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'JetBlue Factor' Expands Your Weekend Reach

Old 12-09-2005, 04:27 PM
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December 9, 2005
'JetBlue Factor' Expands Your Weekend Reach
By DENNY LEE
FOR most people, there are two ways to get to a weekend home. You can drive, even if it means sitting in traffic from Friday to Sunday. Or you can hop on a bus or a train. But then there are those like Charles Gardel, a private investor from Manhattan who has turned his weekend trip into a highflying act.

On Friday afternoons in the summer, as his friends are cursing the Hamptons gridlock, Mr. Gardel leans back on a leather recliner and zooms 550 miles an hour toward his wooded estate in Stowe, Vt. Less than two hours later - and at an air fare not much higher than the cost of a full tank of gasoline - he is in his backyard, surrounded by nothing but mountains and trees.

"It's a 50-minute flight and a 45-minute drive to my house," said Mr. Gardel, who relies on JetBlue's New York-to-Burlington service to get to his second home. "It takes too long to get to the Hamptons. The ride is just torture. I find it much easier to fly to Vermont."

Flying to the country was once reserved for tycoons and Hollywood luminaries, who were chauffeured to the tarmac and whisked aboard private planes. But a new breed of weekend flier has emerged, people who treat low-cost airlines like AirTran Airways and Southwest Airlines as their own second-home jitneys at any time of the year.

Fed up by city traffic and priced out of areas near urban centers, flocks of weekenders are leaving their cars and flying farther afield for less stressful getaways. Instead of sitting in highway bottlenecks, they are waiting in airport lines with golf clubs and beach bags.

"A second home doesn't have to be within driving distance anymore," said David Hehman, president of EscapesHomes.com, a Web site based in San Francisco that specializes in resort properties nationwide. The site, in fact, was founded on the premise that second-home buyers are thinking less locally.

The driving force, Mr. Hehman said, is the glut of short nonstop flights pioneered by the low-fare carriers, with one-way tickets as low as $39. "It's created a perceptual shift," he said. "It's easier and faster for me to fly to Park City, Utah, than it is to drive to Lake Tahoe" (where many San Franciscans have weekend homes).

Real estate brokers in Park City, a short hop from Salt Lake City International Airport, agree. They have seen a surge of out-of-state buyers, not only from the Bay Area, but also from Phoenix, Houston, Seattle, Denver and throughout California. "Anywhere that Delta flies direct," said Dennis Hanlon, an associate broker at Lewis, Wolcott & Dornbush Real Estate in Park City. "They fly in on Fridays and leave Sunday or Monday."

Frequent fliers include Brian Bartlett from the Southern California city of Dana Point. He is an avid skier and hiker whose first choice was the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in central California. But the six-hour drive and bubbling condo prices were prohibitive. So he bought a two-bedroom condo in Park City for $160,000, instead.

"I leave my office at 2 p.m., and I put in the key to my front door by 5:30 p.m.," said Mr. Bartlett, 37, a real estate developer who works near the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Calif. "That is the beauty of it. I really enjoy jumping on that plane and getting there."

Even those who loathe airports are finding the convenience irresistible. "I absolutely hate to fly," said Marge Garcia Loehr, a winery manager from Santa Barbara, Calif., who, along with her husband, Hans, is in the process of closing on an adobe-style house in Santa Fe. "But the driving time is 15 hours. If all goes to plan, we would fly out there once every two months."

Spots like Santa Fe have long seduced second-home owners, but weekend fliers are also colonizing areas once deemed too remote. Homes at Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vt., for example, are being snapped up by New Yorkers since JetBlue started twice-daily flights from Kennedy Airport in 2000. Initial fares were $29.

"We never had a second-home market before," said Nancy Jenkins, owner and broker of Prudential Realty Mart in Burlington, reflecting the opinions of several other brokers. "Now people are buying homes and popping up for weekends. It's the JetBlue factor."

The jet stream of house hunters shows no sign of cooling. The number of passengers shuttling between Burlington and Kennedy has quadrupled the last four years to nearly 118,000 last year, says the Campbell-Hill Aviation Group, an aviation consultant in Alexandria, Va.

The skies over Burlington aren't the only thing heating up. With more city slickers parachuting in on weekends, the crunchy college town is going upscale, with Starbucks and gourmet stores replacing dingy cafes and head shops. So, too, are real estate prices.

"In the mid-1990's, you could pick up a lakefront cottage for $200,000," said Brian Boardman, the owner and broker of Coldwell Banker Hickok and Boardman Realty. "Now it's $600,000 to $900,000."

Still, that pales compared with the oceanfront properties of the Hamptons, where $1 million barely buys a pool house. Other long-distance weekenders have discovered that flying to a beach house is often cheaper than driving to a resort.

Anthony Berardo, 47, a manager for a Manhattan construction company, found that out after scouring the Jersey Shore. "I knew it would be pricey, but it was even higher than I had thought," Mr. Berardo said. He packed a carry-on bag and headed south. Last December, he bought a three-bedroom condo in the golf haven of Myrtle Beach, S.C., for $135,000.

"It's so much more affordable down there," said Mr. Berardo, who can choose from several nonstop carriers, including Spirit, Continental and Hooters Air. The savings from the property taxes alone, he said, are enough to cover the monthly air fare, rental car and tee time.

The 90-minute flight from New York City is so popular that the Myrtle Beach airport is doubling in size. "New York is our No. 1 market," said Robert J. Kemp, director of the airport, which is adding seven gates. Passengers from the three New York airports skyrocketed to 220,000 last year from 55,000 in 1995. "The growth," Mr. Kemp added, "is occurring mostly on weekends."

But if flying to a weekend home is no longer a luxury, it is still relatively rare. Most second-home owners - about 88 percent - drive to their vacation residences, according to a survey released in March by the National Association of Realtors. Only 5 percent fly.

But that number is likely to increase, real estate agents say, as a thriving second-home market and worsening traffic impel buyers to fly to more far-flung retreats. Major airlines, meanwhile, are playing catch-up and offering more nonstop routes to resort towns. In a bid to compete with low-fare carriers, Delta, for example, recently introduced flights to Monterey, Calif.; Kinston, N.C.; and Lewisburg, W.Va.

"People are just sick and tired of city traffic," said Joe Rich, a real estate agent with French and French Sotheby's International Realty in Santa Fe. "This is a pretty expensive place to buy a home. But for people from Los Angeles, we're a real bargain."

Flying confers other advantages, too, like a starker change of scenery. Jeff Lyon, 52, a developer from Tacoma, Wash., wanted to go farther than his wheels could take him. "Up here, people go to the lake or islands, which is the same weather that I have now," he said on an overcast afternoon. "We wanted to get away from the gray, dreary days. We wanted sunshine."

IN February, Mr. Lyon and his family moved into a new Italian-style villa in Palm Springs, Calif. "We wanted something we could use year-round," he said. His neighbors seem to sympathize. "I see as many Washington license plates as I do California ones."

But flying away on weekends is not without its downsides. In theory, the flight from Tacoma takes two hours, but the foggy weather in Tacoma, combined with the wet season in Southern California, means many delays. On a recent trip, Mr. Lyon was stuck at the Palm Springs airport for five hours, and was then shuttled to another airport two hours away for his return flight.

"We're at the mercy of airplanes," Mr. Lyon said. But he has no regrets. "Sitting in an airport is no fun, but neither is sitting in traffic. In an airport, at least you can get up and walk around. It's the lesser of two evils. It's just part of the weekend ritual."

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2005/12/0...pes/09fly.html
 
Old 12-10-2005, 06:06 AM
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To bad Airline pilots don't make enough money any more to afford second homes. Even if we non-rev.
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Old 12-10-2005, 06:25 AM
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We are just part of the working class now.
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Old 12-10-2005, 06:31 AM
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Stowe , Vt? Never heard of it...Nice place??

-LA
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Old 12-10-2005, 07:19 AM
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Originally Posted by max767capt
To bad Airline pilots don't make enough money any more to afford second homes. Even if we non-rev.

Funny you say that. We've been looking for a vacation property for a few months now.


Respectfully,

JayDub
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Old 12-11-2005, 05:08 PM
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Originally Posted by max767capt
To bad Airline pilots don't make enough money any more to afford second homes. Even if we non-rev.
Hm.

Well, frankly I never knew the "good old days" but I'm making twice what I made in the military for about half the work, a fourth of the stress, and a tenth of the risk, so... though I'd love to make more money, I'm a far cry from "woe is me."

And my wife and I have a vacation home, so there's that.


P.S. PLEASE don't anyone read any mil background vs. civ background nonsense into this... very much not my point.
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Old 12-11-2005, 05:37 PM
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Originally Posted by LAfrequentflyer
Stowe , Vt? Never heard of it...Nice place??

-LA
I live about a 2 1/2 drive or an hours flight in the seneca to Stowe. Its like the ski capital of the east. Awesome powder there! You should come try it. You won't be sorry.
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Old 12-13-2005, 08:21 AM
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Originally Posted by JayDub
Funny you say that. We've been looking for a vacation property for a few months now.


Respectfully,

JayDub
And your wife probably has to.... Who cares about wants to.... Work!

Boys and Girls.... Quit taking it up the A$$! Your flying a mainline JET! For **** wages!!! (190). We need a national Guild to stop the slide! We do not need to merge lists or any of that sh*t! We all need to set the wages on a national level or we are doomed to busdriverdom!

Here comes VA to under cut even Jet Blue! Hang on and Good luck!
 
Old 12-13-2005, 09:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Orca
Boys and Girls.... Quit taking it up the A$$! Your flying a mainline JET! For **** wages!!! (190). We need a national Guild to stop the slide! We do not need to merge lists or any of that sh*t! We all need to set the wages on a national level or we are doomed to busdriverdom!

Here comes VA to under cut even Jet Blue! Hang on and Good luck!
Hey Orca, sorry if your not happy were you are. I'm making a good salary, gotta great schedule and enjoy coming to work. By the way, nobody is flying the 190 that didn't volunteer to do it. Good luck.
 
Old 12-13-2005, 03:54 PM
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[QUOTE=banger]Hey Orca, sorry if your not happy were you are. I'm making a good salary, gotta great schedule and enjoy coming to work. By the way, nobody is flying the 190 that didn't volunteer to do it. Good luck.[/QUOTE

Who said I was unhappy???? Disapointed yes.... Dude you should be making a great salary... But if that is all you want.... If that is all your worth.... Good on ya mate! . . . You and your attitude will keep this job in a race for the bottom! I know! I know! It is better than your last job.... Talk to me in five years.... we will see how you feel then!

Good luck
 
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