well, airlines are in after the massive bailout by taxpayers would give more balance to the article. AAL's specific issues are well-known in business press, on social media, and beyond.

Cancelling Philly is not positive news, despite the spin. This is a sign of short-term reliance on leisure travel in the summer months, as opposed to northeast corridor business travel (which will remain reduced because WFH is here to stay). Why again should we welcome travel to and from Florida when it is ground zero for COVID?

As I've said in the past: Tweed represents an outmoded, 20th Century mindset and the fantasy of a return to the so-called golden age of flying. The pandemic accelerated social and economic trends that were already happening, and that includes what we're seeing with air travel. I'm sure the latest economic report to accompany building plans will contain outdated references to pre-crisis nonsense. It certainly won't mention the crises around the corner re: Climate Change, either, except perhaps a "we've got it all under control".

Is that the way it appears to anyone else but the Tweed superfans and inner circle (often the same crowd)?

@Sean O'Brien
Quote, "Cancelling Philly is not positive news." During the last few months when flights were at their lowest, Bradley had 10 flights a week to Philly on 50 seat planes. Tweed had 5 flights weekly on a 76 seat plane. Comparing Philly and Charlotte out of Bradley showed at the same time when Bradley had 50 seat planes to Philly, there were more daily flights to Charlotte on larger planes showing there are more options for flyers.
Charlotte has more daily flights than Philly so ridership out of Tweed to Charlotte should show higher numbers.
As far as Covid-19, its affecting all airports, Worcester lost its single flight to Philly while Tweed never lost service.
Your default setting is to oppose Tweed on every issue, even made up ones. Deny it all you want, there is a strong market for air travel in the New Haven metro area. I have used Tweed for decades and it beats Bradley hands down, no long trips on congested roads, easy closeby parking, clear security quickly, luggage retrieving a breeze and not adding hours of time spent on ground travel.
It still puzzles me why you and a few others moved into an area that had an airport that preceded you by decades. Rachel Heerema Quote, "Heerema bought her house in the Cove in 2012 based on an assumption: Tweed would remain a small airport without expanding with more commercial flights. She made that assumption based on a peace treaty struck in 2009 between Tweed and the mayors of New Haven and East Haven." She never bothered to read the specifics of the 2009 MOA, it allowed for up to thirty daily flights, again we have commenters not knowing the subject at all.
Tweed is not going away, it's been in it's current location since 1931, it is used by thousands of passengers every year, private aircraft are based there, etc.
It all boils down that some bought homes near Tweed because home prices were less than other areas.

@steve Right. I've heard it before. The neighborhood is not allowed to grow or have peace because the airport must grow. We have no right to be here, shouldn't enjoy our homes, etc. It's a religion.

Mr. Scanlon himself has pinpointed the reason Philly was dropped, though in understandably rosier language than I use.

https://www.aviationpros.com/airlines/news/21145986/american-to-expand-tweed-service-to-charlotte-curtail-philly-flights

"'I think American made this decision with the understanding that business travel was not going to come back as fast as leisure travel,' and Charlotte is a better hub for leisure travel, Scanlon said."

You can believe I'm following the industry closely. This is not a temporary hiccup in air demand but, even if it were, leisure travel to Florida and the Caribbean is a complete departure from Tweed's supposed economic strategy. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of vacationers during the depression we're swiftly moving toward. Of course, they'll be headed only to the remaining countries that still allow U.S. travelers as we continue to skyrocket in COVID cases into 2021.

@ Sean O'Brien, when you moved in, did you expect Tweed to stay frozen in time? I remember when Bradley had a single old terminal but has grown over the years, same with Providence and Westchester airports. They all have grown because air travel has grown. No one uses Greyhound or Trailways buses for long trips & rail travel only works for New York & Boston.
You have a right to be here & so does the airport.The runway plans will all take place on existing airport land. The complaints I hear about loud planes & late night takeoffs are not from airliners, but from private business jets & that will never stop. AA has shown people will support more service & in the recent past other airlines have been kicking the tires so to speak about Tweed.
You seem to feel it's all about you, move near Tweed knowingly & then complain about what happens at all commercial airports, namely growth. I don't know what you think will happen after the overruns are paved, I can tell you right now, there will NOT be a constant flow of planes landing & taking off. Tweed will draw passengers mainly from New Haven county, not Fairfield, not Harford, or the New London-Groton area. Fairfield has the Westchester airport, Hartford has Bradley & New London-Groton has Providence. I also see the bulk of Tweeds service being provided by regional jets, 65-76 seat planes.
The days of Eastern 727's & DC-9s are long gone & the newer planes are much quieter & have cleaner burning engines.
Again, you knowingly choose to move near Tweed & then complain about what you already knew, Tweed has been & always will be a commercial airport. How about live & let live & stop being self absorbed, perhaps you now realize you made a serious mistake in moving near Tweed which thousands rely on, so what options do you have? Stay & see how it works out or move to greener pastures.Your way of thinking is I moved near Tweed & now I want to stop Tweed from growing.Tweed has won every court battle, its over Sean.

@steve Making this personal and about me, and Rachel, and whomever, is just deflection. Your nastiness really shows when times are tough. How tough?

The airline industry has crumbled and Tweed lost a vital connection. AAL had to fly near-empty planes with a handful of passengers for months (so much for environmentally-friendly), just to make sure they didn't run afoul of the rules imposed by the feds (that required bailed-out airlines to not only keep all routes but create wacky temporary ones). Those bailouts are not enough to keep AAL from the edge of bankruptcy, shares are being diluted, hedge funds are dumping airlines.

Politicians are shaming AAL over middle seats and recklessness toward passenger health, everyone is afraid to fly, and those who aren't can't land in many countries and, if they land in the northeast, must quarantine for weeks. Companies are getting used to remote work, are slashing travel budgets, and are going out of business. "Staycation" is the buzzword of the summer and Florida is the epicenter of COVID worldwide by an order of magnitude. And now Tweed is limited to vacationers. New Haven is beyond broke (and slashing the Tweed budget annually), the State is beyond broke, Yale is preaching austerity, and only federal dollars will keep Tweed afloat (which will evaporate if AAL service stops).

Tweed won a pyrrhic victory in the courts; it's either closing shop or consolidation with CAA... which was already likely before COVID and will curtail ambitions of growth to keep Tweed out of competition with also-suffering Bradley. The last news Tweed got before this story was a massive brush fire parallel to the runway (looked an awful lot like it was due to poor maintenance, but I'll wait for a report). The property looks more ramshackle every year, the admin building is so derelict meetings can't even be held there, and the terminal is rundown and flooded to the knees each year.

I get it, you're defensive. Stop making this about me.

@ Sean, you made it about yourself with unreasonable demands as if your will is all that matters. You still won't admit you made a bad choice in buying a home near Tweed. Should thousands be denied an airport that makes travel less stressful & closer for many because you don't want it?
If someone moves next to a public school & then complains about noisy kids at recess and band practice, etc, who is in the wrong? The existing public school or the late arrival?
Tweed is a public facility that benefits many, passengers, charter flights, maintenance, medevac flights & pilot training.
Your comment, "Tweed lost a vital connection". Not true,Tweed is gaining a better connection. Charlotte has more flights to more cities than Philadelphia. Top 25 airports in US. 11 of 25 Charlotte Douglas International Airport, 18 of 25 Philadelphia International Airport.
I'm not being nasty but your opposition to Tweed just because you made a bad choice in buying a home near Tweed, now that's nasty. Should thousands be denied using a long established public facility that will reduce ground travel time for many fliers, increase Tweed's income, keep travelers money in metro New Haven, not Hartford or New York & make the city more attractive for existing & new companies to expand?
Over the years New Haven lost out on some companies relocating here & the airport was a major factor.
While I agree the virus is harming airlines along with hotels, car rentals, dining & shopping, air travel will continue as there is no other form of long distance travel to use.
AA's passenger numbers lately on some flights in the 40-50 range, quite a jump from April and May numbers. At times Tweed showed more seats filled on some flights than Bradley.
There is a good market for air travel in metro New Haven, but not one that will rival other larger airports, but it can become a good regional airport serving 3-5 hub airports for the flying public. No wide bodies or international flights at Tweed.

This current SC resident travels home to CT frequently (not now, in Covid days) and Tweed is my preferred arrival place. Unfortunately, the news about American has not been good recently, regarding their full-steam ahead fill-ups of planes. Still, the shift in flights might be helpful, and makes sense.

Last time I flew from HVN via PHL the flight left late, there was a short connection to begin with between terminals in a huge airport. I ended up missing my connection and spending the night in a hotel at PHL that reeked so much of cigarette smoke that the clothes in my suitcase still smelled for the rest of the trip. That was my last trip out of HVN. Maybe things will go better flying from HVN via CLT. I'm lured by the convenience so I'm willing to give it a try.

Tweed supporter here. My Atlanta flight in October now will be more convenient by going thru CLT. However, we will need to see if all flights thru CLT instead of PHL means more passengers for Tweed. Finally, let's share opinions or state facts, but let's be mature and leave out the personal slights.

This at least gets the connecting flight out of the same weather pattern. Also multiple times I have connected or departing a plane in PHL that is flying to or from Hartford. I hope the area looks into Tweed when traveling south, with the expanded runways their will be less delays and missed connections, of course if your stuck in PHL coming back you can grab a few fellow travelers and rent a car for the trip home. Anyway I hope more people choose Tweed that will result in routes to Chicago. Of course being New Haven we talked and bumbled as Providence and Westchester expanded, and then there are those who believe you should be born-live-work and die in a sixty mile radius.

@ smarcus, "However, we will need to see if all flights thru CLT instead of PHL means more passengers for Tweed." It should, both Bradley and Providence have more American Airlines service to Charlotte than Philly. This might motivate Delta to begin service to Atlanta. Both Charlotte and Atlanta along with being somewhat near each other also service the same geographic locations in the Southeast. American Airlines will perhaps pick up some Delta flyers due to being closer to Tweed than Bradley and airlines fight for their turf. If Delta was to match American with two daily flights, the response would be good. Over the years I have known people who wished Tweed offered more service as it would save ground travel time and not work a hardship on those who drop off some passengers who need to be dropped off and picked up.

@Sean, " @steve Right. I've heard it before. The neighborhood is not allowed to grow or have peace because the airport must grow. We have no right to be here, shouldn't enjoy our homes, etc." You are a Johnny come lately, move in decades after the airport was established and now want to dictate airport policy.
You have a right to be here, but you influence ends at your fence line just like the airports paving plan ends at its fence line.
Seems to be the in thing these days, protests, sit ins, make demands, and yet it yields no tangible results. Tell me why you choose to move near Tweed? Was it the homes were lower in price compared to other areas and did you really think the airport would never grow? Many in the area have gotten or are getting upgraded insulation for free, some who feel they could not live near the airport have moved away over the years and I am sure many who were house hunting decided against buying due to the close proximity of Tweed. But you, knowing full well who your neighbors would be including Tweed, signed on the dotted line with knowledge of the airports operations nearby, and now you choose to complain?
You were overcome with wishful thinking that Tweed would remain as it had been for years with the flawed thinking that no airlines want to come to Tweed, and no one would use it.
Well now, American Airlines has proved that wrong and Allegiant has said it is still interested in Tweed.
The virus will have a bearing on extra service to Tweed and time will tell how this pandemic will be dealt with. In the meantime, Flights to Charlotte will do better than Philly flights as has been the case at Bradley.
Area travelers will support more service from a much closer airport such as Tweed. I know I benefit greatly from Tweed as do thousands of others. It's not about the few but the many.

While Philly is a good connecting hub, Charlotte's value will be seen during the winter travel months, where a warm-weather hub should reduce the chance of connection delays.
Allegiant Airlines has also expressed interest in possible Florida service.
And, while additional airlines would be welcome, can the present terminal accommodate them?
A short-term solution would be to open the first floor of the Administration Building (the old terminal) to provide ticketing/baggage space.
And perhaps, just perhaps, CT Transit may want to return regularly scheduled service to the terminal.