OAG Travel News

Baseball season is in full swing in the United States.  The competition heats up in the late summer as the teams ready for the final push toward the playoffs.  In late July, Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game – the first one in Major League Baseball in five years.  A perfect game occurs when a pitcher pitches a victory where no opposing player reaches base, and it is a celebrated accomplishment for both the skill required and the rarity of the feat.

My thoughts naturally turned to how I might be able to translate a rare baseball achievement into aviation terms.  Since I do not want to pass any judgments as to what would define the “perfect airport”, I turned to another rare baseball play – the triple play.  The triple play occurs when three outs are made the same play.  This clicked!  I could examine airport codes made up of the same three letters and develop an Airport Code Triple Play.  According to my research, there are eight “triple play” airports around the world that have scheduled commercial air service in August 2009; these airports make up the Airport Code Triple Play.

AAA – Anaa Airport, French Polynesia
Air Tahiti is the only carrier to serve Anaa Atoll with 22 monthly flights.  The carrier provides nonstop service from Anaa to two cities – the French Polynesian capital of Papeete, and to Makemo Atoll.  Air Tahiti operates only one type of aircraft to and from Anaa – 48-seat ATR 42-500 turboprops.

CCC – Jardines del Rey Airport, Cayo Coco, Cuba
Cayo Coco, an island off the north central coast of Cuba, is a popular tourist destination.  Air Canada is the island’s largest carrier, providing 20 monthly flights between both Montreal and Toronto with both Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft.  Cuban-flag carrier Cubana is the only other carrier to service Cayo Coco.  Cubana provides service 10 times per month that connects Buenos Aires with Havana: the flights aboard 262-seat Ilyushin 96 aircraft operate Buenos Aires-Cayo Coco-Havana.  In addition, Cubana operates six monthly flights to Toronto.

GGG – East Texas Regional Airport, Longview, Texas, USA
GGG is the one of only three airports in the Airport Code Triple Play not to be located on an island.  American Airlines is the only carrier to serve Longview; American Eagle’s 50-seat Embraer 145 aircraft link Longview with Dallas/Ft. Worth.

HHH – Hilton Head Airport, South Carolina, USA
Two airlines operate a total of 24 daily flights to and from Hilton Head Island.  US Airways is the largest carrier, with service on 37-seat Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft to both Charlotte, North Carolina, and Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC.  Delta Air Lines provides service on 34-seat Saab 340 turboprop aircraft to its Atlanta hub.

PPP – Whitsunday Coast Airport, Proserpine, Queensland, Australia
The Whitsunday region is the closest point off the coast of Queensland to the Great Barrier Reef, one of the seven natural wonders of the world.  The region includes 74 islands and is served by an airport in Proserpine on the mainland of Australia.  Whitsunday Coast Airport is served by two airlines – Virgin Blue and Jetstar – that both provide daily service to Queensland state capital of Brisbane.

RRR – Raroia Airport, French Polynesia
Raroia is the second of the Airport Code Triple Play airports to be located in French Polynesia.  Like AAA, RRR is served by only one airline – Air Tahiti.  Eighteen monthly flights link Raroia with the French Polynesian cities of Papeete, Makemo and Puka Puka.

TTT – Taitung Airport, Taiwan, China
Taitung is situated on the southeast coast of Taiwan.  Taiwan-based UNI Air provides six daily flights linking Taitung with the Taiwanese capital of Taipei (Songshan Domestic Airport).  The flights are operated on 155-seat McDonnell Douglas MD-90 aircraft.

YYY – Mont-Joli Airport, Québec, Canada
Mont-Joli – translated as pretty mountain – has flights to three other cities in the province of Québec.  Québec-based Pascan Aviation provides the most service at Mont-Joli Airport – an average of three daily flights on seven-seat Pilatus PC-12 single-propeller aircraft to both Québec City and Sept-Iles.  Additional flights are provided by Air Canada – daily service to Baie Comeau on 37-seat Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft.

Source: Official Airline Guide (OAG) Schedule Tapes for August 2009 only, unless otherwise noted; service measured in total flight operations, unless otherwise noted.