Was meaning to get around to this thread.
They must be repurposing the old SkyBus terminal, which was essentially a hangar that was upgraded a bit to allow for passengers to wait for their flights.
They actually built a new passenger terminal in 2016. Their master plan proposes to eventually demolish an old hangar and build an expanded access road to it.
FLights like these - ones paid for via a grant - generally do last beyond the grant.
Think of it this way, Frontier's experience helped to show that even a carrier w/ low operating costs can't make a go of it.
AMR's willing to roll the dice because, thanks the grant, they ain't likely to lose much.
It's had to see what this accomplishes. A lot govt $$$$$ being spent on a small town that has plenty of air service already ___in it's own metro area____.
Honestly, agreed. As much as I think it's
nice for there to be an option to fly right into St. Augustine, we're arguably nowhere near a big enough metro area to really justify multiple active airports. The better strategy is to let JAX succeed as the region's airport, and figure out a way to have decent transit between it and the other cities like St. Augustine. That probably means coach buses or something now, but perhaps eventually a rail option of some sort.
I guess I don't necessarily blame the St. Augustine Airport Authority for sticking its neck out there, though, especially with how far down the pipeline any alternatives would be.
