When airlines, and therefore airports, offer routes to new cities, it’s usually done by a variety of metrics. Location, hubs, stopovers, info purchased from airline booking companies, competition from other airlines, etc., all play a role in determining what “new” city will be introduced. Here’s where you can learn more about how airlines make those decisions.
But apparently that’s not how they do things in Toledo, Ohio 😉
Toledo Express Airport (officially Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport [TOL]) is a civil-military airport about 10 miles west of Toledo, OH. It opened in the mid-1950s and is used by passenger and cargo airlines, as well as for general aviation. It’s also home to the Ohio Air National Guard’s 180th Fighter Wing.
The airport is small, with just one terminal, 9 gates and 2 runways. During its heyday of the late 1970s, it had as many as seven airlines (Air Florida, Delta Air Lines, Eastern Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Trans World Airlines [TWA], United Airlines and USAir) operating over 40 flights per day to fourteen destinations. Nowadays, passenger service is offered by Allegiant (Orlando/Sanford, Phoenix/Mesa, Punta Gorda FL, St. Petersburg/Clearwater, and seasonally to Destin/Fort Walton Beach). American Eagle currently serves it as well (Chicago-O’Hare) but that service will be ending at the beginning of next month. TOL also gets business from 6 cargo carriers.
With American Eagle leaving the airport, they have some empty space. So instead of just letting the powers that be decide, they’re asking their customers – the potential passengers – what destinations interest them.
From TOL’s survey:
Destination Request
Do you want to get somewhere not currently available as a nonstop destination out of TOL? Submit your request below and we will share it with our existing and potential airline partners.
Please note, the decision to add new air service is ultimately made by airlines, not the airport.
The choices offered are:
- Atlanta
- Charlotte
- Dallas
- Fort Lauderdale/Miami
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Nashville
- New Orleans
- New York Metro Area
- Savannah/Hilton Head
- Washington D.C./Baltimore Area
Most of the choices on that list are places Allegiant already flies to. Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas and Savannah would suggest a new airline. (Note from Joe: Ahem, Hello, American & Delta)
Once the survey is complete, I don’t know how much peoples’ opinions will truly count. After all, as they say in the survey, “…the decision to add new air service is ultimately made by airlines, not the airport.” But it’s still an unusual way to go about the decision-making process, and I give them credit for that.
Featured Photo: TOL / Facebook
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