Via Ed Cone comes this article in the News & Record
about a letter that PTI Airport Authority chairman Henry Isaacson sent
to Delta’s CEO and the mayors of Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High
Point. Excerpt:
"As a result of Delta’s pricing and inventory policies at (Piedmont
Triad International Airport)," he wrote, "your traffic has plummeted at
the airport. And, because you have been the largest carrier at GSO, the
airport’s traffic has dropped significantly."and
Isaacson compared Delta’s fares with four destinations from PTI,
Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham . The lowest price from PTI for a one-day
business trip on Dec. 6 was $348 to Fort Lauderdale while the same
flight from Charlotte was $138.The highest price was to Boston, at $798, compared with $158 from Raleigh-Durham.
"What
would you do?" Isaacson asked Grinstein in the letter. "What would you
tell your employees if you were a business in the Piedmont Triad? The
answer is no different than what over 2,300 people who drive each day
to RDU and CLT do: Use those other airports — only 60 minutes away —
and take flights with lower fares — AirTran, Southwest, JetBlue and
yes, Delta."
Also posted at Winston-Salem Business.
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Befuddled 
I thought that was amazing. Did the article indicate why the price difference was there? I have been driving to Charlotte and Raleigh for my flights a good long time. Maybe 1 in 4 go out of GSO, but usually it is still more expensive, just not worth the time and gas (like 50 bucks or so).
It didn’t say why the prices were higher. At the comments on Ed Cone’s blog an employee at one of the airlines at PTI said something about gate fees and such. I can buy that to a degree but not to the extent that it would lead to fares that are literally four or five times higher.
Personally I think it would be solved by having at least one discount airline in there. You get Southwest or JetBlue in there and the others will drop their rates to compete. When Independence was going the airfares at PTI were very competitive, especially to places like Atlanta and DC.
I’d also say that having a viable airport is important enough that the local government and business leaders need to get together to come up with a comprehensive plan to promote PTI. It’s a great airport in terms of convenience and it’s small size can actually be an advantage. Maybe they could have a concerted effort to go after a discount airline similar to the effort they showed in attracting Dell. (No I’m not advocating a subsidy, just a united marketing front).
BTW, I’d like to see it become a little less convenient (i.e. more crowded) but you’d have to work hard to make it as hard to get in and out of as Charlotte.
Jon,
We have this same situtation with Delta in Cincinnati (Delta’s second largest hub, behind Atlanta). Many will drive to Dayton (1hr.) Columbus (2hrs.) or Louisville, KY (2.5 hrs.) to save big money on Delta flights. I’ve never been able to figure it out, especially since CVG is a Delta hub.
I don’t get that either. Of course the air travel industry is one of the least sensible businesses we have so I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.
Does PTI = GSO in terms of airport codes?