Yeah...didn't follow with that one either. I don't understand how they propose urban and pedestrian friendly stores, but sugget big box suburban stores.

Today at the airport trust.

http://okc.gov/AgendaPub/view.aspx?cabinet=published_meetings&fileid=1128373

Long read, basically:
When the new Portland Ave. alignment is completed (let out for bid this month). They will try and turn part of the land on the East Side of the airport (adjacent to I-44) into business, hotel, retail, and a "Small Urban Retail Village." The parts anyway that won't be on the same side of the street as Portland and won't have airfield access. Might as well do something with the land. The urbanites on the forums should love this, although the plans don't involve residential. (With good reason, not many people want to live across the street from the airport (I wouldn't mind, in fact I'd love it).) But this is a start to some development near the airport. They are designing Portland to be pedestrian friendly with sidewalks and crosswalks (in the urban village type thing) and no outparcel sites or freestanding restaraunts/shops are in favor, development needs to be atleast two story buildings with floor level retail and 2nd level office. Person in mind, car on the backburner. The exception to that seems to be a gas station or two.

I don't have time to read through it again, so I hope I got all of that right. It's a long read, but skimming over it wouldn't hurt you. It's interesting I think.

Nice find Skywest, thanks for always keeping us up to date with WWRA. I am going to take this topic to it's own thread discussion. This could be a very big development for Okc!

Yeah...didn't follow with that one either. I don't understand how they propose urban and pedestrian friendly stores, but sugget big box suburban stores.

Sounds like airport people trying to be developers and don't understand how retail location works. Sounds like they will take whoever signs up first.

Except for this plan was designed by a professional land use consultant, not the airport.

^Yeah, I scanned the PDF on that. It will be a mixed-use project. The only questions I have about this project are namely, how pilots might think of a development like this so close to one of the main runways (granted, other airports have similar developments fairly close as well, but right now, the land is free and clear of any structures-except for the ARINC and now Atlantic Aviation hangars), and also whether birds might become more problematic.

Pilots won't care. The building limit to the runway doesn't extend beyond taxiway H. Most pilots I talk to say the lack of anything near the airport, at night creates a "landing carrier" effect which can make visual approaches more challenging since reference objects are limited. I'm no pilot so I can't say what is best.

Skywest -- any news on the progress of the new airport website?

http://www.omaha.com/article/20110212/MONEY/702129842/0

All of that began last year with the Orlando and Tampa expansion we shared with Omaha. Too bad we didn't really support our half of the deal as good as Omaha (not really our fault with terrible flight timings). Looks like they are confirmed by Frontier as a focus city.

We need to remember that Omaha was a focus city for Midwest for many years. It seems they are starting to beef it back up a bit.

Granted it would have been nice if OKC would have supported the service more, but people are too tied to Southwest and American even if they are required to make a stop/connection en route.

True, however, there's a possibility had the service done better, we would also be getting some of these routes, or even just more attention from Frontier in general.

it will be interesting if the OMA-LAX routes work, those times dont seem to be too good to me.

I read through a small part of that and it looks like a very ambitious project. There was one section that I'm not sure how well thought out it was though.

It reads:

"Finally, there is also a need for a large home improvement store like Home Depot or Lowe's, which could also be enhanced by a smaller hardware store and complimentay home improvement stores (carpet, tile, paint, window coverings, etc.)."

Maybe I'm not familiar with how things work but why would a store like Home Depot or Lowe's want to build in a location where stores with competing products would be located? Would that be like how most of the furniture stores in OKC congregate in one area?

Here in Jax we have a 'home improvement" district. In addition to the Lowes there many specialty retailers that carry items you just can't get at Lowes or Home Depot like special tile, window treatments, certain brands of carpet, high quality paint, landscape products, natural stone, swimming pools, play sets, wallpaper, cabinets, specialty lighting and ceiling fans, counter tops, and design services. While Lowes/Home Depot might carry some of these items, they don't have near the in-stock selection as specialty retailers. One of the fan stores we went to had 500 styles in stock from dozens of manufacturers - Lowes had about 30 styles from 2 manufacturers.

it will be interesting if the OMA-LAX routes work, those times dont seem to be too good to me.

But freshly baked chocolate chip cookies will make up for a slight off time, right? :-) lol

So far, the AA flight to LAX is selling pretty good for April bookings. Some flights are already 1/3rd sold, two months out in coach. First is also selling a bit as well, good for two months out.

How is United doing on the LAX route? they have two dailies still? Any info on DUL?

For April, UA is at 1.5 per day. 1 flight to LAX, two flights coming back to OKC.

Ohhh.... how I wish there was a direct flight from OKC to Boston Logan,but I always have to be directed to TF Green airport which is The smallest airport I've ever been to!I travel to Metro Boston three times a year but I know there will neve be a direct flight from WWRA to Boston's Loagan airport!

Ohhh.... how I wish there was a direct flight from OKC to Boston Logan,but I always have to be directed to TF Green airport which is The smallest airport I've ever been to!I travel to Metro Boston three times a year but I know there will neve be a direct flight from WWRA to Boston's Loagan airport!
I like the JetBlue direct we have from Austin, it is a limited schedule but we do have it. We typically take JetBlue to Boston or NYC.

^^Bluedogok I might take a Austin to Logan trip next time,but have you ever tried to drive from TFGreen(Prov) to Boston in rush hour?That is THE MOST HECTIC RUSH HOUR DRIVE I'VE EVER SEEN and that's including DFW rush hour!

Nope, I have never driven in Boston, just flown in/out of Logan.

Nope, I have never driven in Boston, just flown in/out of Logan.

^^Well it makes DFW rush hour look like OKC's! IMO

I like the JetBlue direct we have from Austin, it is a limited schedule but we do have it. We typically take JetBlue to Boston or NYC.

JetBlue would be so nice to have here, but they will not touch OKC with a 10-ft pole. They seem to avoid fly over country like the plague except for Austin and Houston.

JetBlue would be so nice to have here, but they will not touch OKC with a 10-ft pole. They seem to avoid fly over country like the plague except for Austin and Houston.
I don't understand it, I think the flight destinations we have out of here would work well for OKC...of course a JetBlue Austin to OKC direct would be great for me but I know that will never happen unless they decided to make Austin a regional hub for them, which isn't likely to happen either. It has become my favorite airline and wish they would fly out of OKC.

One must remember Austin carries about 2 1/2 times more passengers per year than Oklahoma City....

However, I am not holding my breath, but the OKC Airport will be meeting with JetBlue in March

Airport staff members are working to increase those travel opportunities by attending the Network USA conference March 6-8 in Austin, Texas.

Carney said they are planning to meet with many airlines about adding service here.

Southwest, United, Republic/Frontier, American and Delta Air Lines, which all now serve the airport, and AirTran Airways and JetBlue, which would be new, are on the agenda.


Read more: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-air-travel-not-affected-by-weather-in-january/article/3541434#ixzz1ERZAhKBu

Again, not holding my breath, because Network USA, in a nutshell, is like a home and garden show that the airlines attend. You walk through it and every single booth is trying to sell you something. So it's not an isolated meeting, the airlines will be meeting with around 50 or so airports. All pitching why their city needs new or enhanced service, so I'm not expecting too much will come from it. But, a meeting is a meeting none-the-less. The recent good press about OKC, plus a face-to-face meeting might at least put us on jetBlue's radar, and some time in the future (probably a ways away) we may see the outcome of it.

Article also mentioned our traffic numbers were up by 10% in January versus January last year. Would like to see the detailed numbers from the airport though, whenever they post them on the web....

^Back when B6 (Jetblue) was in expansion mode, there was actually even some talk about STL being a possible mid-nation hub for B6. That was of course before the economic collapse and everything, but interesting nonetheless.

Keep in mind though that some B6 passengers can and probably do use AUS for connecting to the west coast.

Any increase is traffic is always a positive thing, and if the numbers continue to increase the airlines currently serving OKC would definitely look into increasing frequencies and/or aircraft sizes. AUS is a perfect example. Almost all airlines serving Austin have at least one mainline flight to/from AUS.

Good way to start the year.

http://flyokc.com/releases/11-07%20January%20Enplanement.pdf

Southwest is killing it! 26% increase?!

So total for January is 249,738, not bad. Yeah, interesting to see WN's numbers, unfortunately I bet some of those came directly from Frontier's. I'm also beginning to doubt whether Frontier will be at OKC for much longer.

On the other hand, hopefully WN sees enough to add a nonstop to/from MDW.

Yeah, it looks like WN is pretty close to finally finishing off F9 in OKC if we look at the numbers as they are. Would be nice to see the comparison on the seats offered between the two periods though.

Wn? F9?

WN is Southwest. F9 is Frontier.

We beat Tulsa by 50,000 pax in January.

If frontier bailed and with continental moving over to United we will have a whole side of the ticket counter that is bare.

If frontier bailed and with continental moving over to United we will have a whole side of the ticket counter that is bare.

Hopefully the area is fixed up a little so it doesn't look abandoned as most empty counters tend to look.

New flyokc.com website should be up in the near future.

Hopefully the area is fixed up a little so it doesn't look abandoned as most empty counters tend to look.

more then likely the sign will get pulled down but we will still be able to read it where the sign faded into the wall.

Does anyone know whether Oklahoma City will ever get a direct flight to Albuquerque? Express Jet and Great Plains offered the service but we all know what happened to them.

As someone who flew them to OKC often, Frontier's big mistake is flying against SW in props and small jets.

Does anyone know whether Oklahoma City will ever get a direct flight to Albuquerque? Express Jet and Great Plains offered the service but we all know what happened to them.

Doubt it. There really is not much local traffic between Albuquerque and OKC, and not really many connection opportunities beyond, save for Southwest, which would have too large of aircraft for that market.



As someone who flew them to OKC often, Frontier's big mistake is flying against SW in props and small jets.
Frontier is extremely limited right now on aircraft, right now they just don't have much of a choice what aircraft they place on a route.

Frontier is extremely limited right now on aircraft, right now they just don't have much of a choice what aircraft they place on a route.

I can understand that. Two other things I think is killing them out of Denver is that they still make you pay for bags while Southwest heavily advertises no fee baggage. The second 'other' thing is that Frontier makes it very, very hard to use your frequent flier miles. SW is simple.

I can understand that. Two other things I think is killing them out of Denver is that they still make you pay for bags while Southwest heavily advertises no fee baggage. The second 'other' thing is that Frontier makes it very, very hard to use your frequent flier miles. SW is simple.

Personally I think the EJets are a much better product than the 737. Much more passenger room and additional on board services. With oil prices soaring, don't be shocked to see Southwest start charging for bags by the end of the year. They are losing out on a major source of revenue for the company and will eventually fall in line. They are also going to see costs increase some as the merger with AirTran progresses.

As far as using miles. I haven't got that far on either (medallion level on Delta for years) and not sure how the transition has worked for Southwest in leaving their old award system to the new more traditional model.

While those are two very good points in why Frontier is having problems, the biggest one is brand loyalty in OKC. This is very much a Southwest town and they make it hard for any new entrant to come in. Which is good and bad. They provide a decent level of service for the size of OKC, but they are also able to charge higher fares due to less competition. Hopefully once the merger with AirTran is over, we'll see additional services extended to Atlanta and Orlando. Maybe Milwaukee at some point, but I would rather see Chicago Midway first...which they seem to have no intention of ever offering in this market.

For those that care, the new wrwa site is up today.

Thanks for the update Skywest, the new website rocks.

It looks like the Colgan Air turboprops are staying for IAH flights, about 2-3 flights a day in April.

For those that care, the new wrwa site is up today.

http://www.flyokc.com

That eastside land development project has me excited...tons of potential.

I like the new website, but it does not fit into my browser. I have to scroll left and right to see everything. It's the only website I frequent where that is an issue.

Regarding the Colgan Air turboprops to/from IAH, that is disappointing. I know some of you like those, but our airport being serviced by puddle-jumpers does not say good things about us to businesspeople traveling to our city. And I sure as heck won't fly on one-- not with their pilots clearly being at fault because of a lack of training in the crash in Buffalo a while back.

Perhaps Dallas business travelers will also think Dallas is a small city, because they are getting these props from IAH to Dallas (Love). The Colgan Dash 8 Q400's are actually a capacity increase. The E-jets are actually 50 seats, these are around 78 seats. It'd be in the best interest of our city to support capacity increases such as these, instead of the picking apart as to why it's not good enough for our city.

Perhaps Dallas business travelers will also think Dallas is a small city, because they are getting these props from IAH to Dallas (Love). The Colgan Dash 8 Q400's are actually a capacity increase. The E-jets are actually 50 seats, these are around 78 seats. It'd be in the best interest of our city to support capacity increases such as these, instead of the picking apart as to why it's not good enough for our city.

I agree, SkyWest. I have never had a problem flying the turboprops. The only issue I have ever had with them is if they use a different terminal area at an airport that made connections more lengthy.

I meant to ask this last week but forgot. Last Wednesday around noon I was driving south on I-44 by the airport and thought I saw 2 American Airlines either 757s or 767s land back-to-back. But it was foggy, and then I saw one take off, so maybe there was only one and it was doing a touch-and-go thing. I suppose it could have been a 737 but it looked bigger than that (I know it wasn't an MD-80 since the engines were under the wing). Any idea what that was all about?

There were two Southwest Airlines 737s that landed at 12:25pm on Wednesday. Don't see any 757 or 767s that landed around that time. You were probably mistaken.
http://flightaware.com/live/airport/KOKC/arrivals?;offset=500;order=actualarrivaltime;sort= DESC

I am not mistaken. It was clearly American Airlines. I can tell the difference between Southwest and American.

Doesn't make a difference to me. The flight records don't lie.

the new site is up

http://flyokc.com/

*edited*;)

*edited*;)

I know...I had to resist too.

Anyway, according to the airport a mobile version of the site will be up in a few weeks.

It may be a functional website design but it's sure boring and doesn't give any WOW factor to potential users or visitors.

AA has posters in the airport advertising the new OKC-LAX service. Also, looking ahead to future bookings......they are very inconsistent. There are some days (2 months away) that are 50% sold, and the next day sold 3/63. Hopefully we can keep it. For you AAdvantage members, AA is offering double miles if you fly the new OKC-LAX nonstop.

AA has posters in the airport advertising the new OKC-LAX service. Also, looking ahead to future bookings......they are very inconsistent. There are some days (2 months away) that are 50% sold, and the next day sold 3/63. Hopefully we can keep it. For you AAdvantage members, AA is offering double miles if you fly the new OKC-LAX nonstop.

And people should keep in mind that there are quite a few connections that can be made in LAX with that AA nonstop service. LAX is rarely affected by weather issues so that can be a big advantage.

I found this article on Frontier Airlines to be very interesting. I'm not implying that Will Rogers will be impacted.
Nonetheless, it does give those that enjoy aviation news something to chew on.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20110307/BUSINESS/110307019/1003/BUSINESS/Frontier-announces-plans-trim-operations-spring

United Airlines has also announced today that they are looking at either eliminating or cutting back service on nonprofitable routes. We have to hope that won't affect our nonstop service they offer to LAX, IAD, and EWR (operated by Continental who they are merging with).

We shouldn't get hit too hard. Expect to lose one of our UA LAX flights (going to 1x), but IAD and EWR will probably stay.