Central Illinois Passengers Will See Bigger Jets When the Time is Right

By Michelle Koetters, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.

Jul. 15–BLOOMINGTON — The Central Illinois Regional Airport would welcome the addition of new, larger jets, but the aircrafts aren’t scheduled to fly into Bloomington yet.

As airlines add new regional and mainline jets with more seats and leg room than the traditional 50-seat jets, it’s likely some bigger jets eventually will work their way into the Bloomington-Normal market, said Carl Olson, executive director of the Central Illinois Regional Airport.

But airlines have to consider expenses and which markets are best for the changes, Olson said.

Only time will tell when the larger jets will provide service in Bloomington, but they will come, said Mike Boyd, a Colorado-based airport consultant who’s worked with the airport.

“Bloomington-Normal will get bigger airplanes because of the demand,” Boyd said, noting the growing passenger traffic at the airport.

But not all of the new jets actually will be more comfortable than the current 50-seaters; they just might have more seats, Boyd said. The others will be bigger and roomier, but they technically are not regional jets, Boyd said.

Northwest Airlines’ Bombardier CRJ-900s are regional jets, but they’re no better than the 50-seat aircrafts because they both have 17-inch wide seats, Boyd said. Delta and United also will have regional jets that just have more seats, not more personal space, Boyd said.

“The experience is just the same,” Boyd said.

Some with a dual cabin design may have more leg room though, he said.

Embraer E-jets will have wider seats and the comfort of a mainline aircraft, but it is considered a smaller mainline jet, Boyd said.

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The bulk of the CIRA’s service is from 50-seat regional jets, Olson said.

Larger jets could make a better, more comfortable product, especially for longer flights, he said.

Right now, passengers leaving Bloomington can fly to Chicago; Detroit; Atlanta, Ga.; and Orlando, Fla. Starting in August, AirTran Airways will fly to Las Vegas on a 137-passenger mainline aircraft.

The airport wants to continue to add more westbound service, such as a flight to Denver or Utah, Olson said.

These new jets would be an ideal aircraft for one of those flights because of the longer travel time, he said.

“You certainly want to have a larger, roomier aircraft for that flight,” Olson said.

Plane passengers like to be comfortable, but reliable service and price are more important factors, Olson said.

You probably won’t see one of the larger jets flying from Bloomington to Chicago, for example, because it wouldn’t be cost effective for the airline, said Fran Strebing, marketing director for the Central Illinois Regional Airport.

It costs more in fuel and other operational costs to fly a larger jet, so a 50-seater is more economical for a short flight, she said.

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