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AEROTROPOLIS | Mitchell Airport / Port of Milwaukee

698K views 4K replies 147 participants last post by  mketraveler 
#1 ·
An article in this recent issue of USA Today highlights the growth of Mitchell International Airport-- bucking the trend of most other American airports which have been dropping in passenger numbers, Mitchell keeps setting new records. These numbers are bound only to go up even further as High Speed Rail brings the Chicago market even closer and will, for the first time, provide a rail link to those from the western suburbs of Brookfield and Oconomowoc as well as travelers from Madison who will want to take advantage of the far greater variety of destinations and less expensive ticket prices available at Mitchell, as opposed to Dane County regional.

New travelers coupled with new airlines and planned airport upgrades will surely make this growth considerable. The airport is already undertaking an extension of its runways... another runway is planned and expansions and additions to the passenger concourses is also part of the next stage of development. The current international terminal is also going to be moved so that it is connected to the domestic terminals. This development, along with the extended runways very well may bring regular trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific service to Mitchell.
 
#183 ·
Well I've only taken one round trip flying since 2001. Not because I'm afraid, but because it is too much hassle.

Mitchell International airport loses nearly half of its flights since 2011: Wall Street Journal

General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee has lost nearly half of its weekly flights since 2011, ranking Mitchell third in a report from the Wall Street Journal Wednesday about service level cuts at major U.S. airports.
Milwaukee's airport lost 45.2 percent of its flights according to the report, which details changes in the number of weekly departures for notable U.S. cities during the third week of July between 2011 and 2015. The country's airlines are flying 11,475 fewer domestic flights this year when comparing the third weeks of July 2011 and 2015. The flight tracking and data firm masFlight collected data for the report.


http://www.bizjournals.com/milwauke...23&u=rHiEs4bNL4SEkIF6oHcIhYpTTvg&t=1437690081
 
#185 ·
Well, I know that Delta and Southwest especially expanded significantly. I can't seem to find the article, but I have a memory of reading in the Journal Sentinal at the end of 2014 that Southwest had expanded over 100% since it began its merger with AirTran. We've also added AeroMexico, at least seasonally, and OneJet. I don't think American, United, or US Airways have expanded at all though. The point is, we lost significant numbers of flights and passengers since the Midwest/Frontier merger happened, but the recent trend (i.e. last 3 years) has been slow, steady growth.
 
#190 ·
Iceland Air decided earlier this summer to add O'Hare as a destination, so that probably kills any momentum of Mitchell (ahem).. Milwaukee Airport landing that carrier for regular trans-Atlantic flights which could be marketed to travelers in the greater megacity of Chicago/Milwaukee. Doing a little research, though, it seems that Milwaukee could pursue Norwegian Air, which currently flies to several U.S. cities, but notably NOT Chicago. It doesn't really matter which European airline it was, if Milwaukee can land just one trans-Atlantic carrier, it will finally open up the market for some competition with O'Hare on international travel.
 
#196 ·
Well this is good news. Lets hope we get picked!
Milwaukee on Short List to Become Second Focus City
My initial thoughts were great but how soon before they amend their business model to include larger planes to carry "coach" passengers on leisure travel?

I know this airline helps business travelers moving to mid-sized cities not served directly by the big four from MKE, but that will not necessarily help in the near term; bringing down the astronomical costs that have appreciated in the past three months out of MKE.
 
#208 ·
Add Omaha and Louisville to the list I had above. They would both be added before Des Moines and Grand Rapids obviously. Then I think Buffalo/Charleston would be about the Eastern limit they'd want, at least from Milwaukee. At least as far as the first round of expansion went. As for Green Bay and Madison, those routes seem to be perfect for a company like this. Just far enough away that driving is inconvenient. Remember, their target consumer is successful businesspeople who don't have time to spend several hours in a car round trip on a workday.

Green Bay especially if Milwaukee lands the WEC Headquarters. Green Bay is going to be one of the regional headquarters for them so I'm sure there's going to be lots of busy utility executives making trips up and down that corridor. Anyone who didn't see it, the article is posted on the main development page so I won't recopy it.
 
#213 ·
This press release does present somewhat of a caveat with the increase in international shipping. Foreign salt shipments were up last winter and it remains to be seen exactly how much that affected the 20% increase in foreign vessel traffic.

Regardless it is good to see increasing business at the port. I think it is an important and often overlooked portion of Milwaukee's economy:

Port of Milwaukee Recognized with Pacesetter Award Recognizing Growth in International Cargo

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett formally accepted the Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award Friday recognizing the Port of Milwaukee for an increase in the volume of international cargo in 2014.

The Port of Milwaukee saw increases in the amount of international cargo in several categories during 2014 including steel and grain. In fact, the Port handled the second largest tonnage of steel in its history last year. The number of foreign vessels arriving at the Port of Milwaukee last year was up by more than 20%.


http://urbanmilwaukee.com/pressrelease/port-of-milwaukee-recognized-with-pacesetter-award-recognizing-growth-in-international-cargo/
 
#219 ·
A wine bar has opened at Concourse C in Mitchell Field.


Vino Volo opens wine bar at Mitchell International Airport


By Joe Taschler of the Journal Sentinel

Sept. 23, 2015 4:13 p.m.

Vino Volo, a California-based airport wine bar operator, has opened a location at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, airport officials said Wednesday.

The Milwaukee Vino Volo is located near Gate C17.

http://www.jsonline.com/business/vino-volo-opens-wine-bar-at-mitchell-international-airport-b99583135z1-328902031.html
 
#220 ·
#221 ·
New Mitchell Airport director was just hired from the private sector:

Milwaukee County has hired a new director for General Mitchell International Airport after an eight-month wait.

Ismael Bonilla, the chief business development officer at Hi-Lite Airfield Services in Jacksonville, Fla., will start as the new director on Feb. 1. Bonilla currently oversees business development for the airfield and runway maintenance company's operations in the U.S., Latin America and the Middle East.

Bonilla's recruitment from the private sector strays from the typical career path of airport directors, who often climb the ranks of progressively larger public airports. Bonilla, who goes by "Izzy" on his LinkedIn profile, will take the helm of an airport working to reinvent itself as a top regional hub after the almost complete departure of Frontier Airlines in 2012.
 
#222 ·
Hopefully the new director will be MUCH more successful in luring new service to MKE. The previous director lasted only 4 months and did basically zero for the airport. This was followed by an interim director, so again, zero was done for the airport. I hope the new director is a very aggressive guy. I hope he can convince the airlines to fly less of those irritating 50 seat regional jets to MKE and replace them either with the larger, more comfortable regional jets, or better yet, mainline flights. Also, more nonstop cities are needed such as San Diego, Nashville, Portland, Raleigh, Miami. We shall see how it goes.
 
#223 ·
From the Milwaukee Business Times:

Northern Illinois travelers increase usage of Mitchell

While the number of travelers from Northern Illinois using General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee at least once per year has nearly doubled since 2008, usage of the airport by those living in Racine, Kenosha and Walworth counties lags well behind the rest of metro Milwaukee.

The findings are part of studies recently conducted by Probe Research Services, Inc. for the airport. The study found that 35 percent of travelers from the four northeastern Illinois counties bordering Wisconsin had used Mitchell at least once in the last year, an increase from 18 percent in 2008.


http://www.biztimes.com/2015/12/28/northern-illinois-travelers-increase-usage-of-mitchell/
 
#224 ·
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