OAG Travel News

Spring Training, Air Service Style

This past weekend I traveled (flew) to Tucson, Arizona, to take in some Major League Baseball spring training games.  Spring training is essentially the preseason for baseball season, and it takes places in two sunny U.S. states – Florida and Arizona.

Cactus League
The 14 Cactus League teams all play in one of two Arizona cities – Phoenix or Tucson.

Phoenix – 12 teams –served by Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
The number of teams choosing to play their spring training games in and around Phoenix has increased tremendously over the years, and the Phoenix metropolitan area – also known as the Valley of the Sun – is home to spring training activities for 40 percent of Major League Baseball teams.  Southwest accounts for 41 percent of the spring training-related air service to and from Phoenix, with Tempe-based US Airways a close runner-up with 38 percent.

Both Chicago-area teams (the Cubs and the White Sox) play near Phoenix… and have four airlines to choose from in terms of nonstop service (Southwest from Midway and American, United and US Airways from O’Hare).  Fans of the Cleveland Indians are alone in that they do not have a choice in terms of nonstop flights to Phoenix – only Continental provides this service.  Flight options for other teams playing in Phoenix include:
- Texas Rangers – nonstop service from Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport on American and US Airways
- Milwaukee Brewers – nonstop service from General Mitchell International Airport on AirTran, Midwest and US Airways
- Oakland Athletics – nonstop service offered on both Southwest and US Airways
- Kansas City Royals – nonstop service on both Southwest and US Airways
- San Diego Padres – nonstop service on both Southwest and US Airways
- Seattle Mariners – nonstop service on Alaska Airlines, Southwest and US Airways
- San Francisco Giants – nonstop service on Southwest, United and US Airways
- Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels – nonstop service to Phoenix from all five Los Angeles-area airports is available on numerous carriers

Tucson – 2 teams – served by Tucson International Airport (TUS)
Tucson is home to spring training for only two teams – the Colorado Rockies (who play their regular season games in my hometown of Denver), and the Arizona Diamondbacks (who play their regular season games in nearby Phoenix).  Travelers from Denver to Tucson enjoy nonstop service on both United and Frontier, soon to be joined by Southwest on the route when they inaugurate this new service in May.  Travelers from Phoenix – at least the ones who do not drive down to Tucson on Interstate 10 – can take US Airways on one of 18 daily flights linking these two cities.

Grapefruit League
The 16 Grapefruit League teams are more spread out across the state of Florida – seven different airports provide convenient access to their various spring training stadiums.

Orlando – 1 team – served by Orlando International Airport (MCO)
The Atlanta Braves are the only team that plays in the Orlando area… and there’s no shortage of air service.  Combined, AirTran and Delta operate more than 50 flights every day between Atlanta and Orlando.

Ft. Lauderdale – 1 team – served by Ft. Lauderdale International Airport (FLL)
The Baltimore Orioles are the only team to play in Ft. Lauderdale.  Fans can choose between two low-cost carriers – AirTran and Southwest – to make the trip from Baltimore’s airport (BWI) to catch a game.

Ft. Myers – 3 teams – served by Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW)
Surprisingly, the Tampa Bay Rays play their spring training games in Ft. Myers and not in Tampa Bay.  And for airline aficionados, there is no scheduled commercial air service between these two cities.  A road trip of nearly 150 miles from is necessary to catch a game… unless you book a connecting flight!

The Rays are joined by two other teams in Ft. Myers – the Boston Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins.  Boston is linked nonstop with Ft. Myers by three airlines – AirTran, Delta and jetBlue – with jetBlue operating over 70 percent of the flights.  Minneapolis is linked with Ft. Myers by both Northwest (also known as Delta) and Sun Country, with Northwest operating nearly 70 percent of the flights.

Palm Beach – 2 teams – served by Palm Beach International Airport (PBI)
Palm Beach is the spring training home to two teams – the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets.  Fans of the Cardinals don’t have any nonstop options to Palm Beach, while fans of the Mets can travel from any of the New York area’s three airports (JFK, LaGuardia and Newark).  jetBlue ranks as the number one carrier from New York to Palm Beach, providing nonstop service from all three area airports and accounting for over 50 percent of total flights.  Other carriers serving the route include American and Delta (from LaGuardia), and Continental (from Newark).

Tampa – 4 teams – served by Tampa International Airport (TPA)
Tampa is the most popular location for spring training in Florida – 25 percent of the teams play in the area.  Fans of the Philadelphia Phillies can reach Tampa nonstop on Southwest or US Airways; fans of the Toronto Blue Jays can choose between Air Canada and WestJet; and fans of the Detroit Tigers also have nonstop service on two airlines - Spirit and Northwest.  Last – but certainly not least – are the New York Yankees.  Nonstop service from all three New York areas airports is available to Tampa, with over 40 percent from JFK.

Sarasota – 2 teams – served by Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport (SRQ)
Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport has an aggressive marketing strategy in terms of trying to solicit new air service.  Unfortunately, they do not yet have any flights to Pittsburgh (home of the Pirates), but they do enjoy nonstop service on Delta to Cincinnati (home of the Reds).

Melbourne – 1 team – served by Melbourne International Airport (MLB)
Ending with the Washington Nationals – the only team to play spring training in Melbourne – is poetic, in the air service sense.  Melbourne’s airport code is MLB, the acronym used for Major League Baseball.  Unfortunately, there are no nonstop flights between Washington, D.C., and Melbourne.  Maybe a carrier will step up to the plate for next season?

Source: Official Airline Guide (OAG) Schedule Tapes; number of flights is both directions (arriving and departing) unless otherwise noted; scheduled reviewed for March 2009 only, unless otherwise noted.

Note: St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport and Phoenix/Mesa Gateway Airport not included in this analysis due to the heavy amount of traffic at these airports on Allegiant Air and the fact that Allegiant no longer files its schedules with OAG.  Closest airport to city where spring training games are played and home team stadiums were used; secondary airports only examined if noted.

Original article by Laura Jackson