Plane Conversations

Loveland Colorado’s Public Works Director  has announced a new program they hope to put into place at the Ft. Collins – Loveland Airport soon and it is called “Wingless Flight”.

I heard of this concept a few years ago and then the idea went away. I am not sure why it did not take off a few years ago but I would venture a guess that TSA could not get their heads around it.  

Basically you would drive to the Ft. Collins Airport, park, check your bags and clear security there, but instead of boarding a plane you will board a bus that will take you to Denver International (DIA). Once you arrive at DIA you will be deposited in the terminal with all security screening having been handled in Ft. Collins.

So what is the advantage of this?

If properly run it could save both time and money. Parking at Ft. Collins is easy and cheap,  and clearing security and going through the lines will take a minute or two versus the sometimes hour long wait at DIA.

I think success would depend on a high frequency of bus trips with a reliable time schedule so that users of this service can count on not spending a lot of time at DIA before they actually board their flight.  

If I lived in the Loveland area and got off a flight at DIA coming home and had to wait any time at all at DIA for the bus  back to Loveland I would lose patience. Once I am home, as in back to the terminal at home base, I can’t wait to get out of the terminal building to really get home.

Operating under the premise that we all fly to save time, anything that can reduce the door to door travel experience should be a winner. If it doesn’t really save time then saving a few bucks on parking won’t push people to do it?

The comments in the 9News.com  article about this are for the most part skeptical. One commenter states that this has already been tried in Boulder a few years ago.   

I have seen an almost similar scenario in Vienna, Austria, where we checked our bags at the rail station downtown that runs non-stop to the airport. We still had to clear security at the airport; but, at least we got rid of the bags. Europe, with its developed mass transit rail system, has the airport to rail connection down to a science. Most major airports are connected to a rail system by a short walk out of the terminal building.  

Give these guys in Loveland  an “A” for effort and innovation. Time will tell if the idea catches on.

Anything to reduce friction in travel is good. With the exception of price, travel by private aircraft takes care of all of the issues this proposed service are attempting to solve. How about a private flight out of Loveland Airport non-stop to your destination on your schedule.  Bypass DIA entirely!

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