Lots of reasons why flights to POP have been curtailed - all of them have to do with the number of people who want to come/leave from here.
Part of the problem is the airlines themselves and us, the flying public. The business model used to be, offer a flight somewhere, charge what it costs to go there and the people who really want to go to that place by air, pay that price. Then the airlines started to chase customers offering lower fares and this resulted in more seats on planes, more screaming kids and lots of people wearing spandex biking shorts and mesh t-shirts sitting next to you.
We contribute to the problem, by seeking out the absolute lowest price we can find for a flight when we want to travel. I yearn for an option that will charge me an exorbitant amount for a spacious seat, with good food and metal utensils, free from passengers under the age of 5 and no support animals allowed. I'm willing to pay a lot more than I do now for good service, an enjoyable flight with a class of people who know how to dress appropriately, who can behave themselves for 6 or 7 straight hours on planes that are not crammed from nose to tail.
It's a dream I know, as we are too far gone down the discount fares path to turn around now. Having to pay $2000 to come to POP won't work in the face of $800 return from Toronto, but we could have more choice of where to go and when we go, if we were prepared to pay for what the service actually costs when we remove all of the impediments of the travelling poor and the Honey Boo-Boo mindset that currently makes realistic pricing unworkable even if an ultra-luxurious airline wanted to offer discriminating service.
So for now, even at rock bottom prices, airlines can't fill planes to POP so they don't come. If the current trend continues, it will get harder and harder to justify an int'l airport here.
Part of the problem is the airlines themselves and us, the flying public. The business model used to be, offer a flight somewhere, charge what it costs to go there and the people who really want to go to that place by air, pay that price. Then the airlines started to chase customers offering lower fares and this resulted in more seats on planes, more screaming kids and lots of people wearing spandex biking shorts and mesh t-shirts sitting next to you.
We contribute to the problem, by seeking out the absolute lowest price we can find for a flight when we want to travel. I yearn for an option that will charge me an exorbitant amount for a spacious seat, with good food and metal utensils, free from passengers under the age of 5 and no support animals allowed. I'm willing to pay a lot more than I do now for good service, an enjoyable flight with a class of people who know how to dress appropriately, who can behave themselves for 6 or 7 straight hours on planes that are not crammed from nose to tail.
It's a dream I know, as we are too far gone down the discount fares path to turn around now. Having to pay $2000 to come to POP won't work in the face of $800 return from Toronto, but we could have more choice of where to go and when we go, if we were prepared to pay for what the service actually costs when we remove all of the impediments of the travelling poor and the Honey Boo-Boo mindset that currently makes realistic pricing unworkable even if an ultra-luxurious airline wanted to offer discriminating service.
So for now, even at rock bottom prices, airlines can't fill planes to POP so they don't come. If the current trend continues, it will get harder and harder to justify an int'l airport here.
