If you use the mobile link provided above, it takes me to the full story without going through the NewsOK paywall for the DOK.

There are definitely several factors that play in, but (corporate/business) politics is a big one. There has been little indication of the airport pushing to attract new service outside of a marketing agreement to cement G4 service. Is it completely their fault? No, but they are big part of it. In the environment now the airports that get the new service are either the big business markets with an established history or those with very aggressive air development people.

Washington DC is the 4th largest market from OKC - 362 pax per day.
Seattle is 12th...larger than ATL, STL, MSP, and DTW...which we all have nonstop service too. Keep in mind...all have airline hubs, including SEA (AS).
New York is the 8th largest and some how only has one 50-seater a day?

Alaska has been in a big push to expand, and not just against DL. The seem like the most logical addition to OKC in the near term. As far as would they start it on their own? Maybe. However, one of the most aggressive airports in the nation for new development - Akron/Canton - is rumored to be on tap to land 2 daily Southwest flights to DCA. That is a huge score and underlines how an aggressive team can make a difference.

NYC is a big head scratcher to me - how on earth does LIT get LGA service before OKC? Not sure if they still have it, but my goodness. Was it one huge corporate contract that sealed that win for LIT? Weird.

Would LOVE LOVE LOVE to get AS to start SEA-OKC. My goodness that would be huge. And you can earn AA EQMs on AS too, so they'd pick up that business from the AA FF base here. DCA is sorely needed too, but much less likely now that AA/US had to divest so many slots. Guess we'll just have to make do with CLT for now - which should lead to shorter travel times - albeit on regional jets. Can't have everything, yet.

My co-workers, on average, fly to DCA once a month... they'd love a direct flight, even if it means not taking their beloved Delta (I think. :))

Technically AA used to have a direct OKC-DCA flight (with a stop in DFW) - same flight # and same plane, so technically qualifies as a direct flight :) Not sure if they still do.

Southwest confirmed CAK will get DCA service. OKC will not get any daily service from them to DCA. This effectively eliminates OKC's chances unless additional slots are created in the future.

Southwest confirmed CAK will get DCA service. OKC will not get any daily service from them to DCA. This effectively eliminates OKC's chances unless additional slots are created in the future.

Confusing choice for Southwest.. Akron's airport is only 50.8 miles from Downtown Cleveland though. I wonder what the draw to a non-capital small city is for Southwest.

Confusing choice for Southwest.. Akron's airport is only 50.8 miles from Downtown Cleveland though. I wonder what the draw to a non-capital small city is for Southwest.

May not be true now but rumor was that back when it was really a hub they made it so it was difficult and/or costly for any competitors to come in, so they went to other nearby cities

Confusing choice for Southwest.. Akron's airport is only 50.8 miles from Downtown Cleveland though. I wonder what the draw to a non-capital small city is for Southwest.

Akron/Canton was a very successful airport for AirTran and they have probably the top air development team in the nation. It will be interesting to see if they maintain service at CLE or finally just shut it all down and move it to CAK.

New AA schedule will be loaded this Sunday. Haven't heard of any additional changes, but hoping for some eqp upgrades to ORD.

Venture, usually new schedules (to be loaded on the airline website) are available in GDS Overnight Friday. So tomorrow if you have access to a GDS system at work, you can probably view the schedule beforehand.

Anything out of the new AA schedule?

I'm hoping for philly to be added soon.

Not that I noticed. I searched weekdays in July.

DFW diversions for yesterday...

AA1037 Calgary (YYC) American Airlines MD82 N7541A Diverted to OKC
AA1038 Toronto (YYZ) American Airlines A319 N4005X Diverted to OKC
AA1602 Sacramento (SMF) American Airlines MD83 N974TW Diverted to OKC
AA2441 Phoenix (PHX) American Airlines MD83 N9409F Diverted to OKC
AA315 Las Vegas (LAS) American Airlines B738 N847NN Diverted to OKC
AA3576 Sioux Falls (FSD) American Airlines E145 N902BC Diverted to OKC
AA43 Detroit (DTW) American Airlines MD82 N481AA Diverted to OKC
AA79 London (LHR) American Airlines B772 N787AL Diverted to OKC
AA942 Minneapolis (MSP) American Airlines B738 N939AN Diverted to OKC
DL1499 Detroit (DTW) Delta Air Lines A320 N363NW Diverted to OKC
UA3485 Chicago (ORD) United Airlines E170 N855RW Diverted to OKC

DFW diversions for yesterday...

AA1037 Calgary (YYC) American Airlines MD82 N7541A Diverted to OKC
AA1038 Toronto (YYZ) American Airlines A319 N4005X Diverted to OKC
AA1602 Sacramento (SMF) American Airlines MD83 N974TW Diverted to OKC
AA2441 Phoenix (PHX) American Airlines MD83 N9409F Diverted to OKC
AA315 Las Vegas (LAS) American Airlines B738 N847NN Diverted to OKC
AA3576 Sioux Falls (FSD) American Airlines E145 N902BC Diverted to OKC
AA43 Detroit (DTW) American Airlines MD82 N481AA Diverted to OKC
AA79 London (LHR) American Airlines B772 N787AL Diverted to OKC
AA942 Minneapolis (MSP) American Airlines B738 N939AN Diverted to OKC
DL1499 Detroit (DTW) Delta Air Lines A320 N363NW Diverted to OKC
UA3485 Chicago (ORD) United Airlines E170 N855RW Diverted to OKC

Why? What happened?

Why? What happened?

Storms

So did they bus them down or wait out the storms?

So did they bus them down or wait out the storms?

They normally just hold them on the aircraft and fly out when able.

Venture, do you think we see AA add Philly soon? I can't remember your passenger statistics for the route, but it seems like it would be nice to get connected to the hub there.

So, what happens when a flight diverts? Does the airline get charged by the OKC airport to land here? or is it just an extended professional courtesy? For stormy weather like yesterday, what's the average time on the tarmac(?) for a plane on its way to DFW? and do they usually refuel? If its a domestic flight, are the passengers ever let off?

OKC had 3 UA diversions. One landed and then they took the aircraft back to ORD.

2 continued on to DFW.

So, what happens when a flight diverts? Does the airline get charged by the OKC airport to land here? or is it just an extended professional courtesy? For stormy weather like yesterday, what's the average time on the tarmac(?) for a plane on its way to DFW? and do they usually refuel? If its a domestic flight, are the passengers ever let off?

Yes they are charged. They sit as long as it takes. And yes they refuel.

Whether or not passengers stay on depends on several factors. But in order to refuel, the main cabin door has to be open and stairs have to be attached. So while that is going on, passengers who want off are given that opportunity to terminate in OKC. Bags would not be offloaded. If the ground delay program is increasing, the aircraft will be brought to a gate and deplaned. The ORD-DFW UA flight offloaded around 60 passengers. And left back to ORD with 7.

Storms

Oh, duh. Wonder how long people were stuck in the airport and if the restaurants in the airport were well equipped to handle the diversion.

Oh, duh. Wonder how long people were stuck in the airport and if the restaurants in the airport were well equipped to handle the diversion.

The number of passengers that were deplaned would be no problem for the airport restaurants to handle even if they all wanted to eat. The bars could get a little bombarded, however. :)

Although I am not in on the airline gossip, I am having drinks with a friend that is and he says that Alaska Airlines is merging with DL by the fourth quarter. Any truth to that and any chance of that helping us?

They aren't. There was an April fools article that went out. Alaska is not merging.

They aren't. There was an April fools article that went out. Alaska is not merging.

Wow...apparently it worked as some of the DL flight attendants believe it. I mean this sincerely as I trust Catch 22 on aviation subjects which is why I posted it as I know a few of the people on here like catch and venture would know

I have to think we are done with mergers for awhile now. I can't see any way others could merge, at least among the big 4, without requiring a ton of concessions from the DOJ.

Would have enjoyed seeing the new AA livery on a 772 in OKC. Bummed I missed it.


DFW diversions for yesterday...

AA1037 Calgary (YYC) American Airlines MD82 N7541A Diverted to OKC
AA1038 Toronto (YYZ) American Airlines A319 N4005X Diverted to OKC
AA1602 Sacramento (SMF) American Airlines MD83 N974TW Diverted to OKC
AA2441 Phoenix (PHX) American Airlines MD83 N9409F Diverted to OKC
AA315 Las Vegas (LAS) American Airlines B738 N847NN Diverted to OKC
AA3576 Sioux Falls (FSD) American Airlines E145 N902BC Diverted to OKC
AA43 Detroit (DTW) American Airlines MD82 N481AA Diverted to OKC
AA79 London (LHR) American Airlines B772 N787AL Diverted to OKC
AA942 Minneapolis (MSP) American Airlines B738 N939AN Diverted to OKC
DL1499 Detroit (DTW) Delta Air Lines A320 N363NW Diverted to OKC
UA3485 Chicago (ORD) United Airlines E170 N855RW Diverted to OKC

Wow...apparently it worked as some of the DL flight attendants believe it. I mean this sincerely as I trust Catch 22 on aviation subjects which is why I posted it as I know a few of the people on here like catch and venture would know

Flight attendants and pilots are probably the most gullible and least-trustworthy work groups as far as factual information is concerned.

Flight attendants always have a merger in their mouth, and pilots always have a new airplane type coming to the fleet. ExpressJet pilot told me several weeks ago that AirTran really bought out Southwest and kept the Southwest name. What?! Okay...

^It's surprising a pilot would actually say that.

March statistics.


http://www.flyokc.com/statistics/March%202014%20Enplanement.pdf

Found this in the Journal Record

http://journalrecord.com/files/2014/04/PG23-unfriendly-skies-20140415-bry.jpg

Infographic: OKC?s unfriendly skies | The Journal Record (http://journalrecord.com/2014/04/15/infographic-okcs-unfriendly-skies/)

Excellent journalism...

They got United and Delta mixed up...

http://www.flyokc.com/statistics/January%202014%20Enplanement.pdf

Another outstanding article about aviation....

The infamous "[Insert Periodical Name Here] Staff" wrote it. I guess it is to hide the incompetence of the person that does their research? :)

For anyone talking about OKC becoming a hub, I thought this was a pretty interesting read:

7 American Airports That Are Struggling After Losing Hub Status - TheRichest (http://www.therichest.com/business/companies-business/7-american-airports-that-are-struggling-after-losing-hub-status/)

For anyone talking about OKC becoming a hub, I thought this was a pretty interesting read:

7 American Airports That Are Struggling After Losing Hub Status - TheRichest (http://www.therichest.com/business/companies-business/7-american-airports-that-are-struggling-after-losing-hub-status/)

It's probably not a coincidence that the airports mentioned are concentrated in the Midwest and Mississippi valley area of the country not too far apart.

Diversions from DFW due to storms are starting...

AAL1242 (http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL1242)MD82 (http://flightaware.com/live/aircrafttype/MD82)Denver Intl (KDEN (http://flightaware.com/live/airport/KDEN))05:12p




06:39p

Just read an Aviation Week article that pretty much sums up Delta's strategy, CEO Richard Anderson's philosophy on buying new jets (especially ones that he deems "experimental") and the new Seattle-Tacoma hub. Very interesting for those who like aviation in general and then some:

Source: Aviation Week - Delta's Next Initiative (http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/AW_04_21_2014_p44-677970.xml)

It looks like he really wants Airbus to go after the 330NEO and it appears the NRT (IATA code for Tokyo-Narita International Airport) hub is about to get a downgrade now that the Sea-Tac hub is going to get amped.

I wonder if we will get connected to Seattle if it's going to see such continued expansion? I think some of venture's and catch22's posts have illustrated there's pretty good traffic for the route.

There's enough to fill an RJ up.

about 180 per day -- each way. Add in some connections on the Seattle end and it can be done. Very costly flight for an RJ though.

What's the 411 with this flight????

SkyWest (OO) #1326 ? FlightAware (http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SKW1326)

it appears to be a second leg of a flight from ORD. the reverse is OKC-MCI-ORD.

What's the 411 with this flight????

SkyWest (OO) #1326 ? FlightAware (http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SKW1326)

Bizarre indeed. No major flies MCI-OKC now. Skywest only flies CR2s for AA out of DFW and LAX (AFAIK) so it's not for AA. Wouldn't make any sense at all for it to be DL. Searched on UA's site and couldn't find this flight. And it's not Frontier. Weird!

It's crew training flights. SkyWest just recently began to take delivery of the E175. The flight crews need to build up hours in the type for proficiency and training.

It's crew training flights. SkyWest just recently began to take delivery of the E175. The flight crews need to build up hours in the type for proficiency and training.

Ah that makes sense - thanks for the info!

Any chance we could ever get a direct to Albuquerque? ExpressJet used to when they were around but since then nothing.

Pretty unlikely. I think there's only around 50-60 passengers per day in the market (25-30 each way daily on average). Not good with no connections available on either end.

Inbound medical emergency (passed out person, I believe)... heard it at 12:30 pm on the scanner.

I live near the airport (OKC) and just saw what looked to be a private 737 or something close in size take off to the south. Appeared to head off to the west. It was about 410 pm today. Any clue who the plane belongs to as I didn't recognize it as one of the ones we normally see?

I live near the airport (OKC) and just saw what looked to be a private 737 or something close in size take off to the south. Appeared to head off to the west. It was about 410 pm today. Any clue who the plane belongs to as I didn't recognize it as one of the ones we normally see?

I figured it out on Flight Aware. Sierra Pacific which is charter service that does charters for military and others. It is heading to McChord-Lewis so assuming it's a military charter flight. Interesting that the airline started with the profits from a soft X rated later R rated 3d movie called the Stewardesses

Any chance we could ever get a direct to Albuquerque? ExpressJet used to when they were around but since then nothing.

Great Plains flew this route for a couple years around 2001-03. I flew on GPA twice, once to Albuquerque from OKC and another time from TUL to Colorado Springs with a stop in OKC. Both were to go skiing, which were nice alternatives to DEN which at the time was very expensive with United the only option. Too bad there is not a seasonal flight to either one still available during the winter months.

I just got back from Orlando flying Allegiant direct from OKC to Sanford (30-40 minutes north and east of Orlando). The cost was great, it was a no frills airline. We had to pay $20 for each carry-on each way and $11-$20 per seat each way. They did not offer food or beverage for free, but they were available for purchase. The cost was about the same as what you would pay in the airport. Both the flight out on Thursday and the flight back on Sunday were completely filled to capacity. What are the chances of Allegiant adding another flight once August-September is over and they resume flights to and from Orlando? We really enjoyed that it was direct and would like to go again, but different days.

As long as the flights are really strong, there is a chance they could add another day to the service. Though I think it might be more likely that they would try to add in another market, which would be great as well.

For those that missed it...F9 (Frontier) announced a new focus city out of Washington Dulles. This follows on the tails of announcing Cleveland. Just insane how much thier network is growing and diversifying away form the DEN hub. Hopefully we get looked at at some point to get connecting to these focus cities.

http://www.weatherspotlight.com/screencap/may14/f9.png

As long as the flights are really strong, there is a chance they could add another day to the service. Though I think it might be more likely that they would try to add in another market, which would be great as well.

Good to hear. Like I said in my PM, it would be nice to have another option to Vegas or Phoenix directly, although I wouldn't be opposed to Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday to Sanford flights as well.

Typically, how long do they look at capacity before they decide to add another flight or another market?

Good to hear. Like I said in my PM, it would be nice to have another option to Vegas or Phoenix directly, although I wouldn't be opposed to Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday to Sanford flights as well.

Typically, how long do they look at capacity before they decide to add another flight or another market?

It really depends on the market for them. I've seen them go years without announcing expansion at a city and I've seen them go a few months. They have their revenue targets at a certain level and stick to them. The big thing we can't see his how much ancillary revenue they are generating - vacation packages, extra fees, etc - out of OKC and that is a major driver for them. If those are low, they won't expand.

On August 19th, Mesa dba US Airways Express will take over the LAX-OKC route from Envoy/American Eagle. This will also result in an upgrade in the gauge of equipment going to a CRJ-900.

Can't complain about that venture. Still wouldn't mind seeing an E70 on that route eventually.

Yeah that would be nice, but I don't think any are going to be out there for awhile. One thing we need to watch though is American's load factors when the data starts becoming available. A buddy of mine who works for AA in another city has seen their load factors go from 65% up to 91% in the last couple of months. Apparently those from US Airways have taken over handling ticket pricing and such and are squeezing more revenue out of the existing operation. So far it doesn't seem like we've had a huge boost the first two months of the year, but Envoy (Eagle) is up 5 pts to a 71.65% load factor in February compared to last year.

Good for F9. Are they trying to get away from WN at DEN???

I booked F9 to DEN for the 4th. It will be my 1st taste at the ULCC brand. Price of ticket was nice and beat WN and UAL by $150 even after all the fees.

I enjoy F9... just wish they'd bring back the fresh cookies :)