{image1} Face it, we all have things we love and hate about Milwaukee. But, complaining and focusing on the negative leads nowhere. So, in this column we highlight issues (big and small) that we think need to be addressed, discussed and solved. Every "This Sucks" feature tells you why we think something sucks, offers commentary, opinions, solutions and, of course, gives you the chance to weigh in through our exclusive talkback feature.
What sucks: Nonstop flights in and out of Milwaukee, though recently on the increase, aren't exactly abundant, and when you do find one, chances are, it is a lot more than you care to spend. Milwaukee travelers basically have three major options: pay a sometimes unreasonable price for a nonstop flight, opt for longer, but cheaper connector flights, or book a flight out of O'Hare and figure out an economical way of getting to Chicago and back.
Why it sucks: Maybe it's our less-than-tropical climate, maybe it's because we don't have a major theme park, but whatever the reason, Milwaukee, traditionally, has never been much of a tourist hot spot. And, due to its geographic location, Milwaukee's role has been that of a connector city between the coasts rather than a final destination. Is Milwaukee's moderate population and lack of tourism financially hurting our travel plans?
Representatives from major airlines, like Midwest Airlines' Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs Carol Skornicka, say that the size or location of a city do not factor into ticket prices. In fact, she says, "For a city our size, we have reasonable airline competition because we have a hub airline (Midwest)."
But in our case, Midwest Airlines is our market share leader, and, together with its region carrier Midwest Connect, carries almost half (43 percent) of all passengers for Milwaukee. With the next highest carrier being Northwest Airlines at about 20 percent, and the numbers dropping to 5 percent and lower from there, is Milwaukee's carrier competition strong enough to influence the high fares offered by the big guys?
Tracy Carlson, a media spokesperson for Northwest Airlines, says that they are trying. Northwest has made several efforts to increase the number of nonstop flights in and out of Milwaukee within the last two years. As of June, Northwest now offers 13 nonstop destinations, representing a 140 percent increase from the three destinations they offered in 2003.
Midwest is also kicking up its number of daily flights. A Midwest Airlines press release from August 25 states that "the airline is launching service in three new markets and implementing schedule enhancements that provide improved opportunities for connections between Midwest flights." There. More flights equal more competition, right? Ok, so they are one-stop flights instead of nonstop out of Milwaukee, but the bottom line is that the competition is clearly on the rise, so why haven't the prices reflected this boost?
Some examples:
As of Oct. 4, the same U.S. Airways flight to Phoenix leaving today, Tuesday, Oct. 11, vary as follows:
* A flight leaving Mitchell International Airport, with one connection in Chicago, costs $324 and has a total travel time of five hours and 53 minutes. No nonstop flight was offered at this time, and our cheapest option is a one-stop flight for $313 offered by Delta.
* The same flight leaving O'Hare International Airport is nonstop, costs $283 and has a total travel time of three hours and 39 minutes. (Which is still $30 cheaper and about 2 hours less travel time than our lowest option.)
* This U.S. Airways flight to Phoenix booked a month back on Sept. 14 looked similar, with Milwaukee's one-stop flight at $593 and Chicago's nonstop option costing $358.
* Heading east posed the same predicament. A U.S. Airways flight booked on Oct. 10 out of Milwaukee to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York will set travelers back $474, with two connections along the way.
* O'Hare cuts the fare nearly in half, by offering a one-stop flight to New York for $246 on the same day.
According to Mitchell International Airport's Marketing and Public Relations manager Pat Roe, fare differences can exist for the same route on different airlines for a various reasons. For example, if one airline has the market share for that route, it may not need to lower fares to attract passengers. "Midwest Airlines offers a premium product that people are willing to pay for," she says. "That's why they've been successful."
Supply and demand is another obvious biggie. But if Mitchell's two largest airlines have both recently increased their number of flights, wouldn't that suggest that demand is up? It does in fact. According to Roe, Mitchell International is experiencing a record number of travelers, with 3,624,678 travelers using the airport in the first half of 2005, a seven and a half percent increase from the first half of 2004.
So how are the carriers responding? They are adding more flights to their schedules. And if the equation works, the added options and competition should ultimately lead to lower fares, right? Well, not always.
Jim Brown, the Director of the Center for Consumer Affairs puts it into perspective. "Airlines change and adjust prices numerous times in a day. It's very mechanistic. They have sophisticated analytical systems watching the trends, and as soon as demand goes up, for whatever reason, the prices are automatically increased."
Another major factor is that many of the carriers have replaced their 150-seat jets with much smaller 50 or 75-seater planes, which are less expensive to fly. "It's a way of optimizing their profitability," he says. "The nature of the market is to charge as much as they think the buyer will pay and still fill the plane. If they've only got a small plane to worry about filling, they can keep charging the higher end prices and feel confident that they will reach capacity for each flight."
Something we may not realize, he says, is that airlines are still strategizing to deal with the severe loss they experienced post 9/11. "The plane occupancy rates are actually higher now than prior to 9/11, but that relates to their use of smaller jets. There are fewer number of absolute seats flying now than five years ago, but the ratio of occupied seats is higher because they've replaced 150-seat jets with 75-seat jets. That's how the airline maximize overall profit."
What can you do to make it not suck? Based on sheer volume, Mitchell will never get the competition that O'Hare has, and fares are always going to be something of a gamble. Tell yourself that you won't pay more than a certain amount for a flight and stick to it. Priceline.com is a helpful place to start if you're looking to compare carriers. Also, many airlines offer frequent flyer plans through credit cards which allow you to earn "free" miles to put toward your next trip each time you use it.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
