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by Macha 1529 days ago
Modern airport security is fatal for overland airline flights of short durations. An hour by train? You could drive or train that in the time between when you're told you should be at the airport to the time the plane actually takes off
2 comments
ghaff 1529 days ago
Yes. New Orleans to Texas cities like Houston can make sense but not Mobile. Also public transit isn't great in either New Orleans or Mobile. It's not much more than a two hour drive. People will just get in a car.
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rascul 1529 days ago
> Yes. New Orleans to Texas cities like Houston can make sense but not Mobile.

It made sense until Katrina destroyed a bunch of the infrastructure and Amtrak had to stop running. The fight is to restore service, not create a new service.

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ghaff 1529 days ago
My comment was in reference to flying. Although I don't know what the pre-Katrina train traffic looked like on that route, it's not unreasonable to have a train connecting the Gulf coastal communities in that area. Though of course you're competing with a not terribly long drive.
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rascul 1529 days ago
> My comment was in reference to flying

Oops, I missed that.

> Although I don't know what the pre-Katrina traffic looked like on that route

I don't know either. I didn't live in the area at the time, and I wasn't easily able to find any numbers.

> Though of course you're competing with a not terribly long drive.

Very true. I've driven part of it a number of times. I-10 can get bad with traffic in some areas at some times of the day, but I suspect the total driving time from New Orleans to Mobile to be around 2.5 hours normally. I'm certainly not authoritative, though.

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inamberclad 1529 days ago
Went to New Zealand. My $30 ticket plane ticket from Christchurch to Hokitika was probably subsidized, but the sheer ease and accessibility of the flight was remarkable. I just got on the plane. No security, hardly a briefing. Walked out onto the ramp and got on. The plane was a Q-400, the size of which would make TSA security mandatory in the US. I know airlines like Surf Air in California were trying to specialize in small-plane (Pilatus PC-12, which is less than 12,500 lbs) but I haven't seen them grow much.
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sueders101 1529 days ago
If you’re looking for an example of a successful small plane airline in the United States: Cape Air.
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