Delta to add daily flight

Florida Keys News - Key West Citizen

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Delta to add daily flight

Delta will begin running Boeing 737s out of Key West International Airport starting Dec. 17 to handle peak season tourism traffic, the company said Friday.

It was the second carrier to announce new flights using the jumbo jets in little more than a week; AirTran on Sept. 8 said it will start an Orlando to Key West route using the 737s, also in December.

Delta, which already runs direct flights to Atlanta from here using the 70-seat CRJ700 aircraft three times a day, will add a daily, 124-seat large "heavy" commercial aircraft direct flight to the Georgia city the week before Christmas.

Atlanta and Key West apparently have enough people interested in using the service to make it financially worthwhile, Delta officials said.

"We are encouraged by the continued strong customer demand for service to Key West and add the larger jets on the Key West-Atlanta route in time for the peak winter season," states a press release the company issued Friday.

Monroe County Airports Director Peter Horton met with a Delta operations manager Friday and the two reviewed landing strip length, taxi and ramp space and other details the airline must verify to land and maneuver the large aircraft. The airport has hosted 737s in past seasons but the Delta manager must see the facilities before launching service.

Horton said he gave the Delta official a tour.

"We showed the Delta manager our new parking building, the remodeled departure and arrival areas, and the configuration of the commercial parking and tarmac area," Horton said. "We showed him what parking space the jet will go into."

The airport has become a busy place in recent months, Horton said.

"We had 453,000 passengers last year, which is an average of 1,240 passengers a day," he said. "Our passenger numbers are up 20 percent this August from last August; our July numbers are up 12.5 percent."

Horton said the airport already is classified for Delta 737s, which will offer first-class and economy-class seating.

According to Delta, the 737 flight schedule is as follows:

• Boeing 737-700 arrives Key West daily at noon and departs at 12:45 p.m.

• Delta CRJ-700s flights will depart Key West daily at 7:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.

The 737s can be loud, however. An average busy city street is at about 40 decibels; when taking off, the 737s can reach 85-100 decibels, according to the National Aeronautic Space Administration testing facilities.

jguerra@keysnews.com

love it

Submitted on Sat, 09/19/2009 - 10:09pm

im not kidding when i say i love big loud jets!!! jf

Just what Paradise needs

Submitted on Sat, 09/19/2009 - 12:41pm

Bigger and louder Planes. Aren't we lucky.

wait til this pig crashes

Submitted on Sun, 09/20/2009 - 9:03am

this airport is to dang small, i guess we will just wait and see.double tree , las salinas,sunrise suites,wiped out.

"Bigger and louder planes...

Submitted on Sun, 09/20/2009 - 7:20am

...just what we need." Assuming you are a local who also complains about the NAS plane noise, just remember why you hear that noise. It is the sound of freedom, of capitalism to be sure. But what you have to listen to is the least you can give for our country to provide YOU with the safest place, the most freedoms, and the most protection in this world today. How many of our current members and vets of the armed services wouldn't love to hear that noise alone and not the screams of their enemies and comrades, fighting for your freedom.

Congratulations to Paradise!

Submitted on Sat, 09/19/2009 - 4:42pm

Bigger and louder planes = mor tourism, more jobs, better salaries and some KW residents may be be able to stop working that 2nd or 3rd job. You get to live in paradise every day - make the most of it. This is a couple of times a day for what....a few minutes? Smile and be grateful for the tourists who decide to spend their hard-earned dollars here.

re: Bring it on

Submitted on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 10:40am

I am originally from LI and lived in the Hamptons for 4 years - my husband lived in Montauk his whole life. The Hamptons pulled the same silly, "We don't need anymore stinking tourists" baloney because residents whined about parking, noise, etc. It's a tourist town, so seriously, yes, suck it up! We now live in VT (same baloney up here too - let's not spoil the greenscape) - and are hoping to move to KW in the next 2-3 years. I am hopeful that the economy continues to improve and that tourism rises along with it!

OK, Some business 101 that only took 10 yrs to figure out

Submitted on Sat, 09/19/2009 - 9:14am

Finally the some of our people get it. While a renovation of our old airport would have sufficed and saved a ton of money and hassle, the new airport is attracting more competition. Ok, now here it the lesson for the rest of Key West. Choices create competition, competition lowers prices, lower prices attract more visitors, more visitors means more money for Key West. If we could only get the hotels, guesthouses, bars, stores, and tours to do the same, Key West could be full most of the year, not just for season and big events.

Anything beats connecting through MIA

Submitted on Sat, 09/19/2009 - 8:48am

That airport is a nightmare for many reasons, but mainly because I've had luggage pilfered many times there. AND THEN, just try to get the airlines and TSA to pay for what their employees steal!

Some good news for a change!!

Submitted on Fri, 09/18/2009 - 5:34pm

I am glad to hear that Delta is going to be offering more service here. Key West needs better air travel options... I am getting sick and tired of having to drive to the mainland just to get a flight at a decent price. I applaud any increase in air traffic at our new airport.

Competition?

Submitted on Sat, 09/19/2009 - 8:17am

Delta has the highest prices out there! Hopefully with Air Tran giving an option through Orlando (a route Delta dropped)prices may drop.

New Air Service

Submitted on Sat, 09/19/2009 - 5:44am by Steve

Everyone is getting excited about the large "heavy" jets adding more service to Key West, but this will come at a price: noise! These jets are loud, very loud and they will be low over a lot of your houses and mine. A few years ago, I remember articles saying that these jets couldn't land at our airport because the runways were too short; why can they now land safely?

Answer to New Air Service

Submitted on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 6:27pm

Why can they land here now? Well, for starters Air Tran, A domestic low airfare airline is coming. Second, They are flying the 737-700 and 737-800 models. Shorter bodies, yet a much powerful engine. Yes the runways are short however, the 737-700 needs 3,000 feet to land, the airport has 4,801. Plenty of room. Also those who complain about the noise, the aircraft are no louder than the big body corporate jets that fly in everyday, Hence Hendricks racing that uses a G-5.

Did someone force you to live by the airport?

Submitted on Sun, 09/20/2009 - 8:19am by Meg

I would assume a technological advance has given them the ability to land a larger plane on a shorter runway. You should be happy for this advancement. Since it is a bigger plane, the seats should be a tad bit cheaper. Cheaper flights = more tourists to the Keys, instead of Miami (or other warmer climate destinations). I guess you should have pondered the noise factor a little better before purchasing or renting a property close to an airport. Really, what DID you expect? I’m really tired of hearing people moan & complain about noise from jets! Especially in this case --- it’s only taking off from Key West once a day for gosh sakes! There are plenty of locations to live here in the Keys --- if you don’t like the noise, move up the Keys a bit and drive; otherwise, take it for what it is. I used to live down in Key West, and had to deal with the constant noise from flights --- eventually, you come to accept it. It becomes reflex to turn your TV up louder or tell the person on the other end of the phone to wait a minute. I move up the Keys a bit because you get more for your money up here & the 20 minute commute to work in the morning isn’t that bad --- frankly, I find it to be rather relaxing. My point? Suck it buttercup, or move.