Stillwater Regional Airport pursues commercial service » Local News » Stillwater News Press (http://www.stwnewspress.com/local/x1760090954/Stillwater-Regional-Airport-pursues-commercial-service)

Not to poo on Stillwater's party, but what chance do they think they have with TUL and OKC being equidistant? There isn't exactly a draw of daily traffic that would support a mainstream commercial carrier with any sized airplane. It's an easy analysis for the carriers based on the billing zip code of the passengers. Outside of OSU charter services, I can't imagine there's a draw for a town of 50K. Even Lawton only has what, 4 flights a day? And I betcha most of those are Ft. Sill passengers rather than Lawton area residents. And they're all just connections to DFW. Heck, there are only 2 gates there, and Lawton has twice as many residents....plus Ft. Sill.

Is Lawton’s catchment area bigger than 195,000? Stillwater will never know until it tries passenger jet service. Manhattan, KS did and has enjoyed increased passengers every year since then. I doubt it's too discouraging for Stillwater that Manhattan is somewhat bigger with the nearest major airport being over an hour and a half away. A big question, though, will the cost to fly to Dallas, or wherever, be too high? It will help to have free parking at the Stillwater airport.

I know several people in Duncan that use Lawton's airport to fly to places via DFW for trips, as it's only a 30 min drive vs almost an hour and a half to OKC. The small cities around Stillwater would likely just go to OKC or TUL whichever is closer, while they don't have that option in SW Oklahoma. And the one time I flew out of LAW it felt like half the airport had military fatigues on, so FT Sill is a huge factor along with Altus AFB.

Stillwater Regional Airport pursues commercial service » Local News » Stillwater News Press (http://www.stwnewspress.com/local/x1760090954/Stillwater-Regional-Airport-pursues-commercial-service)

They would be better served if the they spent their transportation money trying to connect downtown Stillwater to TIA or WRWA via rail. Then not only do they get better access to air service, but they also get access to the 2 largest cities in Oklahoma - all for the same money.

They would be better served if the they spent their transportation money trying to connect downtown Stillwater to TIA or WRWA via rail. Then not only do they get better access to air service, but they also get access to the 2 largest cities in Oklahoma - all for the same money.

OSU operates busses that could easily take passengers to the airports in Tulsa and OKC and do it many times cheaper than a train, with far more flexibility and with far more speed than a train currently could do and on roads that are mostly not congested.

They would be better served if the they spent their transportation money trying to connect downtown Stillwater to TIA or WRWA via rail. Then not only do they get better access to air service, but they also get access to the 2 largest cities in Oklahoma - all for the same money.

It may cost as little as several million dollars to establish passenger jet service in Stillwater. How many millions would it cost to establish rail to WRWA?

I know several people in Duncan that use Lawton's airport to fly to places via DFW for trips, as it's only a 30 min drive vs almost an hour and a half to OKC. The small cities around Stillwater would likely just go to OKC or TUL whichever is closer, while they don't have that option in SW Oklahoma. And the one time I flew out of LAW it felt like half the airport had military fatigues on, so FT Sill is a huge factor along with Altus AFB.

Federal subsidized passenger air service has failed from lack of passengers as recently as 1986 in Stillwater. But planes were flying to Tulsa, rather than a big hub, like Dallas-Ft. Worth. Airline Suspends Stillwater Passenger Service | News OK (http://newsok.com/airline-suspends-stillwater-passenger-service/article/2137043)

A round trip ticket to Tulsa was $59. Flights to Oklahoma City were also tried during the mid 1980s, but failed.

They would be better served if the they spent their transportation money trying to connect downtown Stillwater to TIA or WRWA via rail. Then not only do they get better access to air service, but they also get access to the 2 largest cities in Oklahoma - all for the same money.

From the existing lines, they might as well just go to Tulsa if a rail link was pursued, the existing rail route is both shorter and does not have the multiple times stop/reverses of direction that would be required to go to OKC. Granted there are gaps between the railroad & terminal at both airports but Tulsa has less of a gap too. (I know people are not fans of buses but) It is probably cheaper/faster to set up an express bus route and unless a lot was put into the tracks, it would take less time to get between locations as well.

Along with what Snowman is saying, rail would have to be point to point for it to make sense. No stops along the way. But good luck getting that because Stilly isn't going to pay for a line into either city like that. The airport is on the opposite side of the metro from Stilly in either metro so there is a lot to get around or through. ENORMOUS cost that would NEVER be returned on. They would more likely want to tie into an existing commuter rail, IF it existed. Otherwise, a bus system makes far more economic sense for all parties. And really, if there was enough of a demand for that, you'd already see the service in operation.

It's not in operation because it's still faster and more convenient to drive yourself. And with gas being cheap, it's not really an issue since the citizens of Stilly are going to own a car whether or not the rail/bus exists....sorry JTF, but that's just how it is. Simply laying several hundred millions in rail line doesn't make people use it.

They would be better served if the they spent their transportation money trying to connect downtown Stillwater to TIA or WRWA via rail. Then not only do they get better access to air service, but they also get access to the 2 largest cities in Oklahoma - all for the same money.

The SCASD grant isn't flexible like that. It has to be used for what Stillwater applied for. They have 3 years to use it after award or it goes back.

From the Journal Record:

Air Stillwater: Study suggests city could support commercial flights

By: D. Ray Tuttle The Journal Record December 30, 2014

STILLWATER – Research suggests there is demand to support daily airline flights from Stillwater Regional Airport to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

A study by the city of Stillwater is the latest in a three-year effort to obtain commercial air service, said Stillwater Regional Airport Director Gary Johnson.

Jet service for 50 passengers is the goal, said Lisa Navrkal, Stillwater Chamber of Commerce president and CEO.

“We would like to schedule two flights per day to a regional hub,” Navrkal said.

In September 2013, Stillwater received a $447,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Small Community Air Service Development Program to establish commercial air service, said Victor Bird, director of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission.

The grant allows Stillwater city and civic leaders to compete for commercial air service that might otherwise be unobtainable, Bird said.

If successful, Stillwater would be the fourth city in the state to offer commercial air service. Commercial air service is available in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Lawton.

As part of the effort to determine use of a regional airport, Stillwater officials invited the Ponca City Development Authority, Ponca City Chamber of Commerce and surrounding communities to take part in the analysis, Navrkal said. Calls to the Ponca City chamber were not returned by press time.

“We feel we can draw (passengers) from Ponca City,” Navrkal said. “The response was positive and this helped us to move forward with development.”

Stillwater officials hired airline development consultant Mead and Hunt. The Phoenix-based company, which reported $78 million in revenues in 2013, has served as an aviation consultant for decades, according to the Mead website. The engineering and architectural firm offers services in markets ranging from aviation to water resources.

Research by Mead and Hunt revealed 13,885 airline tickets were purchased during 2013 by people living in the study area, Navrkal said.

The consultant examined ticket purchases from the 194,838 people living in 35 ZIP codes in and around Stillwater, Navrkal said.

Stillwater has a population of nearly 48,000, Johnson said.

“We believe we have substantial support,” Johnson said. “We are an aggressive and growing community.”

A flight from Stillwater to Dallas would be 55 minutes, compared to the hourlong drive to Tulsa or Oklahoma City to board a flight to a regional hub, Johnson said.

If a contract with an airline is signed, the airport would be able to submit marketing expenses against the grant, Navrkal said.

Oklahoma State University regularly employs charter flights to events, Johnson said.

Johnson said regional service to Dallas is a possibility.

Navrkal agreed there is support to ensure success once regional service is established.

Waste of money.

Speaking with some friends who are with American in other cities or directly involved with air service development, this grant is probably going no where. American is telling airports they must have proof of existing O&D traffic to start any service with a revenue guarantee. This means SWO is SOL. The only option is going to be to find a regional willing to do it At Risk (coughSkyWestcough) and go that route and code-share with AA or another carrier.

Speaking with some friends who are with American in other cities or directly involved with air service development, this grant is probably going no where. American is telling airports they must have proof of existing O&D traffic to start any service with a revenue guarantee. This means SWO is SOL. The only option is going to be to find a regional willing to do it At Risk (coughSkyWestcough) and go that route and code-share with AA or another carrier.

Won't happen. SkyWest is under the close watchful eye of shareholders at the moment, as they struggle to manage and digest the ExpressJet operation resulting in poor financial performance. SkyWest Inc. is not likely to allow SkyWest Airlines to push into very unknown territory flying at risk in Oklahoma. I think a SkyWest air maintenance base at OKC are more likely to happen, but not by much.

It might depend on the market. I do know SkyWest has signed on to do At Risk under the AA banner to some of the US hubs.

38 a day round trip is a tiny number. Without revenue guarantees it won't happen.

38 a day round trip is a tiny number. Without revenue guarantees it won't happen.

Oh I completely agree with you in regards to SWO. One of the markets I know they are talking about is an existing AA station, adding a second hub with around 40-60 ppd, and has around $1M in rev guarantees. AA however said they wouldn't do it since the O&D stats are based on a total market study and not DOT data...but OO said they would do it at risk.

For an update, still not close to a deal on an airline:
Stillwater Regional Airport prepares for the future - Stillwater News Press: News (http://www.stwnewspress.com/news/stillwater-regional-airport-prepares-for-the-future/article_edcdefac-30e0-11e5-b5b4-c7771426c1d7.html)

Should we be surprised? I mean I don't see how this ever had a chance of getting off the ground....haha pun.

Auburn, AL does not have air passenger service. Since Auburn, AL is somewhat bigger and growing faster than Stillwater, while not too far from a major airport in the state, Montgomery, how can Stillwater hope to get air passenger service?

Looks like this may actually happen.

BREAKING: Commercial flights coming to Stillwater in August - ocolly.com : News (http://www.ocolly.com/news/article_bcf1e332-cb7e-11e5-970f-cf7116c94399.html)

SWO is also an option now on AA.com, though no flights are listed yet.

heh

Reading the history of this thread is kind of amusing.

Stranger things have happened.

The airline industry is doing some experimentation with low oil prices.

As expensive as the ticket is, hopefully parking will be free at Stillwater airport.

Stranger things have happened.

The airline industry is doing some experimentation with low oil prices.

Probably prior air service failed, at least in part, because it only flew to Tulsa and/or Oklahoma City, instead of Dallas/Ft. Worth.

Hope it works out Stillwater but I have my doubts.

I hope this is not using Essential Air Service funding. That would be a colossal waste of money in this case.

I think it's going to work. dallas connects you to the world. It'll save a ton of time for people in the area. Plus there will be a decent amount of student traffic.

Does OU fly out of WR or do they use the Norman airport?

Looks like the funding for this most likely came from a grant SWO got in 2013: http://www.okctalk.com/other-communities/35144-stillwater-gets-grant-airline-service-dallas.html

The SCASD grant is what is helping with this. In total, SWO is forking out $4.4 million to get 2 daily flights to Dallas. Pretty crazy.

The SCASD grant is what is helping with this. In total, SWO is forking out $4.4 million to get 2 daily flights to Dallas. Pretty crazy.

Isn't OSU forking over $2 million? Anywah, what's crazy about it? Because there is just no possible way there is enough people in Stillwater who want to fly out of there to Dallas? And it's doesn't matter how low the price of oil gets?

Hope it works out Stillwater but I have my doubts.

I hope this is not using Essential Air Service funding. That would be a colossal waste of money in this case.

Why, if so? Because, due to so few people living in the Stillwater area, the only time of year to fill a passenger plane headed to or from Stillwater is for home OSU football weekends?

Reading the history of this thread is kind of amusing.

Yeah, I noticed hardly anybody thought it was a realistic goal.

Well good luck to all involved ... I'll definitely be checking fares out of SWO - can't be any worse than out of OKC!

Does OU fly out of WR or do they use the Norman airport?

I believe they travel by bus to WR and fly charters from there.

Yeah, I noticed hardly anybody thought it was a realistic goal.

If the goal was to get service to start, that seems to be accomplished (but experience dictates wait for the plane to actually park at the gate first). However, the longevity of this service is going to be in doubt. Regardless, it isn't costing AA anything to do this.

If the goal was to get service to start, that seems to be accomplished (but experience dictates wait for the plane to actually park at the gate first). However, the longevity of this service is going to be in doubt. Regardless, it isn't costing AA anything to do this.

OSU President Burns Hargis sure doesn't want to be in doubt. He said he expects the flights to be busy because of students. To quote him, “We have a lot of students that’ll use this flight pretty regularly. There are 2,000 international students here at the university, and we have over 2,600 students from North Texas. They’ll be thrilled that their parents can come up more often, maybe. We want to go around and announce this to Guthrie, to Ponca City, Enid and all of the great towns around our area because we want to load these planes up. I want it to be a tough ticket.”

Sen. Jim Inhofe said, "Not one thing has happened to the city and university that will pay off like this."

I hope Inhofe means the flights will attract industry to Stillwater, since it hasn't been able to attract much of it, other than ASCO Aerospace.

Not sure if enough students will have the money to buy tickets. Anyway, it will be interesting to see how empty the seats will be when OSU is not in session and how the first summer goes. Maybe OSU better think about hosting the type of conferences for the summer that attract people from out of state.

Students might not have the money but parents likely do. The study said there's demand for 135,000 passengers and with 100 departing arriving daily that's 36,000 arriving and departing. If that study was correct this won't be very difficult for Stillwater to support. Osu loves it because Stillwater doesn't feel as isolated. No longer is it a 4 hour drive or a flight to tul/okc +1 hour. Just a quick one hour flight from one of the largest most connected airports in the country.

Students might not have the money but parents likely do. The study said there's demand for 135,000 passengers and with 100 departing arriving daily that's 36,000 arriving and departing. If that study was correct this won't be very difficult for Stillwater to support. Osu loves it because Stillwater doesn't feel as isolated. No longer is it a 4 hour drive or a flight to tul/okc +1 hour. Just a quick one hour flight from one of the largest most connected airports in the country.

Ironic given how many people in OKC do the 3 hour drive in lieu of a 30 minute flight.

Ironic given how many people in OKC do the 3 hour drive in lieu of a 30 minute flight.

Context. The added option of flight makes Stillwater feel less isolated.

What the Sunday Stillwater News Press said about the jet service:

“A game-changer.” “A whole new league.”
“A connection to the world.”
We’re going to be hearing that one for a while.

A shared project between Oklahoma State University, American Airlines and Stillwater Regional Airport is sending planes from The Plains to Dallas/Fort Worth.

Not only does it mean we’ll be able to fly out of Stillwater to international destinations, it is a smaller but no less important connection to the many OSU alumni that reside in north Texas.

We must be grateful for the very large part Oklahoma State played in making this a reality. The university is not only a large financial catalyst, but will also be the reason for most of the tourism we can expect.

Athletic events, those too, could see better attendance, which in turn would mean more shopping and dining in Stillwater.

It also may be the deciding factor for someone to visit Stillwater, including dignitaries or industry. The folks here who work in tourism and economic development have said that often when they pitch Stillwater to outsiders they get the same question, “Do you have direct air service?” People will pay for convenience.

We can’t really see a downside to this new service. There may be some concern about price, but when you factor in additional travel and parking fees to surrounding airports, the value will be there.

Imagine not having to show up hours before your flight. It may be worth it just to have more of your day to yourself.

Now it will be our responsibility, as consumers, to use this service. The onus is on us to keep up the momentum and to keep this service in business. It fits into our mantra of “shop local.” Why do you always hear that? Why is that important? It’s the reason we can have nice things. If you like our revitalized downtown area, you have to patronize those businesses. The same goes for the airport. If you like all the things that come with having commercial flights in our city, you need to take advantage of the service.

Thanks to American Airlines for taking a chance on us. For Burns Hargis and OSU leadership for having the courage to “put our money where our mouth is.” For Stillwater Regional Airport director Gary Johnson for keeping this torch burning as long as he did. There are too many people to thank, politicians among them, so maybe let’s cut it off there and say, “Outstanding job, everybody.”

Hope it works out Stillwater but I have my doubts.

I hope this is not using Essential Air Service funding. That would be a colossal waste of money in this case.

No Oklahoma towns are on the eligibility list for use of that service as of Sept. 2015.

You can now search and book on American's web site....if you're willing to pay that $1519 to DFW round trip, I guess I can save some money if I leave on Sunday lol!
12204

^Looked those up yesterday and was surprised. I don't see anyone paying that...

You can now search and book on American's web site....if you're willing to pay that $1519 to DFW round trip, I guess I can save some money if I leave on Sunday lol!
12204

Save $900 and fly to NYC. Lol. Airline fares make 0 sense. 12205

It's also a completely unproven market so they have to experiment with fares until they discover the right fare mix.

I also have ran through various city pairs and see some very illogical connections to the SWO flights.

I bet they haven't run an optimization, which does affect fares. Usually once a month airlines will run a connection and fare optimization program which will go through and find errors and connections that aren't being displayed. They added this trip in what is likely between that program run.

Give it some time.

I also have ran through various city pairs and see some very illogical connections to the SWO flights.

I bet they haven't run an optimization, which does affect fares. Usually once a month airlines will run a connection and fare optimization program which will go through and find errors and connections that aren't being displayed. They added this trip in what is likely between that program run.

Give it some time.
That makes sense. We're still 6 months out from the first flights. Fares will change a bunch between now and then.

That makes sense. We're still 6 months out from the first flights. Fares will change a bunch between now and then.
I will add that if after a few weeks to a month they aren't adjusted, I will admit they are asking far more than what I would consider normal even for a small limited monopoly market.

Good news, I looked up prices again and for 08/23 (first day) RT it looks like fares are at $210.

Just two weeks away from flights to and from Stillwater and Dallas!

Just two weeks away from flights to and from Stillwater and Dallas!

It will help OSU sports in recruiting players from north Texas. Distance from Stillwater airport to Pickings stadium: 2 1/2 mi. Distance from OKC airport to Gaylord Stadium: 22 mi.

http://newsok.com/article/5513288

Curious how these fares play out. Only an hour or so from downtown OKC to SWO, and free parking. If the savings get up to $200/pp or so, my wife and I may be making the trek up there.

Curious how these fares play out. Only an hour or so from downtown OKC to SWO, and free parking. If the savings get up to $200/pp or so, my wife and I may be making the trek up there.

I looked at a random date next February going to several destinations. The roundtrip fare to DFW was $191.70 from SWO and $278.20 from OKC. The fare to LAX was $395.70 from SWO and $328.20 from OKC on nonstop flights. The fare to LGA was $365.70 from SWO and $417.20 from OKC. The fare to DCA was $382.20 from SWO and $373.20 from OKC. The bottom line is that you would just have to research your needed dates closely to see if there was a significant savings leaving from SWO.

I looked at a random date next February going to several destinations. The roundtrip fare to DFW was $191.70 from SWO and $278.20 from OKC.

This is great for a lot of students from the DFW area. I knew some that would drive down to OKC and fly home. Flying out of SWO for less and a big time savings is pretty awesome.

If I was in the north metro, Edmond/Guthrie area, I would defiantly consider flying out of SWO.

Pros:
easy drive
easy check-in
FREE Parking (as of now)
quick security checkpoints (Not that OKC is slow, longest I've had wait in line in OKC is probably about 8-10 minutes)
quick loading & unloading of the ERJ-145

Cons
Drive may be a little longer (and boring) compared to going down to OKC
Only a couple of departure/arrival times, limits flexibility on trips.

This is great for a lot of students from the DFW area. I knew some that would drive down to OKC and fly home. Flying out of SWO for less and a big time savings is pretty awesome.

I've talked to one of our coaches who say this is going to be huge for recruiting. Stillwater won't feel "isolated", they have no trouble selling small college town, they were struggling with the isolation.