It has been highly common for people in Greensboro and the surrounding area to drive to Raleigh-Durham International Airport or Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, and start their round trip from there – and, when the trip is over, fly back to that airport and drive the hour and a half or so back to Greensboro.
The reason has been dead simple: Ticket prices at those airports have been consistently lower than the prices at Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA). There was usually a pretty hefty premium for flying out of PTIA.
But, nowadays, with more airlines serving PTIA, passengers can find some great deals out of the local airport. However, that’s not the main talking point in PTIA’s recent attempt to lure passengers from competing airports in the state.
In 2023, there are a lot of new considerations to factor in, and members of the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority and other airport leaders are actively making the case that it’s just easier, simpler, better – and yes, often cheaper, to fly from PTIA once all the costs are factored in.
This month, airport officials released an interesting stat: “46 percent of possible traffic out of PTIA is lost to larger airports in North Carolina.”
This, PTIA advocates maintain, means that PTIA misses out on the opportunity to offer flyers “increased service and convenience.”
While it’s true that lower fares from airports an hour and a half away in both directions can often be found, one highly relevant question is this: Are those tickets cheaper when everything is factored in?
It’s true that parking rates went up this year for the premium parking deck right next to the terminal at PTIA, which is now $15 a day.
When the parking rates at PTIA went up, PTIA Executive Director Kevin Baker said that it’s still a great deal when compared to other airports around the country.
In fact, similar “premier parking” close to the terminal at RDU is $30 a day – twice as much as PTIA’s parking.
Also, if flying from Greensboro, those who live nearby might pay zero dollars for parking because flying from close to home means it’s likely a friend or family member can just drive you to PTIA and drop you off.
If it’s a weeklong trip, that could mean saving $210 on parking alone.
Then there’s gas. The distance from downtown Greensboro to Charlotte Douglas International Airport, for instance, is 95 miles, which means a round trip is 190 miles. With regular gas at over $3.60 a gallon, that means that most who drive there in back will spend over $100 on gas.
But, for many, the deciding factor is convenience. The airport’s recent campaigns on flying have focused on “friendly customer service and a stress-free travel experience.”
This is more than just peace of mind and less commotion. Fewer airplanes taking off and landing mean fewer snafus and less waiting in line at ticket counters and TSA checkpoints. It also means less chance of missing flights.
PTIA also has many very helpful volunteer “ambassadors” in the airports who constantly help travelers with questions.
Plus, fare comparison studies these days often show that when you book a flight with PTIA 7 to 21 days in advance of your departure date, deals can be better than those at other airports.
Another selling point for PTIA is that using the airport helps out the local economy and will mean improved service from PTIA in the future.
“Air service is the lifeblood of commercial service airports,” a recent statement form PTIA reads. “Increasing service at an airport not only increases revenue generated for the airport, but also increases business ties between communities along with economic development in the region that the airport serves. Air service development efforts have the goal of expanding the level of sustainable air service that meets the community’s needs. Some of the ways air service development efforts can enhance travel options include attracting new destinations or airlines, improving the schedule, and engaging passengers in the airport’s region that are using airports other than their home airport.”
Airport officials are therefore asking community residents to help in in the campaign to support PTIA.
“Community stakeholders can help air service development efforts by letting the airport know of travel needs, both existing and upcoming,” it states. “For example, a business might have a new partner or subsidiary in a city with nonstop service. That information can help strengthen the business’s case for new service and is often something that airlines are unaware of. Another way that the community can support air service development is by flying local. Unmet demand and strong demand for current flights are essential for attracting new service.”
Good luck PTIA. I’ll stick with Raleigh.
Exactly, Raleigh and Charlotte offer many more flight options at a lower price. I don’t park at those airports either, I’m dropped off.
Not enough direct flights. How about some direct flights to somewhere other than Atlanta or Charlotte? I feel like every flight to/from GSO connects at one of those places so why not fly from Charlotte?
I used to fly all the time from RDU to LGA and back because the fares were so much lower than from GSO (now PTIA). Instead of thinking of clever ways to minimize the difference, PTIA should push the airlines to offer competitive fares and then the business would pick up. If it were really cheap I might consider flying again myself, although the current inconvenience is not worth the price for me now, and I prefer driving…
I totally agree! Prices are outrageous at GSO/PTIA. Also, not all airlines fly out of GSO/PTIA.
I agree. I always flew from GSO (still officially the call sign) and prefer doing so. The thing is the less expensive flights to SFO where I usually go are from RDU or CLT and Southwest only flies from those two airports. I can also get direct flights which means not having to mess around with hoping a 20-minute layover will be enough or having to endure a 4 to 6-hour layover turning my flight into an all day affair. It used to be lovely when I could leave GSO at 6 am and arrive at SFO by 11 am and have lunch with my family. GSO lost passengers when it lost Piedmont Airlines and it’s never recovered. If they could get an airline that would make it a hub, problem solved, but that’s not going to happen ever again. They can’t make Greensboro Charlotte or Raleigh. Greensboro is just Greensboro. Until then my husband loves driving me to Charlotte, so we drive to Charlotte. Life in the fast lane.
I flew for many years. Piedmont was the best of them all. USAir made them a deal they couldn’t refuse.
It would be even better to get some True Non-Stop International Flights to and from Greensboro.
It would be even better to get some True Non-Stop International Flights to and from Greensboro.
London would be good !
So they’re increasing parking fees, getting rid of the simple, quick, and easy parking meters. and their fares are not competitive either. But hey, they sure have a great salesman in Scott Yost, even if he needs a little remedial math (most vehicles get better than 6.8 miles per gallon, Scott, especially on a highway).
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They need to REDUCE the cost of using PTI, and pay attention to the preferences of the public. That way they might just get a little more business…
Apparently, math is not your strong suite. Reference the cost of a round trip drive to the Charlotte airport in money spent on gas, how did you arrive at “spending over $100?”
Assume that you get 20 miles to the gallon (most vehicles do much better than this). 190 miles divided by 20 MPG equals 9.5 gallons of gas. 9.5 gallons @ $3.60 per gallon comes out to $34.20 in fuel cost (not $100).
The main issue at PTIA continues to be lack of reliable flights to and from major airline hubs and the cost. When I fly for business, I can’t afford the disruption and uncertainty of if and when I will get to my destination.
I don’t like driving to RDU or CLT but if I can get a direct flight from those airports to my destination, I have found it time and time again more reliable.
There was a time when PTI would take you in a bus or van to CLT if your flight was delayed or cancelled but I haven’t heard this service being offered in a long time. Providing that type of service would go a long way to removing the chance of missing a connecting flight. I love PTI but I normally cannot take the chance.
I travel often and 99% of the time it’s cheaper to fly out of RDU or Charlotte. I use an offsite facility to park. It’s much cheaper and they take you straight to the airport and pick you up when you return! I would love to fly out of PTI but, it’s overpriced!
The main attraction to RDU or CLT is that you can get direct non-stop flights to many domestic and foreign cities. No missing your connections.
Part of the reasons that people don’t fly out of PTIA is because they don’t offer direct flights to some cities, but RDU and Charlotte-Doulglas do. For example, Denver, CO.
Check your math for the cost of gas to drive 190 miles. $100 would mean ~7 mpg. That would be a Hummer towing another Hummer.
Right. Mr. Yost was probably thinking mileage, not gas. However, most forget that it costs a lot more than gas to operate a car. If you itemize biz deductions, I remember an old IRS allowance of 50c/mile. Considering the total costs of owning a care today, 50c ain’t even in the park. Even at 50c, 190 miles is nearly $100.
The distance from downtown Greensboro to Charlotte Douglas International Airport, for instance, is 95 miles, which means a round trip is 190 miles. With regular gas at over $3.60 a gallon, that means that most who drive there in back will spend over $100 on gas.
Your math is way off or you think people get really bad gas mileage.
$100 worth of gas for 190 miles trip? Math is way off. That would mean +/-30 gallons. For 190 miles. Not even 7 mpg! I’m not saying trip to PTI with parking is shorter and cheaper but you need to work on your algebra. Also, there’s way more destinations and flights from RDU and CLT.
Your math on gas cost is definitely inaccurate….$100 gas cost for a 190 mile drive with gas costing $3.60 means that “most who drive there and back” have a car that gets 6.84mpg
Your cost-benefit calculations are a bit off.
Take gas, for example. You say it would cost $100 to drive 190 miles … and that might be true at federal reimbursement rates. But for gas alone, that trip burns 6 to 10 gallons, depending on whether you drive a Prius or a Tahoe. That’s about $22 to $36, round trip.
As for airport parking, the premium lots are much cheaper in Greensboro, but secondary lots don’t have nearly the $15 price disparity you highlighted. Maybe you save $5 or $10 per day. Maybe not even that much.
Then, you’re assuming everyone lives in Greensboro. Some of PTIA’s potential travelers could come from “halfway” cities like Burlington, Lexington, High Point, or Asheboro and might be more interested in using a bigger airport for its amenities or flight/carrier options … even if PTIA saves a few bucks or a few minutes.
Scott, check your math on the gas calculations
Something not mentioned in this article is the nickel and diming these cheap o airlines are doing. Carry on bag? $30. Checked bag? $50. Not to mention the absence of snacks or drink service in flight.
If you are flying solo, then yes you probably aren’t saving a lot driving to CLT or RDU. But if you’re a family of 4 and the tickets are $200 cheaper, then the cost of gas and parking become much less of a factor. Add in the fact that a lot of those cheaper flights at other airports are nonstop, PTI will always struggle to be competitive.
American Airlines has been pretty awful as of late, would be better if SWA was flying out of there, just my opinion.
That would be great.
Scott, I travel weekly for business and love flying out of GSO, when I can. However, what people forget in price calculation is time.
For business travel, if you look at your salary and break it down to an hourly rate, then multiply by 1.25-1.4, (cost to business for you to travel) then multiply by total travel time, and then add the cost of your ticket plus other travel if going out of RDU or CLT, you will have your true cost of the ticket.
Now multiply that by 26+ weeks of travel yearly and consider I get an incentive for staying under my travel budget…
I try to be locally loyal, but an example: Flying to Eugene, Oregon late September, from PTI I change planes in either Atlanta, then either Seattle or Salt Lake City, then on to Eugene. If I go from CLT, I change once in Salt Lake City. One less stop in Atlanta is lovely, plus it’s about $140 cheaper and I don’t drive a Peterbilt so my gas expense is about $23.00
When I recently flew GSO I connected in CLT where my already 2 hour layover (I could have driven home in that time frame but the connection made sense at the time) was extended to 5 hours. Usually I fly out of RDU. The drive is easy, parking is easy, and my flights are direct.
The fact that there’s no direct flight on a major carrier to MCO is absurd.
If Southwest flew out of GSO I’d bother with layovers though.
I love flying out of GSO, but considering American Airlines is SO unreliable, you need such a long layover in clt, it’s better just to drive down there. Too many close calls or straight up missed flights due to that.
More direct flight, I’d absolutely fly out of gso all the time.
There’s alot of bad math here, especially the 6.5 mpg math. I drove a friend to the airport several times and only spent maybe $36.00.
I drive to Tennessee and back for $110.00.
CTL parking is $10.00 per day last I checked online.
When I do the math, I am well aware of the costs to fly out of PTIA vs. Charlotte or RDU. My calculations may be a bit different than others, but I place a high value on being able to reach the airport in 10 minutes from my house. I also place value on ease of checking in and boarding. Neither CLT or RDU can beat that.
Nice try. PTI is okay if you want to go to Atlanta or Newark. By the time you board and land and make connections out of PTI you could easily drive to CLT or RDU. And by the way you can drive an 80k pound tractor trailer to Charlotte and back for 100 dollars. LMAO.
I just don’t fly PTI because there are so few direct flights. I hate having to connect in Charlotte and run all the way across the airport to barely make my next flight. I also use Southwest Airlines a lot and unfortunately, PTI doesn’t have a terminal for that airline.
My first choice is always to fly out of PTIA, but when it takes 8 hours to get somewhere because you have to connect, the better choice is to drive to RDU and take a direct flight. Time is money. Get more direct flights and you’ll win my business every time. Even if the rates are higher. I’ll pay for the convenience and the time savings.
I guess folks just like to complain or recite decades old issues. I find flying from PTIA is the easiest and most pleasant travel experience of any decent sized airport in the US or abroad. I applaud the efforts to grow routes and airlines. The upgrades throughout the airport have been consistent and positive. Both RDU and CLT have been in constant construction mode causing disruptions inside and outside terminals. Not to mention the drives, often with delays, to each. As for the math calculations, Scott mentioned gas prices, but the cost is per mile for gas and wear and tear on your car, now at $.655/mile by IRS regs, so $100 was actually low. Piedmont was 50 years ago for goodness sake. We even had a Continental Hub in the meantime. If flying to NYC, Chicago, Orlando, Miami, Dallas, Detroit, Atlanta, DC and Philly you can go direct from GSO. More coming soon including Denver and Nashville. I certainly regularly drive to RDU and CLT for direct flights and international ones and feel blessed to have so many options. Often, the same routes are cheaper from GSO than CLT with a connection. Kudos to PTIA for trying to tell the story of how we can help our excellent local option to succeed going forward and give us more choices.
There are no major carrier direct flights to Orlando. Very recently Silver started flying out of there and they’re a budget carrier I wouldn’t trust. I get to Orlando faster by driving and parking in RDU and flying direct to MCO than I do leaving from GSO and having a layover.
I’ve flow to Pittsburgh 5 times this year and every time there was no direct flights from Greensboro. So Scott it has nothing to do with prices or convenience if they don’t even offer the flight I need.
PTI real issue is there are rarely any direct flights. It’s much faster to drive to Charlotte or RDI and get on a direct flight than fly from PTI to these airports and then switch planes. I tried PTI 2 times this year and both times a delay in Greensboro resulted in me missing my flight in Charlotte. I sat 4 hours at PTI, when I could have driven to Charlotte.
Free parking and 100’s off the ticket price wouldn’t make me use PTI.
Wow.
It’s pretty clear that PTI has a lot of problems, not least of which is the public perception of its failings. Increasing the cost of using PTI, and ticking people off by removing parking meters isn’t going to help at all.
They need an aggressive cost cutter to implement a reduction in their cost of doing business. If they pass those savings on to the consumers and the airlines, it just might draw in more flights and maybe even a hub. That would stimulate demand and the airport would, er, take off.
Otherwise it’ll just remain overpriced and underused.
Direct flights are important, and who books 7 to 21 days out, I am looking as soon as the fights post, or the day I start planning a trip usually 6 months out. Also not everyone has to park next to the terminal. RDI has 7 dollar a night parking with shuttles to the lot. Greensboro is closer by a lot for me but the bottom line is price and Direct flights so that leaves RDU or Charlotte.
You fine folk here in the comments are missing out on something.
The Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem combined statistical area has about 1.7 million residents, but we have an airport that has the same level of service that a region half of our size receives. We are the 36th largest CSA in the whole country, and we are even bigger than some more well known entries. Including:
*Oklahoma City
*Louisville
*New Orleans
*Memphis
*Buffalo
*Tucson
*El Paso
*Omaha
Go take a look at the airports in those cities, and you will see that they have way higher levels of service and more options then we do here in Greensboro — even though we are the larger city with more economic opportunity as well. The sad fact of the matter is that we are caught in a vicious cycle. Our local residents (including myself) travel to RDU or CLT for most of our flights, and this in turn creates lower demand numbers for our community. The airlines see this lower demand, and then they skip us over for new service and new routes. This cycle perpetuates. Another dirty secret is that RDU especially would lose probably about 20-40% of its demand if we GSO locals actually used our airport. The airport authority, tbh, really needs to adjust their messaging. You shouldn’t have the beg locals to use the airport. You should find a way to make GSO as affordable as possible and adjust your demand metrics to make airlines more interested in new routes.
Exactly!
Would much prefer to fly out of Greensboro. Get Southwest to fly from there and I’m all in!