FlyORH: Changes at Worcester Airport Affecting Ticket Sales?
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Thursday, March 27, 2014
Bill Randell, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™
What can ORH do to boost airline ticket sales? Find out from Bill Randell.
Last week I wrote about my concerns that the tickets to Orlando have slowed. I received many comments on Facebook, particularly those regarding JetBlue changing their schedule. Effective May 1st, the departure times for the flights to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale have flipped:
ORH to FLL: 7:10 AM-10:19AM (currently afternoon)
MCO to ORH: 1:30PM-4:21PM
ORH to MCO: 5:00PM-7:54PM (currently morning)
FLL to ORH: 7:45PM-10:48PM
Here is one comment:
We are getting ready to book airfare for November. Our concern is the 5:30ish flight out. With a 3- and 5-year-old, that hits dinner and bedtime at 7:30pm. Then landing, getting luggage, and getting to Animal Kingdom Lodge with tired crackly kids is making us think to go out of Boston to get an earlier flight. Most kids travel best early in the day.
At the same time, I received comments from people saying that they like to go in the afternoon better, check into their hotel, and start their park adventure early the next day. Either way you look at it, I just do not seeing us getting the sales we need to Orlando daily during the upcoming summer months.
Meanwhile in Fort Lauderdale…
On the other hand, the earlier flight to Fort Lauderdale had no detractors, since Fort Lauderdale is one JetBlue’s 6 focus cities and has become a hub to connect to other flights. In fact, JetBlue is hoping to have 100 departures alone out of Fort Lauderdale. The earlier you can get to Fort Lauderdale, the better your chances to catch a connecting flight. Read this report detailing JetBlue’s plans for Fort Lauderdale. This change should definitely help sales to Fort Lauderdale.
Overall, as I mentioned last week I simply do not see enough marketing of JetBlue out of Worcester. Over the past week, I have counted 3 billboards (Park Ave, Cambridge, and Kelly Square) for Emirates. There are now four digital boards (1 on Route 146 and 3 on Route 290). How about some advertisements for ORH to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale?
Here is my suggestion: let’s split these daily flights to Orlando with one of Florida’s Gulf Coast destinations. For example, Fort Myers—four times per week to Orlando and three times per week to Fort Myers.
Bill Randell is the President of Advantage Benefits, an insurance brokerage house specializing in employee benefits with an emphasis on health insurance, based in Worcester since 1992. He can be contacted at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter (@FlyORH).
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