Hearing on 3.5 million bond 10/28/13

...If the bonds don't go through, "we'll have to set up alternate funding," Swafford said. "We'll continue to move forward."

He said commercial loans are a possibility. Another possibility is that Silver Comet could pay for the taxiway work, for which the airport authority plans to seek Federal Aviation Administration funding for reimbursement. Silver Comet had already agreed to cover bond repayments during any time lag until FAA reimbursement.

"This won't derail any of our plans to create jobs and economic development for Paulding County," said Brett Smith, chief executive of Propeller Investments.

"We believe in this initiative and in the vision of the county's leadership, which is precisely why we agreed to guarantee the airport bond issuance in the first place," Smith said.

Swafford said he thinks citizen scrutiny is appropriate but won't derail the project.

"I think it's appropriate for individuals in the county to make sure government is operating within the bounds of what we're supposed to," Swafford said. "And in the end, I think they'll find we are."
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I certainly hope aviation pros had permission from the AJC to reprint that article. The link at AJC requires you buy a subscription. The copyright disclaimer is even copied. :wut

It's not a law suit.
 
naturegirl said:
Has anyone bothered to research Allegiant Air? The airline Blake Swafford and Propeller Investments are trying to bring to the airport?

Two planes broken down: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57609736/allegiant-air-flight-delayed-more-than-11-hours/

From Trip Advisor: Read the comments. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Airlines-G4-Allegiant-Air-Inc

Not sure I would get on one of those planes.
Click to expand...

It is listed as one of Forbes top American Best Small Companies. http://www.forbes.com/companies/allegiant-travel/

It was named to Fortune magazine’s list of the “100 fastest-growing companies” for the second straight year. http://mtstandard.com/business/local/airline-named-to-fortune-s-fastest-growing-second-straight-year/article_f397a662-f151-11e0-a7cf-001cc4c002e0.html

2013
This year's overall top performer is Allegiant Air, which also wins the small carrier division.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aviation-week-releases-top-performing-airline-rankings-214744851.html

July 2013
Allegiant Air has made a fortune – more than 40 consecutive profitable quarters - by following a relatively simple business plan: Take travelers from small towns and fly them to the beach or the desert.




I see that yes they had a horrible flight delay, but I am pretty sure many airlines have. At least from what I read in papers. It seems, to me, a good option for Paulding to have them come. If they are making money, wouldn't we? :dunno
 
Well I was basing this off of the over 500 BBB complaints and the horrible customer service of people that actually flew the airline.

Anyone can make stuff look good on paper.
 
naturegirl said:
Well I was basing this off of the over 500 BBB complaints and the horrible customer service of people that actually flew the airline.

Anyone can make stuff look good on paper.
Click to expand...

I just can see two sides to all of this and while things can be made to look good I do not see that with the info I posted. It is just some recognition they have received and facts on making money. :dunno

My friends that have flown this airline say it is not the best or worst they have used, but it is convenient and the price is right. (They fly out of Ft Lauderdale. I do not know if that makes any difference or not, just wanted to say that is the location.)
 
NG - I did see where they had over 500 complaints in the last 3 years. I also saw they had an A+ rating and all the complaints were handled. Delta also had 2,501 complaints in the last three years and an A+ rating. While reading through both I noticed many were similar; vouchers, credits, charges, etc. I did not see Allegiance as any better or worse. I see both as typical for this industry.
 
ShoeDiva said:
NG - I did see where they had over 500 complaints in the last 3 years. I also saw they had an A+ rating and all the complaints were handled. Delta also had 2,501 complaints in the last three years and an A+ rating. While reading through both I noticed many were similar; vouchers, credits, charges, etc. I did not see Allegiance as any better or worse. I see both as typical for this industry.
Click to expand...

Let's just do the math. How many flights a day does Delta have? How many flights a day does Allegiant have? Every trip advisor I've looked at with allegiant has numerous complaints. The most points they have is 2.5 out of 5 Most are 2 and below.

I don't know about you but I don't think I'd risk it for the "cheap" flights.

http://budgettravel.about.com/u/r/od/findalowairfare/fr/Allegiant-Airlines-Review.htm
 
naturegirl said:
ShoeDiva said:
NG - I did see where they had over 500 complaints in the last 3 years. I also saw they had an A+ rating and all the complaints were handled. Delta also had 2,501 complaints in the last three years and an A+ rating. While reading through both I noticed many were similar; vouchers, credits, charges, etc. I did not see Allegiance as any better or worse. I see both as typical for this industry.
Click to expand...

Let's just do the math. How many flights a day does Delta have? How many flights a day does Allegiant have? Every trip advisor I've looked at with allegiant has numerous complaints. The most points they have is 2.5 out of 5 Most are 2 and below.

I don't know about you but I don't think I'd risk it for the "cheap" flights.

http://budgettravel.about.com/u/r/od/findalowairfare/fr/Allegiant-Airlines-Review.htm
Click to expand...

I am just trying to present more sides of the story. I like to look at more than one side. I do not go by just reviews from people I do not even know. I did speak to people I do know that have used them and again, they did not love them or hate them.

For every bad I can post a good. Are they perfect? No, no airline is. Do they make money? Yes, they do. Will it in turn make us money? That I do not know, seeing that we have not received FAA approval to proceed, I do not factually know if they have even been approached, do you?
 
As far as customer service goes, it is unfair to compare a small niche carrier to a major airline. A fairer comparison would be a company like American Eagle or Republic, Expressjet, or their direct competitor, West Air. In general, small regionals have greater challenges with facilities, equipment, and weather.
 
lotstodo said:
As far as customer service goes, it is unfair to compare a small niche carrier to a major airline. A fairer comparison would be a company like American Eagle or Republic, Expressjet, or their direct competitor, West Air. In general, small regionals have greater challenges with facilities, equipment, and weather.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup
 
lotstodo said:
As far as customer service goes, it is unfair to compare a small niche carrier to a major airline. A fairer comparison would be a company like American Eagle or Republic, Expressjet, or their direct competitor, West Air. In general, small regionals have greater challenges with facilities, equipment, and weather.
Click to expand...

I agree. They do face more challenges than a major airline, but since Allegiance had a BBB grade and the others did not I just used Delta as an example. Since Allegiance did fix the complaints I do take that into consideration too, not just the complaint because as you pointed out, they face more obstacles at the small regional airports, that people will complain about.
 
ShoeDiva said:
lotstodo said:
As far as customer service goes, it is unfair to compare a small niche carrier to a major airline. A fairer comparison would be a company like American Eagle or Republic, Expressjet, or their direct competitor, West Air. In general, small regionals have greater challenges with facilities, equipment, and weather.
Click to expand...

I agree. They do face more challenges than a major airline, but since Allegiance had a BBB grade and the others did not I just used Delta as an example. Since Allegiance did fix the complaints I do take that into consideration too, not just the complaint because as you pointed out, they face more obstacles at the small regional airports, that people will complain about.
Click to expand...

All it takes to get the BBB off your back is to respond, it doesn't necessarily make them better or they fix anything. Lots of experience with BBB here. You can see Allegiant is careful to answer those reports.
 
naturegirl said:
ShoeDiva said:
lotstodo said:
As far as customer service goes, it is unfair to compare a small niche carrier to a major airline. A fairer comparison would be a company like American Eagle or Republic, Expressjet, or their direct competitor, West Air. In general, small regionals have greater challenges with facilities, equipment, and weather.
Click to expand...

I agree. They do face more challenges than a major airline, but since Allegiance had a BBB grade and the others did not I just used Delta as an example. Since Allegiance did fix the complaints I do take that into consideration too, not just the complaint because as you pointed out, they face more obstacles at the small regional airports, that people will complain about.
Click to expand...

All it takes to get the BBB off your back is to respond, it doesn't necessarily make them better or they fix anything. Lots of experience with BBB here. You can see Allegiant is careful to answer those reports.
Click to expand...

Okay. :dunno I can agree they have issues, but I also see that they all do. I have read the comments, both on BBB and their FB page. While the complainers are the loudest (aren't they always?) many do like them. They make lots of money and hopefully if they would even come here, which I do not know if they would or have even been asked, they in turn would make us money. Maybe offer jobs. I don't know, but I do know that the facts show they are a profitable airline. I would think that if we are getting an airline (which I do not know that we are) you would want one that knows how to make a profit.
 
So, what about the multiple Delta flights this week that sat for over 4 hours on the tarmac, loaded with passengers?
 
Winchester said:
So, what about the multiple Delta flights this week that sat for over 4 hours on the tarmac, loaded with passengers?
Click to expand...

Let's see 4 vs 11, and how many flights a day does Delta have? I thought we already decided we couldn't use a large airline to compare against a smaller one.

It seems to me if you are a small airline trying to find a niche in the market your customer service and maintenance should be top notch. I flew Airtran numerous times, the only time I sat on a tarmac was during a horrendous thunderstorm when we were leaving Chicago, Midway. One time, just once. The customer service was astounding and they never charged me for a change in flight as long as it was the same day. If I got to the airport early and there was room on an earlier flight, not only would they let me bump up the time but more often than not they moved me to first class.
 
naturegirl said:
Winchester said:
So, what about the multiple Delta flights this week that sat for over 4 hours on the tarmac, loaded with passengers?
Click to expand...

Let's see 4 vs 11, and how many flights a day does Delta have? I thought we already decided we couldn't use a large airline to compare against a smaller one.

It seems to me if you are a small airline trying to find a niche in the market your customer service and maintenance should be top notch. I flew Airtran numerous times, the only time I sat on a tarmac was during a horrendous thunderstorm when we were leaving Chicago, Midway. One time, just once. The customer service was astounding and they never charged me for a change in flight as long as it was the same day. If I got to the airport early and there was room on an earlier flight, not only would they let me bump up the time but more often than not they moved me to first class.
Click to expand...

Airtran has some horrible stories too. They all do. Service failures, customer service, everything.
No airline big or small is perfect and no customer is always happy. I have said before, you can easily find the bad online, they yell the most.


If, and that is still a big if, we get approval for an airline, would you not want one that is profitable (they are), which in turn I believe would make a profit for the airport? (Asking based on if the FAA approves everything, they are asked, and they agree to come. Which I believe none of this has officially happened yet.) Is there some other operation you feel is better?
 
ShoeDiva said:
naturegirl said:
Winchester said:
So, what about the multiple Delta flights this week that sat for over 4 hours on the tarmac, loaded with passengers?
Click to expand...

Let's see 4 vs 11, and how many flights a day does Delta have? I thought we already decided we couldn't use a large airline to compare against a smaller one.

It seems to me if you are a small airline trying to find a niche in the market your customer service and maintenance should be top notch. I flew Airtran numerous times, the only time I sat on a tarmac was during a horrendous thunderstorm when we were leaving Chicago, Midway. One time, just once. The customer service was astounding and they never charged me for a change in flight as long as it was the same day. If I got to the airport early and there was room on an earlier flight, not only would they let me bump up the time but more often than not they moved me to first class.
Click to expand...

Airtran has some horrible stories too. They all do. Service failures, customer service, everything.
No airline big or small is perfect and no customer is always happy. I have said before, you can easily find the bad online, they yell the most.


If, and that is still a big if, we get approval for an airline, would you not want one that is profitable (they are), which in turn I believe would make a profit for the airport? (Asking based on if the FAA approves everything, they are asked, and they agree to come. Which I believe none of this has officially happened yet.) Is there some other operation you feel is better?
Click to expand...

They were in bankruptcy in 2000 until 2002. At which time they were restructured.

Allegiant operates a business model focused on leisure travelers, who have different travel habits and needs than business customers. Allegiant has several primary destinations, such as Las Vegas or Orlando, which have high seasonal demand among vacationers. On the other side of the air route, Allegiant caters to smaller, second-tier cities by offering direct flights to holiday destinations, compared to major carriers which may only offer service via a connecting flight through a big-city hub.
Click to expand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegiant_Air
 
naturegirl said:
ShoeDiva said:
naturegirl said:
Winchester said:
So, what about the multiple Delta flights this week that sat for over 4 hours on the tarmac, loaded with passengers?
Click to expand...

Let's see 4 vs 11, and how many flights a day does Delta have? I thought we already decided we couldn't use a large airline to compare against a smaller one.

It seems to me if you are a small airline trying to find a niche in the market your customer service and maintenance should be top notch. I flew Airtran numerous times, the only time I sat on a tarmac was during a horrendous thunderstorm when we were leaving Chicago, Midway. One time, just once. The customer service was astounding and they never charged me for a change in flight as long as it was the same day. If I got to the airport early and there was room on an earlier flight, not only would they let me bump up the time but more often than not they moved me to first class.
Click to expand...

Airtran has some horrible stories too. They all do. Service failures, customer service, everything.
No airline big or small is perfect and no customer is always happy. I have said before, you can easily find the bad online, they yell the most.


If, and that is still a big if, we get approval for an airline, would you not want one that is profitable (they are), which in turn I believe would make a profit for the airport? (Asking based on if the FAA approves everything, they are asked, and they agree to come. Which I believe none of this has officially happened yet.) Is there some other operation you feel is better?
Click to expand...

They were in bankruptcy in 2000 until 2002. At which time they were restructured.
Click to expand...

Other companies do that NG. As of July 2013 Allegiant Air has made a fortune – more than 40 consecutive profitable quarters - by following a relatively simple business plan: Take travelers from small towns and fly them to the beach or the desert. Seems like they figured out what works.
 
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