Contour air9/4/2023 “If we were to switch to Sacramento, on average tickets will cost more for passengers by an average of $40.”Ĭhaifetz, who said Contour was “hub agnostic,” said one advantage of switching Del Norte County destinations from Oakland to Sacramento was assurances from Sacramento that the carrier would share a terminal with American Airlines. “Oakland has the cheapest average airfare of any airport with more than a million passengers a year in, not just California, but on the entire West Coast,” Goldstein said. Sacramento is the only airport that serves its region unlike Oakland, which competes with San Francisco International Airport, San Jose International Airpot and, to a lesser extent, the Charles M. Department of Transportation, also argued that airfare out of Oakland is $28 to $51 cheaper than Sacramento. “What I am saying is if American Airlines got the sense that a flight from Crescent City was making their own flight from Arcata unprofitable, there is a potential they would react quite aggressively.” “I’m not saying that AA would dislike having a flight from Crescent City,” he said. Goldstein also argued that carriers in the United States, American Airlines especially, are notorious for aggressively defending their turf. This offers an advantage to American Airlines loyalists of upgrades to first class, the ability to use airline miles as well as the use of airport lounges. On Thursday, Goldstein said that while changing the destination from Del Norte County to Sacramento to facilitate easy connections to American Airline flights, the carrier recently announced a flight from the Arcata-Eureka Airport on a plan that’s more than twice as large as the one out of Crescent City. 10 email to Del Norte County Regional Airport Director Randy Hooper, Chaifetz informed him of the new partnership between Contour and American Airlines. Department of Transportation’s Alternate Essential Air Service program since April 2018. Say you get rerouted to somewhere else, Kiwi provides their own guarantee-protection so that if that first flight gets delayed or canceled, Kiwi will take care of that.”Ĭontour Airlines has offered flights between Crescent City and Oakland through a subsidy from the U.S. “They allow you to book tickets that cross multiple airlines that don’t work together. “We used to partner with Kiwi, so I know that business quite well,” Goldstein said. and Mexico via Oakland International Airport. Goldstein also touted virtual interline services such as Kiwi, which offers single-ticket itineraries from Crescent City to elsewhere in the U.S. The BCRAA also heard a presentation from Adam Goldstein, founder of the now-defunct travel website Hipmunk, who offered price comparisons between Oakland International Airport and Sacramento International Airport, insight into American Airlines and his opinion that flights from the Bay Area to Del Norte County are more attractive for tech companies. “This all started with a text message from Chris about how to take advantage of the American Airlines agreement, which doesn’t really do anything if we’re flying into an airport that AA doesn’t serve,” Chaifetz said. According to Chaifetz, the conversation surrounding Sacramento began with a text message to him from Del Norte County Supervisor and BCRAA representative Chris Howard.Īccording to Chaifetz, Howard asked about how the BCRAA could take advantage of a new interline agreement between Contour and American Airlines, which offers single-ticket connection options to travelers from both carriers. The joint powers authority reached its decision after hearing from Contour Airlines CEO Matt Chaifetz, who said the Smyrna, Tennessee-based carrier isn’t pushing for a change. Photo courtesy of Contour Airlinesĭeciding there were more pros than cons about staying with Oakland versus moving to Sacramento, the Border Coast Regional Airport Authority voted Thursday to keep Contour Airlines flights out of Del Norte County status quo. Contour Airlines was asked not to change its flights from Crescent City to Oakland.
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