Public forum on Memphis airport woes leaves public wanting more

[Celebration]

Last edited Fri Jun 15, 2012, 10:01 AM - Edit history (1)

Public forum

Airport and business leaders and industry experts contended today that Memphis is making the right moves to attract more competition and lower air fares.

They also said there isn’t much local officials can do except wait for Southwest Airlines and hope the free market will smile on the flying public.

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As organizers thanked 100-plus people for attending, Cheri DelBrocco stood up and said the panel never answered the central question: What are you doing to combat high fares?

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“Not consumer oriented,” U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, groused on the Facebook site Delta Does Memphis.

Sigh. I just had to join the Facebook group Delta Does Memphis. Generally these issues involve business travel, which really is high here. Someone in the group said it was obvious what was going on. The meeting clearly explained that jet fuel costs more than anywhere else at the Memphis airport, and that is why prices are so high!

[Art_from_Ark]

1. Memphis lost a lot of traffic

when the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport replaced the old Drake Field in Fayetteville, Arkansas. In the Drake Field days, if you flew Northwest, you almost HAD to fly to Memphis to catch a connecting flight. Now with the (not-so-)new regional airport (which is used big-time by Wal-Mart), Memphis can often be bypassed for a more convenient connecting (or even destination) airport. And when Delta took over Northwest Airlines, I think that some of those Memphis connections from other airports were rerouted through Atlanta or another hub.

[Celebration]

2. Memphis now is a secondary hub

All the disadvantages of being a hub with little competition (higher business class prices) and not being a hub (lower airport fees paid, and fewer straight through flights).

Apparently every time some competition comes in here Delta undercuts them, and runs them off.