Allegiant is adding a twice weekly direct to destin Florida.

Allegiant Air announces new nonstop flights from OKC | News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOKH (http://okcfox.com/news/local/allegiant-air-announces-new-nonstop-flights-from-okc?utm_content=buffera204d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer)

Awesome

The other flights must be doing well enough to warrant giving this route a try. I think it will be a hit. This part of Florida hasn't been tried from this market as a non-stop that I know of. Very cool.

Tulsa is getting non-stop to New Orleans on Allegiant.

Press Release | Investor Relations | Allegiant Air (http://ir.allegiantair.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=197578&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2146645)

Tulsa is getting non-stop to New Orleans on Allegiant.

Press Release | Investor Relations | Allegiant Air (http://ir.allegiantair.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=197578&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2146645)

Clearly if an airline thought it would work they'd do it, but I really wish OKC could get flights to New Orleans and one of either San Antonio/Austin.

Clearly if an airline thought it would work they'd do it, but I really wish OKC could get flights to New Orleans and one of either San Antonio/Austin.

I could see Allegiant serving one or both AUS or SAT. Southwest would make sense but I think the 737 is just too big a plane for those routes. I am surprised there isn't a nonstop on Southwest to Kansas City, I know it used to be served and there are a lot of connections there.

Clearly if an airline thought it would work they'd do it, but I really wish OKC could get flights to New Orleans and one of either San Antonio/Austin.
I think they're going to do opposites in cities. Draw from Tulsa for the destin flight, draw from okc for the NOLA flights.

Either way everyone is always clamoring for more directs and we appear to be slowly but surely getting them.

I'd much prefer New Orleans to Destin. Totally agree on Austin/San Antonio.

Tulsa is getting non-stop to New Orleans on Allegiant.

Press Release | Investor Relations | Allegiant Air (http://ir.allegiantair.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=197578&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2146645)

uuuuggggghhhhhhhh. that is the only city I wish we had direct to. Most of my extended family lives there, as well as my beloved Saints.

The other flights must be doing well enough to warrant giving this route a try. I think it will be a hit. This part of Florida hasn't been tried from this market as a non-stop that I know of. Very cool.

The Florida panhandle is a popular beach destination for Oklahoman's. Destin, Seaside, Watercolr, Rosemary Beach. This turns a long, indirect 14 hour drive into a 2.5 hour flight without having to connect in DFW or ATL.

The Florida panhandle is a popular beach destination for Oklahoman's. Destin, Seaside, Watercolr, Rosemary Beach. This turns a long, indirect 14 hour drive into a 2.5 hour flight without having to connect in DFW or ATL.

Great prices. Leaving 6/9 return 6/12 overhead bag and emergency exit row seats $309 for 2 people.

Has anyone every flown them before? I've heard nightmare stories (i.e. long delays (5+ hrs.) and a ton of added fees (which I'm sure was partly to do with lack of research)) from friends who flew them in the past year.

Has anyone every flown them before? I've heard nightmare stories (i.e. long delays (5+ hrs.) and a ton of added fees (which I'm sure was partly to do with lack of research)) from friends who flew them in the past year.

Flew them for the first time last May to Orlando-Sanford. The only downsides were the distance from the WDW-side of the Orlando area (Sanford is about 45-60 min away from there) and the departure time coming home. The flight home to OKC was like the first one of the day out of Sanford, it left at like 6:25 AM or something horrible, so having to leave the Disney area an hour ahead of needing to be there 90 minutes ahead of the flight made for a pretty unpleasant morning with two little ones. So next time I would probably fly into Orlando Int'l on another carrier. But to Destin, I would totally fly Allegiant. They were cheap and if you read the rules very carefully about the extra fees, there are no surprises.

Has anyone every flown them before? I've heard nightmare stories (i.e. long delays (5+ hrs.) and a ton of added fees (which I'm sure was partly to do with lack of research)) from friends who flew them in the past year.

Pretty much just like Spirit. They have cheap cheap base fares and then charge fees and try to sell you tons of extras, but if you plan well, you will still save tons of money. Last time I flew with them, there was only one flight a day and only open the check-in counter like 2 hours or so before the flight, so the check-in lines were a bit long, but still pretty efficient.

About delays, I think it's a pretty negligible risk when you're talking about direct flights. I have had 5 hour delays with major carriers, and I find most airlines to be pretty stingy with compensation these days.

I'm personally very excited about the Destin flights. My wife's biggest lament about moving to OKC is the proximity to the ocean, and this definitely beats a 14 hour drive. Also, though I wish New Orleans was from OKC, it's still better than a 12 hour drive.

I know Allegiant typically goes in secondary airports in major cities but this is just too much! I don't even know what to think of this hanger/terminal they are operating out of in Concord, NC in this youtube video. So crazy how much they are trying to save money!


https://youtu.be/_Ppgm0u9m8M?t=2m17s

I know Allegiant typically goes in secondary airports in major cities but this is just too much! I don't even know what to think of this hanger/terminal they are operating out of in Concord, NC in this youtube video. So crazy how much they are trying to save money!


https://youtu.be/_Ppgm0u9m8M?t=2m17s

Hey, if that works, go for it! I think that's great. And people don't care as long as it's cheap and safe. Think about the opportunities if they were to expand to more operations like this! And as they move more into an A320 fleet, the mechanical delays they rack up with the old SAS MD80s might be reduced. Although I loved flying the Mad Dog to SFB from OKC last year...a blast from the past. Probably would have been less nostalgic though had they're been mechanical delays!

Fun little article on past airlines in Oklahoma

Five forgotten airlines that once served Oklahoma | News OK (http://newsok.com/five-forgotten-airlines-that-once-served-oklahoma/article/5485130)

Imagine if these cities were still served with commercial air.
12371

Looks like most of the NCAA charters this week are being provided by Allegiant. Are they the most used charter for the NCAA tournament?

I've got a complaint here - We just got back from a vacation to Asia. Hong Kong, Taipei Taiwan and Tokyo.
We flew back this past Sunday evening around 6:45 pm. I went to the restroom as soon as I got off the plane from gate 5. The urinals were entire filth, urine all around the floor under everyone of them. The waste container for paper towels was overflowing onto the floor. Absolute disgust.
I visited all three airport bathrooms in the cities listed above and they were literally spic and span. With bathroom attendants cleaning constantly.

WRWA bathrooms was/ is a total embarrassment as far as cleanliness goes.

Why is this so ?

I've got a complaint here - We just got back from a vacation to Asia. Hong Kong, Taipei Taiwan and Tokyo.
We flew back this past Sunday evening around 6:45 pm. I went to the restroom as soon as I got off the plane from gate 5. The urinals were entire filth, urine all around the floor under everyone of them. The waste container for paper towels was overflowing onto the floor. Absolute disgust.
I visited all three airport bathrooms in the cities listed above and they were literally spic and span. With bathroom attendants cleaning constantly.

WRWA bathrooms was/ is a total embarrassment as far as cleanliness goes.

Why is this so ?

No excuses, Karen and I are addressing similar complaints from this weekend with our janitorial contractor, ISS. They did a great job through the holidays, but have seemed to falter a bit over spring break. Not sure if they are having personnel issues or if they just had too many employees off for spring break themselves. We're sorry about the mess though and it is being addressed.

No excuses, Karen and I are addressing similar complaints from this weekend with our janitorial contractor, ISS. They did a great job through the holidays, but have seemed to falter a bit over spring break. Not sure if they are having personnel issues or if they just had too many employees off for spring break themselves. We're sorry about the mess though and it is being addressed.

Thanks Josh. I met you earlier this year when the Mrs and I signed up for TSAPre. I'm sure you all will get it taken care of.

It was nice meeting you. Thanks for getting registered with PreCheck. Just FYI, the bidding process just closed for a new janitorial contract. Not sure who the lowest bidder is yet but a new contract should be coming to an Airport Trust meeting in the near future.

Great month, looks like we finally, hopefully, bottomed out and can start growing again.

http://www.flyokc.com/statistics/February2016Enplanement.pdf

Delta just killing it. Allegiant + Alaska is offsetting the loss off Frontier.

Those of you in the know, what do you think the chances of us getting a daily flight to PHL on AA/AE are? Looking at the AA route map, PHL has a lot more Europe connections than ORD, DFW, or CLT. Maybe not quite the number of JFK, but JFK is such a problem, I think I would rather have a connection to PHL than JFK on AA because of how bad JFK is. You get connections to places like Amsterdam, Athens, Lisbon, Glasgow, Brussels, Venice, etc. Sure, you can get to most these places one-stop on Delta through Atlanta, but it would be nice to have an AA option for those of us who prefer AA to Delta.

Those of you in the know, what do you think the chances of us getting a daily flight to PHL on AA/AE are? Looking at the AA route map, PHL has a lot more Europe connections than ORD, DFW, or CLT. Maybe not quite the number of JFK, but JFK is such a problem, I think I would rather have a connection to PHL than JFK on AA because of how bad JFK is. You get connections to places like Amsterdam, Athens, Lisbon, Glasgow, Brussels, Venice, etc. Sure, you can get to most these places one-stop on Delta through Atlanta, but it would be nice to have an AA option for those of us who prefer AA to Delta.

I'm just an AA FF not an insider - but I'm sure AA has crunched the numbers and decided (at least for now) that we don't have the market for it. Sure PHL has a lot more flights to the secondary Euro destinations - but right now via ORD, DFW, CLT, or LAX - you can get pretty much anywhere. Unfortunately for the moment OKC is one of those places where we're going to have to double-connect to get to secondary destinations. Just MHO.

March down just a touch.

http://www.flyokc.com/statistics/March2016Enplanement.pdf

United lost 8.98% year over year. I think they are down nationally though? Delta flat, SWA flat, American with a decline of 3.95%

One thing that likely contributed to the big February numbers was the extra day, still up .63% for the year though.

Would it be possible for OKC to get a transatlantic flight?


transatlantic flights@ (Adds detail)

OSLO, April 18 (Reuters) - Norwegian Air Shuttle will need to order more long-haul planes, with Boeing's Dreamliners the likeliest option, once its Irish subsidiary wins U.S. approval to fly transatlantic routes, its CEO told Reuters on Monday.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said on Friday it intended to grant flying rights to Norwegian Air's Irish subsidiary, potentially paving the way for cheaper fares on transatlantic flights.

Norwegian Air, Europe's third-largest budget airline by passenger numbers after Ryanair and EasyJet, can afford to offer cheaper airfares than traditional carriers because its operating costs are low.

"With this permission from the U.S. Department of Transportation, we can start flying people from Africa and Asia via Europe to the U.S. We are going to need more long-haul planes than we have ordered today," Norwegian Air's CEO Bjoern Kjos said in an interview.

The airline has ordered $18.5 billion worth of planes from Boeing so far, including 29 Dreamliners in October, the largest single order ever for Boeing from a European airline.

"Dreamliners are the most likely option," said Kjos, without specifying how many more planes would be needed. "We are going to create jobs in the U.S. This permit allows us to look at more planes from Boeing."

Friday's decision was controversial, with some unions arguing that it failed to protect American workers. One U.S. union argued that Irish taxes and laws gave Norwegian Air an "enormous competitive advantage over U.S. airlines."

Kjos, however, said the decision would lead to Norwegian Air creating jobs in the United States and that it would use American and European crew on transatlantic flights, not lower-paid Asian crews.

The former fighter pilot said Norwegian Air would employ close to 500 workers in the United States this year and currently employs 100,000 people there indirectly, citing figures from U.S. authorities.

"We have crew bases in Fort Lauderdale and New York now but we fly more to Los Angeles, so it would be natural to have one there too," he said. "Oakland are Boston are also an option."

Norwegian is already flying to New York and other U.S. cities but its ability to expand globally has been limited to the air rights that Norway has negotiated. Its Irish subsidiary has greater scope because Ireland is a member of the EU.

U.S. rival Delta Air Lines was critical last week of plans to allow the likes of Norwegian to offer more transatlantic flights, saying services would exceed customer demand and threatened to reduce fares to Europe.

Kjos denied the claim, arguing that Norwegian's business model encouraged new customers to fly transatlantic, who until now would not fly because of perceived high prices.

"It is too expensive to go to the U.S. so they go to Spain instead," said Kjos. "More competition means more volumes (of passengers) ... Tourism is where we see the highest growth."

The airline is eyeing direct transatlantic routes from U.S. cities that do not currently have them, such as Memphis and New Orleans, Kjos said.

INTERVIEW-UPDATE 1-Norwegian Air eyes more Boeing Dreamliners for new transatlantic flights (http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/18/reuters-america-interview-update-1-norwegian-air-eyes-more-boeing-dreamliners-for-new-transatlantic-flights.html)

They mention Memphis which would seem to have a comparable airport to OKC's but maybe not. I honestly don't know.

Would it be possible for OKC to get a transatlantic flight?



They mention Memphis which would seem to have a comparable airport to OKC's but maybe not. I honestly don't know.

I think its highly doubtful. KMEM has a huge asset, being the FedEx Express hub. There is a greater need for transatlantic travel from there. I couldn't see anyone getting the load factors needed out of OKC to support the service.

I would think if Memphis is in the discussion OKC has a chance. But I doubt it will happen for awhile when there are larger cities like Kansas City, St Louis, San Antonio, Nashville, Columbus and Indianapolis without transatlantic service. Of those I would put St Louis and Nashville up there as most likely candidates along with New Orleans which was mentioned in the article.

Memphis at one time had a nonstop flight to Amsterdam when it was a Northwest hub. After the Delta merger they downsized and now just fly to the other Delta hubs. St Louis also had a nonstop flight to London Gatwick when it was a TWA hub in the 90's. I flew OKC-STL-LGW on TWA once in 1996.

Would it be possible for OKC to get a transatlantic flight?



They mention Memphis which would seem to have a comparable airport to OKC's but maybe not. I honestly don't know.

I would say not a chance. If we can't even attract the domestic ULCCs like F9 or NK, why would Norwegian even sniff OKC. Much lower hanging fruit out there. Unless we build four 30-lane freeways all over downtown ... Kidding, kind of.

Surprised no discussion on the new service coming out of Stillwater? Will probably affect OKC/Tulsa air counts since its AA service.

Stillwater Regional Airport (http://flystillwaterok.com/)

That discussion has mostly been in the two threads about that topic...

http://www.okctalk.com/transportation/38046-stillwater-regional-airport-still-pursuing-commercial-air-service.html

http://www.okctalk.com/suburban-other-ok-communities/41805-coming-soon-flights-stillwater.html

I would say not a chance. If we can't even attract the domestic ULCCs like F9 or NK, why would Norwegian even sniff OKC. Much lower hanging fruit out there. Unless we build four 30-lane freeways all over downtown ... Kidding, kind of.

I'm hoping once the White Water center and the AICC as well as getting other tourist venues maybe tourism will pick up a little in OKC.

Tourism is already a very big business in Oklahoma City; it's just that it is invisible to most residents. Right now it centers mostly around regional tourism and Route 66 tourism (especially during the summer months).

I say it is mostly invisible because visitors generally aren't immediately recognizable as such, so they tend to blend in. They aren't wearing cameras around their necks, Bermuda shorts and black socks with sandals. But the industry is estimated to be the third largest in the state, and employs tens of thousands in central Oklahoma alone.

When locals are in a place that is known to host visitors - places like the OKC National Memorial, the Cowboy Museum, Bricktown, etc. - they are likely to assume everyone there is a visitor. But when they see throngs of people in a place they don't view/understand as a draw to visitors - places like Plaza District, Midtown/Bleu Garten, shops along Automobile Alley, the zoo, White Water Bay - they assume everyone is local.

I can assure you that this isn't the case. The CVB markets these places aggressively, and visitors are walking among you, whether you believe it to be the case or not.

Was skimming through UAL flight schedules (because don't we all) and saw that UAL is sending some 737-800's from DEN down here in the Fall to replace some of the A-319/320's .

When was the last time we had a 737-800 from Denver? I can't recall ever seeing this equipment type on the route in a LONG time!

Anyone know?

Posting this from a new thread... http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2016/05/19/southwest-adds-five-new-nonstop-routes/84593718/

"Southwest also announced the discontinuation of nonstop service on four routes, though only one was intended to be a "permanent" discontinuation, according to Bill Owen, Southwest's Lead Planner, Network Planning Technology. The other three are suspensions of seasonal routes.

- Atlanta-Oklahoma City (permanent discontinuation)"

I think it makes sense from Southwest's perspective, I would have guessed that the load factor was relatively low. But it does hurt a bit because it may impact Delta pricing?

I don't see how it wouldn't hurt Delta pricing. No competition so they can basically do what they want. What was the frequency on the WN OKC-ATL flight?

Posting this from a new thread... http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2016/05/19/southwest-adds-five-new-nonstop-routes/84593718/

"Southwest also announced the discontinuation of nonstop service on four routes, though only one was intended to be a "permanent" discontinuation, according to Bill Owen, Southwest's Lead Planner, Network Planning Technology. The other three are suspensions of seasonal routes.

- Atlanta-Oklahoma City (permanent discontinuation)"

I think it makes sense from Southwest's perspective, I would have guessed that the load factor was relatively low. But it does hurt a bit because it may impact Delta pricing?

I flew SWA last July to Cancun and back and their was a butt in every seat. But it was the summer time.

I don't see how it wouldn't hurt Delta pricing. No competition so they can basically do what they want. What was the frequency on the WN OKC-ATL flight?

It won't hurt Delta, it might hurt consumers, is what I meant. Delta might raise a bit now.

I flew SWA last July to Cancun and back and their was a butt in every seat. But it was the summer time.

On which flights to/from Cancun? Through ATL? I'd imagine the number of people connecting on Southwest through ATL was much higher than the number just flying to ATL. Southwest can route people through Dallas or Houston instead of ATL...

It won't hurt Delta, it might hurt consumers, is what I meant. Delta might raise a bit now.

Yeah, sorry my wording could have been better. I was agreeing. I don't see Delta keeping their prices down.

http://www.flyokc.com/statistics/April2016Enplanement.pdf

Decent

On which flights to/from Cancun? Through ATL? I'd imagine the number of people connecting on Southwest through ATL was much higher than the number just flying to ATL. Southwest can route people through Dallas or Houston instead of ATL...

Yes, thru ATL. Those planes were full from OKC to ATL and ATL to OKC on the way back. I think it was the Jet Blue or whoever they had bought routes to CUN.?

http://www.flyokc.com/statistics/April2016Enplanement.pdf

Decent

Why is AA down so much? Did the cut capacity last year? United isn't down as much, but same question... United to Houston not as busy due to oil & gas business?

Why is AA down so much? Did the cut capacity last year? United isn't down as much, but same question... United to Houston not as busy due to oil & gas business?

I was wondering the same about AA. That's a significant drop and I haven't seen them cut any flights.

I was wondering the same about AA. That's a significant drop and I haven't seen them cut any flights.

Frequencies are pretty much the same, but they have downgauged a bit. I'm too lazy to look at the exact changes, but anedotally several of the formerly S80 flights to DFW are now CR7/CR9 which have half the seats, if that. Fares are still about the same from what I see - so AA is probably OK with the lower capacity is my guess.

http://www.flyokc.com/statistics/May2016Enplanement.pdf

http://www.flyokc.com/statistics/May2016Enplanement.pdf

Yay growth!

Flew to Europe via CLT for a trip over the last few weeks. I like the route, as it breaks up the longer flights (going through DFW), but man they need to get their act together in Charlotte. It was a cluster trying to get out both times and we're delayed hours for petty reasons. Flying to Rome the weather kept changing and the control tower kept sending the planes to different runways to take off and caused a massive traffic jam. Then coming back to OKC it was an hour wait for a guy with a dustbuster to come and clean our plane out. SMH

The airlines are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

People want clean airplanes, and when the process fails and the cleaning doesn't show up -- people complain about the dirty plane. If they hold the plane to clean it up, people complain about the delay.

Flew to Europe via CLT for a trip over the last few weeks. I like the route, as it breaks up the longer flights (going through DFW), but man they need to get their act together in Charlotte. It was a cluster trying to get out both times and we're delayed hours for petty reasons. Flying to Rome the weather kept changing and the control tower kept sending the planes to different runways to take off and caused a massive traffic jam. Then coming back to OKC it was an hour wait for a guy with a dustbuster to come and clean our plane out. SMH

Gonna disagree with the first part. Far prefer going via DFW especially if our upgrades clear!

So if the weather kept changing, how's that AA's fault? Bad weather ops are always tricky. Granted AA probably does it worse than most, but sounds like not totally their fault.

And for the last bit - I'm guessing probably a bit more than a "dustbuster" issue. Maybe a seat or two had become unusable - was it a full flight? Just speculating, but I'm sure that passenger or two would be more than happy to get home an hour late rather than get bumped off the flight. Total speculation on my part.

It was frustrating because they wouldn't tell us what the delay was, then a little van shows up and a guy gets out with a red dust buster, in there for 3 min, comes out and then we get to start boarding. It didn't bother me at all but it really didn't look like he put it to good use so that's why it was frustrating.

As for the weather it happens. Never said it was AA fault. We had a good look from the terminal at the runway and planes, through the on and off weather, kept taking off south. Then we get in our plane all they start sending planes back and forth to take off from different directions. Almost 2 hours taxing until we took off for a 9 hour flight. Was ready to get off when we landed.

Looks like the AA OKC-DFW route will finally begin upgrading to 738s this fall:

Monday, Sep 19
AA 2184
07:00 am
OKC Oklahoma City Will Rogers World|Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
08:03 am
DFW Dallas Fort Worth International|Dallas/ Fort Worth, Texas
Aircraft:
738

What are they now? MD-80?

What are they now? MD-80?

Yep! Looks like they are starting to replace the MD's on our route. There aren't many Mad Dogs are left in the fleet. We are coming to the end of an era.

Looks like the AA OKC-DFW route will finally begin upgrading to 738s this fall:

Monday, Sep 19
AA 2184
07:00 am
OKC Oklahoma City Will Rogers World|Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
08:03 am
DFW Dallas Fort Worth International|Dallas/ Fort Worth, Texas
Aircraft:
738

It looks like it doesn't last long. If you get into October on the flight schedules, we go back to MD80's.

I noticed that the big schedule/flight status board that was up high on the wall in front of TSA is no longer there. I was kinda bummed to see it gone. I always liked seeing the long list of flights.

Anyone know if there will be a new one installed or is it gone for good?

June is out.

http://www.flyokc.com/statistics/June2016Enplanement.pdf

Up again positive for the year.

Looks like all due to Allegiant.

Some Allegiant but also the added day in February helped pumped up the stats some...

Speaking of Allegiant, does anyone have any personal experience flying with Allegiant, especially from OKC/TUL? I've read the horror stories and terrible reviews online, but I know that most people who have a good or okay experience won't take the time to write a review . I'm very tempted to try them to go to New Orleans, I'm always checking their website and constantly seeing round trip fares from TUL for only $66. I know I'll have to pay for luggage, choosing my seat, etc, but I can still get a round trip flight for around $100-$125, which is super cheap considering the other airlines are usually around $350-$400 round trip to New Orleans.

I would not personally ever step on an Allegiant flight, and I would make every effort to prevent a family member or friend from boarding one also.

Their maintenance and operation practices are a 150-person fatal accident waiting to happen.