FlyORH: Worcester Airport by the Numbers

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Bill Randell, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

Continuing to support ORH flights to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando might be the key to securing direct flights to San Juan, believes Bill Randell.

We are about 7 weeks into JetBlue service out of Worcester, and I still give overall performance of JetBlue and the support for JetBlue in the A- range.

The one thing that I have begun to notice lately is that there does not seem to be a lot of people using ORH to connect through Fort Lauderdale or Orlando. I especially thought more people would consider ORH as an option to San Juan with the strong Latino community in Central Massachusetts.

This past weekend my friend, Angel Garcia wanted to get back to Puerto Rico January 21 and return January 28, and really did not consider Worcester as an option. Keep in mind, I have been telling him this for over one year. He at least agreed to let me do an analysis for him.

Worcester

•   Worcester-Orlando-San Juan
•   Departs 7:45 am; arrives 3:09 pm on January 21
•   San Juan-Orlando-Worcester
•   Departs 6:00 am; arrives 3:10 pm on January 28
•   Cost: $483.26

Boston

•   Boston-San Juan
•   Departs 8:55 am; arrives 1:55 pm on January 21
•   San Juan-Boston
•   Departs 1:29 pm; arrives 4:46 pm on January 28
•   Cost: $453.00

Hartford

•   Hartford-San Juan
•   Departs 1:00 pm; arrives 5:45 pm on January 21
•   San Juan-Hartford
•   Departs 6:39 pm; arrives 9:45 pm on January 28
•   Cost: $332.40

Looking at one range of dates is not representation of the total picture, but I think it does show that Worcester is at least very competitive. You could even get a lower price ($383) if you connect through Fort Lauderdale but you arrive in San Juan past midnight.

I then went on Kayak and checked out Providence, Boston, Hartford, and Manchester for all airlines for these dates to San Juan. The interesting thing is I could not find any direct flights to San Juan except by JetBlue out of Boston or Hartford.

Considering the options, I will tell Angel to fly JetBlue out of Hartford.

•   Easy drive for his brothers who are available
•   Direct flight
•   No connections
•   Great price
•   Great airlines

We need to keep supporting Orlando (MCO) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL) so that we get a direct flight like Hartford and Boston to San Juan. I guarantee that a direct flight out of Central Massachusetts to San Juan with JetBlue would be huge!

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).

Related Slideshow: 7 Questions Worcester Mayor Petty Will Need To Answer

The following are seven big questions facing Worcester Mayor Petty in his secon term in office.

Prev Next

1) City Manager's Position May Be Vacant

Michael O'Brien may leave to take a position in the private sector. O'Brien has been the proverbial glue that has held City Hall together. O'Brien is a competent fiscal manager and keeps the peace among the City Council.

Top-level government pros are NOT likely to line up for the Worcester job. Petty will be on the hot seat to find talent in the post-O'Brien era.

Prev Next

2) Economic Development Mixed Reviews

The recent series in the Boston Globe and the overview in GoLocal outlined the lack of success Worcester has had in creating a comprehensive economic development plan. The results of the new construction has created some hope, but there lacks a comprehensive vision and the building seems to be developed in a vacuum. Mayor Petty seems to be extraneous except for the ribbon cutting ceremonies.

The biggest embarrassment was his lack of input into the casino process. Petty had no public opinion on the projects proposed in Worcester or the projects in adjacent towns.

Prev Next

3) New Council

The new City Council will have its own personality, while the old council failed to debate or discuss - and too often voted in block.

A number of the council members just elected have promised to be more proactive. This could be a challenge for Petty -- or an opportunity to drive proactive change leveraging new ideas and new energy.

Prev Next

4) Telegram Closing?

Since John Henry purchased both the Boston Globe and the Worcester Telegram, there have been a series of indications that Henry has a strong desire to invest in the Globe and has not said a public word or even visited the Telegram. Media experts have prophesied that the Telegram could be rolled into the Globe - a Globe West edition.

This would leave New England's second largest city without a daily newspaper. What has been deafening is Petty's lack of leadership on this issue. Can you imagine Tom Menino or Buddy Cianci waiting for a decision to be made on Morrissey Boulevard?

Prev Next

5) Lack of Diversity in Worcester's Government

As GoLocal previously reported, more than 40 percent of Worcester's population is a minority, but you would not know it by who gets the city jobs. Worcester has more than 1,600 full- and part-time city employees and well over 80 percent of them are white.

In almost every department, the number of white workers far outnumbers minorities; some departments are as much as 98 percent white. It is a startling disparity in a city known for its diversity. There has been no concerted public effort to change this by Petty.

Prev Next

6) Republican Governor Factor

Worcester may not be as wired to the Patrick Administration since Lt. Governor Murray resigned and returned to Worcester, but the Democratic Mayor can get his phone calls answered in the State House.

The next Governor of the Commonwealth could be Charlie Baker. The Democrats are looking at a bruising primary between AG Martha Coakley and Treasurer Steve Grossman, while Charlie Baker is looking like he may get a free ride through the GOP primary. Baker may not be so quick to be concerned about Joe Petty's phone calls.

Prev Next

7) Legacy

Every Mayor wants to leave his or her city better than they found it -- and wanst to put a mark on the history of the City. Some Mayors focus on schools and others on major developments.

Mayor Petty has yet to define his priorities and the second term is the time to unveil a game plan on why he was the man for the job.