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United will start sending the 737-900 (config to 167 seats) to/from IAH in April and May, and will be daily for the June sked

United will start sending the 737-900 (config to 167 seats) to/from IAH in April and May, and will be daily for the June sked

That's good news. Thanks for that update, Catch.

Any word on what the FAA is doing with the DCA routes? I'm a little surprised (but not much) that they haven't announced a decision... Of course, they could have and I just missed it.

Who knows. It's been close to 4 months now, they usually rule within 90 days. I bet all the crap with the budget in Washington is holding things up. Who knows.

This is the link to the docket for the DCA application: Regulations.gov (http://www.regulations.gov/#!searchResults;rpp=25;so=DESC;sb=postedDate;po=0; s=DOT-OST-2000-7182)

There was a statement back on the 7th that they are still in the decision process. I would be shocked if it goes beyond the end of the month, but who knows. I think the US/AA merger is causing some issues with this.

Is this decision ever going to be made? As venture said, I'm sure the merger is messing with things, but this has dragged on awhile now.

Is this decision ever going to be made? As venture said, I'm sure the merger is messing with things, but this has dragged on awhile now.

At some point. LOL I looked this morning and no new updates except for a response from the Secretary's office that the process is still on going.

Legally I don't think the court can take into consideration future events yet to be approved into account. Theoretically the merger could be struck down, or the merger called off by the parties involved. They can only use present day facts in the decision.

I must have missed the announcement here but I was pleasantly surprised to find out United has direct service between OKC and San Fran. A relative just booked some flights there. I don't fly United regularly so this may explain my surprise. When did this service start?

August 2011.

I must have missed the announcement here but I was pleasantly surprised to find out United has direct service between OKC and San Fran. A relative just booked some flights there. I don't fly United regularly so this may explain my surprise. When did this service start?

Near the end of 2011

I didn't like flying that much even when I worked for a airline and it was free. All the hoohaw they put you through now I would end up arrested or shot. For me the drive is as much fun as the destination. But, you can't drive to Hawaii. Yet.

I didn't like flying that much even when I worked for a airline and it was free. All the hoohaw they put you through now I would end up arrested or shot. For me the drive is as much fun as the destination. But, you can't drive to Hawaii. Yet.

I don't think security is really that bad at all know. Doesn't take all that much time to get through, typically, and if you prepare ahead of time you go right through.

August 2011.

Doh. I feel like a dummy.

I flew on the direct MCO to OKC flight last Wednesday and it was about 85% full. Not bad for a Wednesday at 3:25pm

I flew WN n/s outbound to MCO on Thursday night and it seemed to me about 75% full. I flew the n/s back to OKC on Easter Sunday afternoon and the gate agent told me there were 101 booked...so just about the same. They were great flights. Makes the trip down there so fast and easy. I really hope they at least keep it around for Spring Break each year.

I came across this today and thought most of you would find it interesting and you probably wouldn't see it if I posted it in the Arts and Crafts section.

X9IlPDOar7E

Some good news. Delta will add a 4th MD88 to OKCATL for the July schedule.

http://gyazo.com/e5bde737f0e0d142b13d2f7b2fb27233.png?1365450878
http://gyazo.com/b1fa30ff5e5e362e304690fcb58504d6.png?1365450888

Looks good. I'll take the T-tails as long as we can have them. Outside of the RJs, the Mad Dogs are all that are left since the 727 left the skies. *sniff*

Looks good. I'll take the T-tails as long as we can have them. Outside of the RJs, the Mad Dogs are all that are left since the 727 left the skies. *sniff*

Seriously! Thank goodness we live in OKC - I'm sure we'll be one of the last S80 stations to lose the MD as AA gets the airbii. Gonna miss the 2-3 seating for sure!

I may be in the minority but I love the Mad dogs. I was in a Cessna 210, holding short while an MD-80 took off... talk about a nice punch in the gut.

Im totally down w/ flying an MD anytime, Im a simple dude.. I don't need IFE :)

From my understanding (thanks to a.net) I see that AA's initial release of the E-175 schedule does not include OKC. I read that the -700 is being removed from ORD-OKC? Any one know why? what the replacement will be, etc?

If the plane size is decreased will AA add additional flights to ORD? Whoever here can find a breakdown on total seats being exchanged here that would be cool.

Geez is everyone an anetter? :-P

The main thing going on with Eagle right now is that the CR7s are being reallocated out of ORD so the 175s can go in there. The trick is that LAX is still done with the ORD based CR7s so it will be interesting to see how they handle it. I have a feeling OKC-ORD will eventually go to 175s at some point, but we could see it go back to all 145s. I'm not sure that'll be the case since I doubt they want to pull first class from the market.

CR7 on Eagle seat 65 in a 2-class layout, so we would see a decline of 15 seats if they replaced it with the 145.

Eff 27Aug13 LAX-AA will reduce back to 2 daily. Prob related to shuffling capacity around for E75 intro and to fund other LAX expansion.

And United is moving the LAX flight to a 450P dep on 28Aug and reducing to 1 daily. Inbound flight arrives OKC 540p.

28aug-wed-see sna/ont for lax alt. Alternate service
1aa3708* okclax 645a 750a cr7 0 305\
2aa3798* okclax 230p 335p cr7 0 305\
3ua6535 okclax 450p 603p cr7 0 313\

Eff 27Aug13 LAX-AA will reduce back to 2 daily. Prob related to shuffling capacity around for E75 intro and to fund other LAX expansion.

Hmm, or "seasonal" reduction? Although LA doesn't really have seasons...:rolleyes:

Disagreement is fine, I love a good argument. But saying my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt is fairly insulting for one who "lives" for this industry. I wake up at 3am every day for this industry. I have worked 41 of the past 42 days for this industry.

And, ljbab, I still stand by my statement made prior about Oklahoma having a large subset of people who do not fly. Of course you would be unfamiliar with them, because they never contact you or show up on the "Radar". The people who do fly contact you, the people who don't never will. I don't have any set of statistics to prove this, because it is impossible to prove because the people who do not fly...simply do not show up in any statistic.

But from my observations as a citizen over the years with friends and family across the state, I can say the amount of people who do not fly is quite striking. I have two sets of unrelated friends, who drive to LA every year for vacation respectively. I asked each why they don't fly, the answer was it was "cheaper to drive."

My brother's wife's parents, they make a considerable amount of money each year. They go to the lake for vacation. I run into people all of the time in there 20s from around here, who always mention to me when they find out what I do, "That's so cool, I have never been on an airplane before...what's it like?". My ex-girlfriend who I dated last year, had never flown on an airplane before she had met me. Her family wasn't poor, neither are a lot of the people I am referencing in this post.

I have a broad range of friends and acquaintances that I can confidently say is a decent cross-section of the OKC metro population. I can also confidently say, there is a larger than average subset of the OKC metro population who do not fly for vacation. Or do not fly often at all.

OKC has a 1.3 million metro, yet we are surpassed by many smaller metros on passenger totals. We have a booming economy, lots of extra expendable money in the pockets of the metro, yet travel is still flat. The amount of new shiny Ford F250 super crew pickups with a nice shiny 25 foot boat on a trailer, seems to be increasing.

The creative class tends to travel more, the more educated a population is, the more the population travels.

This is a month later, but I see where you're coming from now. My perspective is definitely skewed, being from out of state and flying (out of necessity) several times a year just to see my parents. And having grown up going to India pretty regularly to see the extended fam - being used to that makes it hard to believe that people can go through their lives without setting foot in an airplane. But you're right it happens quite regularly. I just like to pretend people like that don't exist :)

I just noticed that AA will be flying CRJ200 and 145's on at least 2 of the DFW-OKC flights starting in mid June. I have been an EXP for the last several years and a big reason is I have always been guaranteed mainline between DFW and OKC. It has really been the only carrier outside of SWA that I could reasonably expect to stay off RJs. I have no idea is this is temporary, part of the E175 shuffle or what, but it's a little disappointing to see RJs pop up on the route.

I just noticed that AA will be flying CRJ200 and 145's on at least 2 of the DFW-OKC flights starting in mid June. I have been an EXP for the last several years and a big reason is I have always been guaranteed mainline between DFW and OKC. It has really been the only carrier outside of SWA that I could reasonably expect to stay off RJs. I have no idea is this is temporary, part of the E175 shuffle or what, but it's a little disappointing to see RJs pop up on the route.

Why disappointing? These are ADDITIONAL frequencies. They aren't replacing any of the existing 7 daily MD-80s.

Eff 27Aug13 LAX-AA will reduce back to 2 daily. Prob related to shuffling capacity around for E75 intro and to fund other LAX expansion.

So OKC-LAX is going to the Embraer 175s? Are all of AA's CRJs from OKC going to be focused on ORD now?

So OKC-LAX is going to the Embraer 175s? Are all of AA's CRJs from OKC going to be focused on ORD now?

No, capacity around the AA system is being shuffled around. ORD/CRJ7's are being moved to LGA/JFK operation. The capacity has a domino effect, you have to pull flight time hours from other lines to fund expansions elsewhere. ORD capacity (where the LAX CRJ7 lines are flown from) is being moved out of ORD. E175's are backfilling CRJ7 capacity directly from ORD trips. As the E175 fleet is small, the LAX-CRJ7 lines remain on CRJ7's and are still flown from the reduced "shelf" of CRJ7 capacity.

Instead of having 20 oranges in ORD to split between ORD and LAX, there are now 15 oranges in ORD.

I just noticed that AA will be flying CRJ200 and 145's on at least 2 of the DFW-OKC flights starting in mid June. I have been an EXP for the last several years and a big reason is I have always been guaranteed mainline between DFW and OKC. It has really been the only carrier outside of SWA that I could reasonably expect to stay off RJs. I have no idea is this is temporary, part of the E175 shuffle or what, but it's a little disappointing to see RJs pop up on the route.

It's also noteworthy that more mainline on AA would be present, but their contract requires mainline ground staff at a station with at minimum 8 daily mainline departures. If they added one more mainline on any route, their daily average would be 8 and would require insourcing the work.

It's also noteworthy that more mainline on AA would be present, but their contract requires mainline ground staff at a station with at minimum 8 daily mainline departures. If they added one more mainline on any route, their daily average would be 8 and would require insourcing the work.

Surely at some point they'll have to mainline at least one other route...

Why disappointing? These are ADDITIONAL frequencies. They aren't replacing any of the existing 7 daily MD-80s.

Good point, I had thought they were replacing MD-80's but they are additional. And I did not realize that about maintaining less than 8 mainline departures to not have AA ground crew. The truth is I'd much rather them maintain their frequencies to DFW and add a CR7 to JFK/LGA or MIA to pickup better connection options or add a new destination.

It's also noteworthy that more mainline on AA would be present, but their contract requires mainline ground staff at a station with at minimum 8 daily mainline departures. If they added one more mainline on any route, their daily average would be 8 and would require insourcing the work.

By the way, do you know if that part of their contract was changed during bankruptcy? (not sure if you meant their union contract, but that what I assumed)

By the way, do you know if that part of their contract was changed during bankruptcy? (not sure if you meant their union contract, but that what I assumed)

Fairly certain it is unchanged, but not 100% sure.

The A/C scheduled to run the 3rd OKC-LAX for AA was moved to open the LAX-XNA market.

It's also noteworthy that more mainline on AA would be present, but their contract requires mainline ground staff at a station with at minimum 8 daily mainline departures. If they added one more mainline on any route, their daily average would be 8 and would require insourcing the work.

Did not know that - possibly explains why we'll never see mainline back on OKC-ORD again. That and the market seems to have right-sized itself with the infusion of 76-seaters. Is it safe to assume we'll the E75 on the ORD route eventually once more of them come online and the initial destinations get them first?

Southwest will be adding 2 daily nonstop flights to Atlanta starting in November. :)

Southwest will be adding 2 daily nonstop flights to Atlanta starting in November. :)

Interesting, these are on 717's under the FL code.

22NOV-FRI- ALTERNATE SERVICE\
1FL1051 OKCATL 600A 855A 717 0 155\
2FL1783 OKCATL 330P 625P 717 0 155\

22NOV-FRI- ALTERNATE SERVICE\
1FL 683 ATLOKC 810A 929A 717 0 219\
2FL1141 ATLOKC 440P 601P 717 0 221\ >

It'll be nice to see the 717 in OKC again...last ones here were on TWA to STL.

Okay, I nailed down the schedule. These 717's will be used for MDW and ATL.

I knew the flight times were too "loose" for just ATL service.

22NOV-FRI- ALTERNATE SERVICE\
1FL 685 MDWOKC 1240P 245P 717 0 205\
2FL 490 MDWOKC 725P 935P 717 0 210\ >

22NOV-FRI- ALTERNATE SERVICE\
1FL 683 OKCMDW 1005A 1200N 717 0 155\
2FL1141 OKCMDW 640P 835P 717 0 155\ >

The full WN schedule should be loaded tomorrow night and be line Monday morning, so we'll be able to tell if anything else gets changed.

I am a little concerned on the 717 going to MDW since those flights tend to do pretty well, but they need to keep them moving. Some people will get spoiled by the business class though I feel. :)

It probably has to do with a larger network perspective of placing the higher capacity airplanes where they truly need it. OKC-CHI is not lacking in service by any means.

It probably has to do with a larger network perspective of placing the higher capacity airplanes where they truly need it. OKC-CHI is not lacking in service by any means.

Well Southwest is completely retooling the ATL (and FL) operation with this schedule load, so yeah it moves things around a bit. They don't have the 735s in numbers like before, so can't move those in to keep things all WN metal. OKC-Chicago definitely isn't lacking in service, but I'm speaking more from a WN load stand point. Of course this will be absorbed and just moving some people around. Also having to accommodate MCI service going away this summer as well, so that would boost the loads on STL and MDW a good deal more. Of course this won't really matter. They'll all be 737s again with in the next 18 months.

Well Southwest is completely retooling the ATL (and FL) operation with this schedule load, so yeah it moves things around a bit. They don't have the 735s in numbers like before, so can't move those in to keep things all WN metal. OKC-Chicago definitely isn't lacking in service, but I'm speaking more from a WN load stand point. Of course this will be absorbed and just moving some people around. Also having to accommodate MCI service going away this summer as well, so that would boost the loads on STL and MDW a good deal more. Of course this won't really matter. They'll all be 737s again with in the next 18 months.

So Southwest will still be capacity negative on the year. And it will be interesting to see if DL responds any at all.

Well Southwest is completely retooling the ATL (and FL) operation with this schedule load, so yeah it moves things around a bit. They don't have the 735s in numbers like before, so can't move those in to keep things all WN metal. OKC-Chicago definitely isn't lacking in service, but I'm speaking more from a WN load stand point. Of course this will be absorbed and just moving some people around. Also having to accommodate MCI service going away this summer as well, so that would boost the loads on STL and MDW a good deal more. Of course this won't really matter. They'll all be 737s again with in the next 18 months.

Hi Venture, I bolded something I am curious about. Did I miss something? Going away? I went back in the thread but obviously not far enough. Thanks!

Hi Venture, I bolded something I am curious about. Did I miss something? Going away? I went back in the thread but obviously not far enough. Thanks!

Announced in February. August 11th will be the end of MCI nonstops.

http://www.okctalk.com/transportation/33015-oklahoma-commercial-aviation-discussion-2013-a-2.html#post615243

So Southwest will still be capacity negative on the year. And it will be interesting to see if DL responds any at all.

I haven't worked the numbers, but I think overall it will be pretty neutral as a station with the MCO service off setting the loss in seats to MCO and MCI. It'll be close though. Overall, I'm not heart broken to see MCI go and glad MDW went to 2 daily and ATL is coming on board.

Next year I think could be rocky with DAL getting scaled back as they stop one-stopping flights here.

Announced in February. August 11th will be the end of MCI nonstops.

http://www.okctalk.com/transportation/33015-oklahoma-commercial-aviation-discussion-2013-a-2.html#post615243
Thanks for the link back for me to read. I don't know how I missed that and I'm surprised. I remember a day when Southwest flew several non-stops a day to KC, going to zero is really surprising. Thanks again.

After checking around the internet for the cheapest airfares I can find for 2 adult passengers it appears that Southwest airlines has the cheapest fares for my destination which is South Bend In this early fall.
However there are very large flight price differences with in a fairly easy driving distance of OKC.

I was hoping that someone could please adequately explain why OKC and even Tulsa were significantly higher priced than some of these other nearby cities even when I change the dates. It seems like we are being charged more than other nearby city’s… Or is this perception wrong?

The cheapest airfare for 2 from OKC TO MDW on SWA at the time I would like to travel is $721.20 with stops. The cheapest airfare for 2 during the entire month of September on Southwest airlines from OKC to MWD is not much less at $683.60

These are for round trip with 2 passengers

Tulsa to MDW $614.40 with one stop and one plane change.
Branson, MO to MDW $348.60 nonstop
ICT 395.60 to MDW nonstop
Dallas to MDW $469.20 with stops and 1 plane changes

Also, I’m willing to drive to ICT or DAL but since I’m haven’t flown anywhere in several years any tips on cheaper and more convenient air travel to the final destination would be appreciated.
Thanks

High prices are not a bad thing, it means airlines actually make money here and means we are higher up on the list for expansion.

Also don't buy tickets for September in May...

September is a traditionally dead month, and deep discount fares go live in july and august for sept oct.

Like Catch mentioned, wait for the fares to go on sale. WN had a pretty good sized sale a couple weeks back for the fall. They typically run through during the middle of the week. Just keep aware on those since most major airlines will match rates. Also you'll see air fares matched in some cases to the secondary markets like SBN.

Also like what was mentioned high fares aren't bad. That typically means flights are fuller, yields are strong, and people are using the services that are offered. A ton of dirt cheap tickets in markets can signify poor loads, unprofitable flying, and low market demand.

After checking around the internet for the cheapest airfares I can find for 2 adult passengers it appears that Southwest airlines has the cheapest fares for my destination which is South Bend In this early fall.
However there are very large flight price differences with in a fairly easy driving distance of OKC.

I was hoping that someone could please adequately explain why OKC and even Tulsa were significantly higher priced than some of these other nearby cities even when I change the dates. It seems like we are being charged more than other nearby city’s… Or is this perception wrong?

The cheapest airfare for 2 from OKC TO MDW on SWA at the time I would like to travel is $721.20 with stops. The cheapest airfare for 2 during the entire month of September on Southwest airlines from OKC to MWD is not much less at $683.60

These are for round trip with 2 passengers

Tulsa to MDW $614.40 with one stop and one plane change.
Branson, MO to MDW $348.60 nonstop
ICT 395.60 to MDW nonstop
Dallas to MDW $469.20 with stops and 1 plane changes

Also, I’m willing to drive to ICT or DAL but since I’m haven’t flown anywhere in several years any tips on cheaper and more convenient air travel to the final destination would be appreciated.
Thanks

A quick look at my normal reservation system found fares as low as $207.60 per person roundtrip from OKC to MDW in September. Maybe you need to change your sources.

Quick look at the new ATL flights. The morning flight will be direct (no plane change in ATL) to Orlando and the evening flight will be direct to Washington National. WN sometimes uses these one stop flights to test the feasibility of doing nonstops.

Like Catch mentioned, wait for the fares to go on sale. WN had a pretty good sized sale a couple weeks back for the fall. They typically run through during the middle of the week. Just keep aware on those since most major airlines will match rates. Also you'll see air fares matched in some cases to the secondary markets like SBN.

Also like what was mentioned high fares aren't bad. That typically means flights are fuller, yields are strong, and people are using the services that are offered. A ton of dirt cheap tickets in markets can signify poor loads, unprofitable flying, and low market demand.


High prices are not a bad thing, it means airlines actually make money here and means we are higher up on the list for expansion.

Also don't buy tickets for September in May...

September is a traditionally dead month, and deep discount fares go live in july and august for sept oct.

Thanks guys!
Those were the types of tips and responses this novice flyer wanted to see.:D

EDIT...went back and pulled from December instead since the Nov Schedule changed a lot during the first few weeks.

Full Southwest schedule load is done now. Flight times can vary by day and this is for week of Dec 15th. Also added year over year change compared to December 2012.

For OKC...

ATL - 2 daily (700a, 525p) -- YOY +2
BWI - 1 daily (1235p - most days, as early as 710a on Friday) -- YOY Unchanged
MDW - 2 daily (1033a, 640p) -- YOY +1
DAL - 4 daily (735a, 130p, 325p, 710p) -- YOY -1
DEN - 3 daily (630a, 915a, 630p) -- YOY Unchanged
HOU - 4 daily (805a, 1210p, 255p, 710p) -- YOY +1
LAS - 2 daily (1125a, 400p) -- YOY Unchanged
MCI - Cancelled in August -- YOY -2
PHX - 2 daily (950a, 500p) -- YOY Unchanged
STL - 1 daily (645a) -- YOY -1


For TUL...

MDW - 1 daily -- YOY +1
DAL - 5 daily -- YOY Unch
DEN - 3 daily -- YOY Unch
HOU - 3 daily -- YOY Unch
LAS - 1 daily -- YOY Unch
PHX - 2 daily -- YOY Unch
STL - 2 daily -- YOY Unch

So STL is going to 1 daily.

So STL is going to 1 daily.

Indeed. Which saddens me because I really like STL with the 25-30 minute easy connections. However, it does appear they are trying to push a good amount through ATL instead. DAL also loses a flight compared to last year. Overall WN is down 2 flights compared to 2012. Pull down on a DAL flight doesn't shock me, plus it seems they just redirected that to HOU.

We'll see how this plays out. I won't be shocked if STL goes back to 2 daily next Spring.