starlionblue said:
I hope this is the right section of the message board to discuss on. How does an airline qualify as "official WDW carrier"? Do they simply have to dedicate one flight strictly with MCO (Orlando International) as its final destination?
A bunch of airlines offer nonstop flights to MCO, but there's currently no "Official Airline of Walt Disney World" or "Official Airline of
Disneyland," although Alaska Airlines has at least two aircraft painted with Disneyland artwork.
In 1987, Delta Air Lines signed a 10-year contract with Disney to be the "Official Airline of Walt Disney World" and to be the sponsor of
If You Had Wings in Tomorrowland at the WDW MK. I've read that the "Official Airline" designation cost Delta $8 million, the the ride sponsorship cost Delta an additional $2 million per year. That would be a total of $28 million. I've also read that it was a $40 million cotract. I don't know if either of those numbers are right, but they seem to be in the right ballpark.
starlionblue said:
Did WDW ever have plans to build a small low-cost airline just to fly people in? They have their own cruise line after all and I'm sure those big ships cost more than a decent passenger plane! Who is the official WDW carrier and how did they get the designation?
I imagine that Disney has studied every possible business venture related to their resort business. But I doubt Disney has ever given serious consideration to starting an airline.
News articles one year ago said the U.S. airline industry has lost over $32 billion since 2001, with a loss of $9-to-$10 billion projected for 2005. It's highly competitive industry. And the passengers who try to pay the least per ticket are leisure travelers, such as passengers flying to Orlando for a WDW vacation.
There's no need for Disney to start their own airline. Orlando is served by almost every domestic jet carrier and many international carriers. The fares are some of the lowest anywhere, due to cutthroat competition and very price-sensitive customers.
