# Civic Matters > Suburban & Other OK Communities > Tulsa & Suburbs >  Tulsa International Airport

## Plutonic Panda

A new plan to upgrade and renovate parts of the airport have been released.




> *TULSA – The Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust approved a $113.6 million, five-year capital improvement plan on Thursday.*
> 
> *The final plan will go to the Federal Aviation Administration this month*. A draft CIP was presented for discussion with members of the FAA and airport tenants in January.
> 
> The CIP is the first step in the FAA’s grant application process, said Jeff Hough, Tulsa International Airport deputy director of engineering and facilities. 
> 
> The federal government takes TIA’s information and uses it to begin an internal evaluation that prioritizes projects and determines which ones to fund, Hough said. Generally, the FAA staff in Fort Worth, Texas, collects information from all airports in the five-state region: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico. The FAA sorts through these plans from April through June and will submit recommendations to its headquarters for evaluation and funding decisions.
> 
> *Among the 23 projects is a $22 million design and reconstruction project of Taxiway J at TIA.* The taxiway carries traffic off the commercial air carrier runway.
> ...

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## s00nr1

Good for them. Unfortunately it will take that amount of money just to bring that airport up to par with WRWA.

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## BG918

The Tulsa airport has seen ongoing renovation for the past few years, starting with the centralized security checkpoint (there used to be two separate ones for each concourse) and improvements to Concourse B.  I wish they had enlarged the width of the concourse because it still feels small when there are boarding planes on each side but it's much nicer than it used to be.  The renovations were funded from ticket and landing fees so they didn't exactly have a huge budget to rebuild everything, and they also have to fund the runway reconstruction.

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## Plutonic Panda

Update on the Tulsa Air and Space Museum at the airport




> *Tulsa Air & Space Museum Opens Its Newest Exhibit*
> 
> TULSA, Oklahoma - The Tulsa Air and Space Museum at Tulsa International Airport cut the ribbon on its newest exhibit Monday morning. The exhibit is an American Airlines MD-80 aircraft. The airline donated the retired plane in 2010.
> 
> TASM says Monday's event marked the end of a three-year project to turn the aircraft into a multi-purpose facility. Inside the airplane, visitors will see the cockpit and 24 first-class cabin seats.
> 
> For Julie Soper, a 35 year veteran Flight Attendant at American Airlines who used to fly in this very aircraft, it brings back fond memories.
> 
> "It's amazing! Totally clean, new, it's going to be great for education," Soper said.
> ...

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## Plutonic Panda

Tulsa airport sees biggest gain in a decade - Tulsa World: Businesshomepage2

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## Plutonic Panda

Tulsa Airport board approves air service incentives increase - Tulsa World: Aerospace

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## Plutonic Panda

Tulsa Airport reports 10th straight month of increased passenger traffic - Tulsa World: American Airlines

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## HOT ROD

so they're back to where they started from. Good news.

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## Plutonic Panda

Concourse A now in operation at Tulsa International Airport






> Tulsa International Airport officially opened the north end of Concourse A on Wednesday morning after completing the second phase of a $30.6 million renovation project, which will continue into next year.
> 
> Airport customers are seeing renovated restrooms, included a newly added family facility, and new seating with power-charging stations. The Concourse A ceilings were raised and a skylight added to bring in additional sunlight.
> 
> “The airport terminal provides the first and last opportunity to impact a visitor’s perception of our City,” Airports Director Jeff Mulder said in a news release. “The concourse renovations allow us to greatly enhance our passengers’ experience while improving the operational efficiency of our facility.”
> 
> - Concourse A now in operation at Tulsa International Airport - Tulsa World: Aerospace

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## ljbab728

I've never been inside of the Tulsa airport (only on a plane that made a stop there) so I'm not familiar with what it looked like previously.  I'll take their word that it's a great improvement but it's not particularly impressive.   It probably was the best they could do without a tear down and rebuild like OKC did.

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## BG918

The renovation is a nice improvement.  I like the mid century feel at the Tulsa airport but wish they would've rebuilt the concourses making them wider with higher ceilings and more glass.

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## Plutonic Panda

TIF district considered for area around Tulsa airport - Tulsa World: Businesshomepage2

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## bombermwc

I tend to agree with jibjab. When you can't tear the whole sucker down, you're limited, but they have been able to open the space up some so it's not so old-school closed-in. The skylights definitely help make it not so cramped feeling.

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## Plutonic Panda

On deck: TAIT approves $24M for expanding parking | The Journal Record

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## Plutonic Panda

Level up: TAIT awards $26M contract to add parking | The Journal Record

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## Plutonic Panda

Tulsa International Adds Non-Stop Flight To Baltimore/Washington - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

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## TU 'cane

Subtleties such as adding non-stop flights to larger cities helps draw in other businesses. 
Hope they keep coming.

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## BG918

> Subtleties such as adding non-stop flights to larger cities helps draw in other businesses. 
> Hope they keep coming.


Unfortunately this add is at the expense of the United flight to IAD (Dulles).  United cut its flight to Newark last year.  TUL still lacks good connectivity to the major NE cities and West Coast.  For comparison OKC has at least a daily non stop to Newark, Dulles, Baltimore, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.  With Allegiant TUL only has Los Angeles and Baltimore, no major carriers which is a big problem for attracting new business.

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## ljbab728

> Unfortunately this add is at the expense of the United flight to IAD (Dulles).  United cut its flight to Newark last year.  TUL still lacks good connectivity to the major NE cities and West Coast.  For comparison OKC has at least a daily non stop to Newark, Dulles, Baltimore, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.  With Allegiant TUL only has Los Angeles and Baltimore, no major carriers which is a big problem for attracting new business.


There is also the fact that the Baltimore service is not daily.  That isn't good for business travelers.

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## catch22

Allegiant type offerings do nothing for the business community in really any airport they serve. Daily service is essential to cater to the business traveler market.

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## BG918

> Allegiant type offerings do nothing for the business community in really any airport they serve. Daily service is essential to cater to the business traveler market.


Exactly.  Hopefully TUL is able to expand or restart service to these markets if the demand is there.  Doubtful in the short-term with O&G dragging down the Tulsa economy.

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## HangryHippo

This is good news for AA's maintenance base at TUL:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/a...f87406255.html

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## macfoucin

"The Tulsa International Airport announced Friday that a new, low-cost airline carrier is choosing Tulsa as one of the first cities it will service.

Breeze Airways will begin nonstop service from Tulsa to New Orleans, San Antonio, and Tampa on June 4.

Tulsa will be one of the first 16 cities in the Breeze route network."

https://ktul.com/news/local/tulsa-in...ort-05-21-2021

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## Celebrator

Seasonally, TUL is going to have the "Bay Area" well covered with service to TPA on Breeze and PIE on G4.  If any Tulsans have regular business or second homes down there, this is the jackpot.

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## BG918

> Seasonally, TUL is going to have the "Bay Area" well covered with service to TPA on Breeze and PIE on G4.  If any Tulsans have regular business or second homes down there, this is the jackpot.


Now just need service to the other Bay Area in California.  Frontier had SJC service but ended it.  I’d like to see United to SFO and Southwest to OAK.

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## progressiveboy

Hate to say this, but OKC airport is much better and more nice than Tulsa airport. Plus, OKC logistically is better situated for direct flights. Just my opinion.

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## Celebrator

> . ...OKC logistically is better situated for direct flights. Just my opinion.


Can't speak to the first part of your quote, because I have never been to TUL at all, but what's the thought behind this part of your statement.  And when you say, "direct" flights, do you mean non-stop?  There's actually a technical difference in the industry.

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## BG918

> Hate to say this, but OKC airport is much better and more nice than Tulsa airport. Plus, OKC logistically is better situated for direct flights. Just my opinion.


The two airports are only 120 miles apart how is one positioned better than the other?  And with the recent improvements both airports are pretty nice.  I like the high ceilings and wider concourses at OKC and wish TUL could eventually do something like that in the concourses.  At the same time I prefer the wide open and high ceiling security area and baggage claim areas at TUL to the closed off and lower ceiling areas at OKC.  Access to the rest of the city is easy from both airports.

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## BoulderSooner

> The two airports are only 120 miles apart how is one positioned better than the other?  And with the recent improvements both airports are pretty nice.  I like the high ceilings and wider concourses at OKC and wish TUL could eventually do something like that in the concourses.  At the same time I prefer the wide open and high ceiling security area and baggage claim areas at TUL to the closed off and lower ceiling areas at OKC.  Access to the rest of the city is easy from both airports.


because one is in OKC  and one is not

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## shavethewhales

OKC's airport just got some major upgrades, so I'm not surprised to hear that it is nicer than Tulsa's. OKC is also obviously a bit larger than Tulsa, so again I expect things to be a little bigger and maybe better there. I have no complaints about TIA though and love flying in and out of it regularly. We may be due for an airport upgrade within the next ten years, but for now it is exactly right sized. 

I'm about to book one of those Breeze flights to Tampa! Looks like you have to pay extra for the package that includes a carry-on though, not sure how many people are able to figure out how to travel without any baggage whatsoever... seems  a little misleading to me, but that is the low-price airline game for you. Even still, it looks like it will be about $250 round trip - not bad!

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## Snowman

> OKC's airport just got some major upgrades, so I'm not surprised to hear that it is nicer than Tulsa's. OKC is also obviously a bit larger than Tulsa, so again I expect things to be a little bigger and maybe better there. I have no complaints about TIA though and love flying in and out of it regularly. We may be due for an airport upgrade within the next ten years, but for now it is exactly right sized. 
> 
> I'm about to book one of those Breeze flights to Tampa! Looks like you have to pay extra for the package that includes a carry-on though, not sure how many people are able to figure out how to travel without any baggage whatsoever... seems  a little misleading to me, but that is the low-price airline game for you. Even still, it looks like it will be about $250 round trip - not bad!


Tulsa also heavily renovated their airport in the last decade, though they did not do as extreme a renovation as OKC did around 2000, Tulsa basically gutted and rebuilt the interior and systems (like HVAC and plumbing). Though kept the structural shell of the main terminal and the old concourses, plus it's much lower ceilings throughout the building did not help their latitude to modernize the buildings style.

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## Laramie

Oklahoma needs one airport to get back on true International flight status; where you don't have to go to Dallas or St. Louis to connect with flights to Mexico.   I know DFW has cornered the market on this; Oklahoma needs direct flight to places like Mexico where you don't have to drive to Dallas to board a flight or fly from Will Rogers or Tulsa International to Dallas to connect.   TUL & OKC should work out some kind of partnership to make this happen.  

That way you would have a shorter drive from Oklahoma City or Tulsa to take an International flight from one of Oklahoma's two major airports.

Flights could IMO originate from either Oklahoma City or Tulsa.

*BTW:*  Do you remember Tulsa based Great Plains Airlines (GP);  IMO it would have worked better (Long-tern) had it been based at Will Rogers World Airport.  The real concern with GP, they didn't have the capital to maintain and build on established  flights in additional to the places where they were flying.

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## gopokes88

Such a nonsensical idea.

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## BG918

It’s really not a big deal to fly to DFW, IAH or ORD and connect for international flights.  I could see flights eventually to Cancun and maybe Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, and possibly Toronto in Canada. I would prefer to see more domestic routes and more frequency to the main hubs.

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## Swake

He wants Tulsa to give up TIA so that OKC can have a more important airport? That's stupid and does zero for anyone in Tulsa. You know, about the average for the state of Oklahoma.

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## Laramie

> He wants Tulsa to give up TIA so that OKC can have a more important airport? That's stupid and does zero for anyone in Tulsa. You know, about the average for the state of Oklahoma.





> Oklahoma needs one airport to get back on true International flight status; where you don't have to go to Dallas or St. Louis to connect with flights to Mexico.   I know DFW has cornered the market on this; Oklahoma needs direct flight to places like Mexico where you don't have to drive to Dallas to board a flight or fly from Will Rogers or Tulsa International to Dallas to connect.   TUL & OKC should work out some kind of partnership to make this happen.  
> *
> That way you would have a shorter drive from Oklahoma City or Tulsa to take an International flight from one of Oklahoma's two major airports.*
> 
> *Flights could IMO originate from either Oklahoma City or Tulsa.*
> 
> *BTW:*  Do you remember Tulsa based Great Plains Airlines (GP);  IMO it would have worked better (Long-tern) had it been based at Will Rogers World Airport.  The real concern with GP, they didn't have the capital to maintain and build on established  flights in additional to the places where they were flying.


*Read carefully, instead of getting defensive* 'Flights could originate from either Oklahoma City or Tulsa.   _Where does it say Tulsa or Oklahoma City gives up anything._ 

Both of Oklahoma's major airports are growing, renovating and expanding...  A partnership means working together and coordinating--saving you a drive or additional flight to Dallas.

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## Celebrator

> He wants Tulsa to give up TIA so that OKC can have a more important airport? That's stupid and does zero for anyone in Tulsa. You know, about the average for the state of Oklahoma.


I don't even understand this comment.

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## gopokes88

A solution in search of a problem.

1. Connect to DFW via OKC, Stillwater, Tulsa or Lawton.
2. Drive to DFW.

Or

Spend millions to try and get an international flight that may or may not work.

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## BG918

> A solution in search of a problem.
> 
> 1. Connect to DFW via OKC, Stillwater, Tulsa or Lawton.
> 2. Drive to DFW.
> 
> Or
> 
> Spend millions to try and get an international flight that may or may not work.


Exactly.  Though as I mentioned Mexico beach resorts like Cancun or Cabo could work on a 1x or 2x/week basis from an airline like Allegiant or Frontier.  I think Toronto could work too on AC down the road especially with customs preclearance and all of the European flight options from YYZ.  But that’s really it.  Otherwise fly the short hop to DFW or ORD, IAH, DEN, ATL or LAX and fly to pretty much anywhere.

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## gopokes88

> Exactly.  Though as I mentioned Mexico beach resorts like Cancun or Cabo could work on a 1x or 2x/week basis from an airline like Allegiant or Frontier.  I think Toronto could work too on AC down the road especially with customs preclearance and all of the European flight options from YYZ.  But that’s really it.  Otherwise fly the short hop to DFW or ORD, IAH, DEN, ATL or LAX and fly to pretty much anywhere.


OKC-SEA on Alaska connects Japan pretty easily as well.

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## BG918

> OKC-SEA on Alaska connects Japan pretty easily as well.


That is a flight I hope to see in Tulsa soon.  One of the biggest holes along with NYC, San Francisco and Miami/South Florida.

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## BG918

The old Clarion Hotel is being demolished and will be replaced by a new hotel.  This is right at the entrance to the airport across from the Hilton Garden Inn.  


https://tulsaworld.com/business/loca...um9S1jhKM2bAH0

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## bombermwc

Neither OKC nor Tulsa are going to just close their airports, come on guys. Remember AA has a major facility at TUL too. So that alone means that place isn't going anywhere, even if they dont have as much people traffic as OKC. But seriously, would you expect anyone to drive 2 hours from a major metro area, just to get on an airplane? If you live in Enid, that's a given as part of where you live. But living in OKC/TUL, you know you'll either MAYBE have a direct if you're going somewhere big, or like everyone else then you'll connect somewhere else and puddle jump to the hub. 

Look at Mobile and Pensacola. It's a pretty good comparison. Their difference is the physical Mobile Bay separating them. They already share TV affiliates, but they both have small (12 gate or less) airports and both refuse to give it up. MOB charges insane rates to fly there, which is why Pensacola built theirs. And the majority of the development is on the east side of the bay now, and so those folks go to Pensacola. Gulf Shores is on the east side, so again more people fly to Pensacola now. MOB is the actual larger city, but they're missing out on the traffic. However, you won't see either of them close and let the other "win". They'd rather both stay smaller and give the locals the shorter "to-airport" drive time.

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## gopokes88

> Neither OKC nor Tulsa are going to just close their airports, come on guys. Remember AA has a major facility at TUL too. So that alone means that place isn't going anywhere, even if they dont have as much people traffic as OKC. But seriously, would you expect anyone to drive 2 hours from a major metro area, just to get on an airplane? If you live in Enid, that's a given as part of where you live. But living in OKC/TUL, you know you'll either MAYBE have a direct if you're going somewhere big, or like everyone else then you'll connect somewhere else and puddle jump to the hub. 
> 
> Look at Mobile and Pensacola. It's a pretty good comparison. Their difference is the physical Mobile Bay separating them. They already share TV affiliates, but they both have small (12 gate or less) airports and both refuse to give it up. MOB charges insane rates to fly there, which is why Pensacola built theirs. And the majority of the development is on the east side of the bay now, and so those folks go to Pensacola. Gulf Shores is on the east side, so again more people fly to Pensacola now. MOB is the actual larger city, but they're missing out on the traffic. However, you won't see either of them close and let the other "win". They'd rather both stay smaller and give the locals the shorter "to-airport" drive time.


It's the most ridiculous idea that just won't die. Spend $10 billion to build an airport in the middle of no where too.....get a flight to mexico.

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## Celebrator

Allegiant is expanding their presence even further at TUL.  New upcoming service just in time for the winter:
*SRQ* (Sarasota)-begins Dec. 15
*AZA* (Phoenix-Mesa)-begins Nov. 18

These are the 7th and 8th routes from TUL for Allegiant.  TUL now has or will have 6 nonstop destinations total across all airlines to Florida-VPS, SFB, TPA, PIE, SRQ, & MIA, That's really something--especially to the Tampa Bay area!

A couple of ponderings:

-TUL now has DOUBLE the Allegiant destinations that OKC has.  Wonder why they are doing so much better, it seems, overall in that market up there?

-More specifically, it is interesting that OKC has only four Florida markets in comparison: VPS, Orlando (MCO & SFB), TPA, and MIA.  Again, wonder why Florida seems to be a better market from TUL than OKC?  Are Tulsans more oriented towards Florida vacations like the rest of the South and the Midwest where even mid-sized markets have tons of service to FL?  It seems to me OKC folks tend to go west more often for vacation--simply anecdotal evidence.  Wondering why Allegiant doesn't try that Phoenix-Mesa service from OKC.

Just thoughts from an av geek...

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## Snowman

If Allegiant is still using American Airlines Maintenance Services for maintenance checks, then the frequency of planes they need to get in for checks could play a factor in their level of passenger service to Tulsa at any given time.

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## gopokes88

> Allegiant is expanding their presence even further at TUL.  New upcoming service just in time for the winter:
> *SRQ* (Sarasota)-begins Dec. 15
> *AZA* (Phoenix-Mesa)-begins Nov. 18
> 
> These are the 7th and 8th routes from TUL for Allegiant.  TUL now has or will have 6 nonstop destinations total across all airlines to Florida-VPS, SFB, TPA, PIE, SRQ, & MIA, That's really something--especially to the Tampa Bay area!
> 
> A couple of ponderings:
> 
> -TUL now has DOUBLE the Allegiant destinations that OKC has.  Wonder why they are doing so much better, it seems, overall in that market up there?
> ...


Catch will have a better answer. But it seems like allegiant goes where AA isn’t. Okc has picked up a lot of AA flights lately.

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## shavethewhales

I am loving the cheap flights to random touristy destinations. I did Tampa in July and had a blast. I used Breeze Airlines, which was a fantastic experience all around. Haven't tried Allegiant yet, since I heard horror stories about their maintenance years ago, but may give them a try soon. 

Our maintenance base is such a god send. I'm still gritting my teeth that AA doesn't falter again and makes a strong come back. If AA ever goes under Tulsa is screwed in so many ways.

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## chssooner

Heck, Tulsa may soon have more destinations than OKC, given Allegiant's love affair with them.

OKC needs to step it up, given airlines are handing out routes like candy right now.

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## Celebrator

> I am loving the cheap flights to random touristy destinations. I did Tampa in July and had a blast. I used Breeze Airlines, which was a fantastic experience all around. Haven't tried Allegiant yet, since I heard horror stories about their maintenance years ago, but may give them a try soon. 
> 
> Our maintenance base is such a god send. I'm still gritting my teeth that AA doesn't falter again and makes a strong come back. If AA ever goes under Tulsa is screwed in so many ways.


I have not heard Allegiant horror stories in several years now, they have really gotten much better from what I understand.  For one, their fleet is much more reliable--they are even buying new airplanes now. Glad to hear you Breeze experience was good.  I want to use them from OKC sometime soon.

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## gopokes88

> Heck, Tulsa may soon have more destinations than OKC, given Allegiant's love affair with them.
> 
> OKC needs to step it up, given airlines are handing out routes like candy right now.


OKC's route map looks awesome right now. They have stepped it up.

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## chssooner

> OKC's route map looks awesome right now. They have stepped it up.


It does, but OKC has a lot of double routes (meaning 2 airlines going to same place). Austin, Tampa, New Orleans. 1 will die off, unfortunately. Where as OKC needs to be going after places they don't currently have now. PDX and BOS are at the very top of my list. Otherwise, Tulsa will have more unique locales than OKC. They have been adding new locations almost weekly.

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## BG918

TUL needs a few of the recent adds that OKC has to shore up its business community.

United: SFO, IAD and EWR (resume service to IAD and EWR)
American: LGA
Alaska: SEA
Southwest: BWI and BNA
Delta: DTW (resume service)

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## Celebrator

> TUL needs a few of the recent adds that OKC has to shore up its business community.
> 
> United: SFO, IAD and EWR (resume service to IAD and EWR)
> American: LGA
> Alaska: SEA
> Southwest: BWI and BNA
> Delta: DTW (resume service)


Yes, TUL has hit the leisure destination jackpot but lags OKC and even XNA on the business travel side. By the way, I don't think WN has brought back BWI at this point.

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## Plutonic Panda

Breeze Airways announcing new nonstop to Orlando:

https://okcfox.com/newsletter-daily/...sa-to-orlando#

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## formerly405Tulsan

> Breeze Airways announcing new nonstop to Orlando:
> 
> https://okcfox.com/newsletter-daily/...sa-to-orlando#


Best part of this is the through service to Charleston.

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