By John McDermott
The AirlineGeeks Podcast Episode 47: New Developments in Leisure Travel
Thank you for reading the AirlineGeeks Podcast Recap. This article gives a brief look at last week’s episode of our news podcast. For our full analysis of each of these stories, you can listen to The AirlineGeeks Podcast on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Overcast or through our distributor, Anchor.
This episode starts with a look at a recent expansion by Sun Country Airlines. The carrier announced 18 new routes at the end of April, and AirlineGeeks was able to sit down with the carrier to discuss the new developments and where the carrier is moving in the future.
We first take a look at which new routes were revealed, considering what these routes could signal about how the carrier plans to keep expanding in the coming months. We move into a discussion of the carrier’s branding and distinguishing factors, considering which factors Sun Country considers when picking new destinations. We also consider how the airline may apply these values and distinguishing factors to identify new routes going forward.
Next, we move to fellow U.S. leisure carrier Southwest Airlines, which itself announced nearly 50 new routes, including a mixture of completely new services and restarted offerings to destinations across the U.S. As with Sun Country, we first take a look at which new routes Southwest launched and what pandemic recovery may look like.
We also discuss how Southwest’s expansion strategy may be changing going forward. The additions of new airports like Chicago’s O’Hare, Miami International and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental mark a new era for Southwest, which tends toward smaller airports like Chicago’s Midway International. We speculate on whether Southwest may follow this trend going forward and put more focus on expanding at bigger hub airports to increase market share and expand their branding.
Last, we look to Sweden, where Stockholm’s Bromma Airport is being closed. Though no timeline has been set for the closure, the announcement is in stark contrast for the 18-year plan in place for the airport in 2020. But Bromma has seen passenger numbers plummet during the coronavirus pandemic and, considering it was already Stockholm’s smallest airport by passenger count, it is being shuttered in favor of the other fields in the area.
We take a look into the airport’s history and the future it was supposed to have. We also discuss Stockholm’s other airports and the benefits that Bromma brings to the city over the others. And we finish off with a look at the controversies surrounding this announcement and the fights that will continue over the airport’s future.
We hope you’ll listen to the podcast episode, linked above, for more in-depth analysis of each of these stories. Monitor our page on your favorite streaming service each Friday to hear the latest episode just as it’s published at 12 p.m. U.S. Pacific Time. Feel free to leave a comment sharing your thoughts on this week’s episode.
John McDermott is a student at Northwestern University. He is also a student pilot with hopes of flying for the airlines. A self-proclaimed “avgeek,” John will rave about aviation at length to whoever will listen, and he is keen to call out any airplane he sees, whether or not anyone around him cares about flying at all. John previously worked as a Journalist and Editor-In-Chief at Aeronautics Online Aviation News and Media. In his spare time, John enjoys running, photography, and watching planes approach Chicago O’Hare from over Lake Michigan.
