I like to wonder how many of the travelers in an airport are from the local area. And what features of a city suggest a high proportion of locals in the airport?
For instance do small cities have high percentages of locals in their airports? There are fewer locals to fill the place with, but not many New Yorkers fly to Greensboro, North Carolina.
At a given airport, it should matter whether the people of that area like to travel, whether no one else wants to visit that area, and whether that airport is a hub for switching flights.
It is easy to pick Chicago, Atlanta, and Denver as airports with many non-locals. But which airports have high percentages of locals? That means travel-hungry people from a boring, non-touristy, non-hub city. Minneapolis anyone?
Minneapolis is a hub for Northwest.
My guess would be somewhere like Islip/Long Island, since there is a large local population that is poorly served by the other NY airports but is probably too out of the way for all but the cheapest non-local trying to go to NYC.
Btw, Minneapolis is not boring to *me*, I love the place…
My wag is Westchester County Airport. Stewart in upstate NY might fit well, too.
I’d guess cities with professional sports teams without major hubs which are not major tourist destinations: Kansas City, Milwaukee, Des Moines, Cleveland, Pittsburgh.
I think a significant percentage of traffic out of Green Bay are locals flying to Vegas.
Come visit the Twin Cities and you will see that it is far from “boring.”
You will also see that it the hub for Northwest Airlines, with over 80%(?) of the gates at the main terminal being used by NWA.
Living in upstate NY, I’d concur with that call. If you fly out of Syracuse, I’m betting the vast majority of people there are locals. There’s just not all that much to be flying up to up here, especially business-wise.
San Jose Airport? I know it’s Silicon Valley, but they’re extremely small, and have few long-distance direct flights, while SFO, just 30 minutes from San Jose, does. I personally always fly into SFO because San Jose has no direct flights from Philadelphia.
As others have pointed out, Minneapolis-St. Paul International is a major hub for Northwest.
San Jose has a LOT of out of town flyers. A tremendous number of business travelers fly into or back out of SJC every week.
While it’s not quite the same thing as the locals/non-locals issue, there are publicly available figures on the percentages of people using a particular airport who are beginning or ending their journeys (O&D) vs. changing planes. Looking through the aviation forum archives at airliners.net should provide these figures. If I recall correctly, plane-changers amount to more than 75% of the passengers at certain hun airports, Minneapolis among them.
Quite a few people heading to or from NYC actually use Long Island/Islip despite its being 50+ miles from Manhattan. It’s the only airport in the New York region which Southwest Airlines serves and therefore frequently has the best fares. The Long Island Rail Road serves Ronkonkoma station, which adjoins airport property is a short, $5 van shuttle from the terminal, and while the train is a loathesome experience during rush hour it’s not so bad at the times airport users are likely to be riding.
I would guess Omaha if you count as locals people for who it is the nearest big airport so will drive there to fly. It has only 4 million passengers per year vs over 30 for Minneapolis
If I had to make a guess out of thin air which airport in the US
had the greatest percentage of locals, it would be ADK (Adak Island,
Alaska which has twice-weekly service to Anchorage via King Salmon, Alaska)..
Monterey Airport, Monterey, CA. It’s the smallest airport I’ve ever visited that has daily jet service from more than one line. There’s a lot of wealth in that area, but the area’s somewhat difficult of access. So the locals spend a lot of time on shuttle flights, going to and from the outside world on business, to other homes, and so on.
The only big outside draws are Pebble Beach and the Defense Language Institute. There’s nothing else compelling enough to fly in for.
It’s probably my favorite airport in the world, because it combine big-airport amenities with small-town informality. You can park right next to the main entrance! Easily! Free!
Minneapolis was on Frommer’s list of hot destinations for 2007:
“A Midwestern city already known for its gorgeous city layout and its fine arts community, Minneapolis is experiencing a cutting-edge design boom. The blockbuster new Guthrie Theater (now located in the Mill District along the Mississippi) is a sight to behold — a sleek, dark-blue steel building designed by the architect Jean Nouvel. The Walker Art Center has been expanded and also in the works is an addition to the Frank Gehry-designed Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, which some say evokes his later, more famous Guggenheiim Bilbao.
Though winters are harsh, Minneapolis is a fantastic place to be outside. Alongside the
Mississippi is a series of lakes that wind through downtown, where you can bike, jog, or just hang out. The Guthrie’s new location, with its spectacular views of St. Anthony Falls, is also bringing more traffic to this neighborhood, in addition to shops and restaurants.”
I’ve read similar articles in the New York Times, enough to make me think people actually will visit purely as tourists. Let’s not forget that the Mall of America also attracts one-day shopping jaunts.
I agree that Tyler owes us Minneapolitans a “best of” post. We can leave St. Paul out of it.
You’ve got our Viking (ancestral, not football) blood all stirred up, Tyler. I agree with the others, you owe us a favorite things. (Minneapolis, Twin Cities, or Minnesota, I’m not picky.)
I’ll give you a head start: Husker Du, The Replacements, Dylan, Prince, the Sullivan Building in Owatonna, the Coen brothers, Charles Schulz… (I’m leaving out Sinclair Lewis on purpose)
Ned’s post above brings up a good point about Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Yes, a lot of folks are passing through on connecting flights, but a good portion of those connecting flights are from places that are culturally in tune with the Twin Cities; they get Minnesota Public Radio, root for the pathetic Vikings, and have favorite places to eat and shop in “the Cities”. So, what’s local?
-matt in st. paul
A non-hub airport close to a major hub airport is likely to have a high percentage of locals. Several airports in Florida fit this bill. As does Chicago Midway (everyone who flies has changed planes at O’Hare, but only people who live in Chicagoland fly to or from Midway). I don’t know from experience, but I’d bet LGA has a higher percentage of locals than JFK.
Oh come on guys and gals, Minneapolis and St. Paul really are a bit boring in a snowless mid-winter. Sure there’s lots of theater and such, but MSP life depends a lot on being outdoors and enjoying the parks, water, and people scene. The lack of snow, and even msot skating surfaces, has made winter duller (even though most of my fellow Minnesotans seem to welcome global warming).
Of course tourist excitement isn’t everything. I’m very fond and appreciative of my home state …
John,
I have to agree with you. Minneapolis/St. Paul are beautiful places if you have a house in the burbs and you have a family. It’s a terrible place for young people in their 20s and 30s. You will feel isolated and depressed once you move there. You can find a wealth of information on how boring the twin cities are for young professionals. Please explore the internet and make an informed decision for ourselves!!
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