It depends on what you're trying to do. If you're trying to get into Baltimore: BWI. If you're trying to get into DC: DCA. If you fly into BWI with the aim of getting into DC, you're going to have at least one hour of commute. If you fly into DCA, you'll have a 10 minute commute.

IAD is best if you are making an international flight connection. Not sure how well-timed the single OKC-IAD flight is for those connections though.

Hopefully TUL will see some LUV from Southwest to DC. Allegiant and soon Frontier currently offer the only nonstop service to the DC area to BWI since United dropped IAD a couple years ago. DCA or IAD on WN would be awesome.

IAD is best if you are making an international flight connection. Not sure how well-timed the single OKC-IAD flight is for those connections though.

Hopefully TUL will see some LUV from Southwest to DC. Allegiant and soon Frontier currently offer the only nonstop service to the DC area to BWI since United dropped IAD a couple years ago. DCA or IAD on WN would be awesome.

It is weird, since TUL has a lot of the same destinations offered. If OKC wants truly expanded destinations, not having TUL have the same offerings is a good thing. Like, OKC to PDX - we do not need TUL having that, as well, since it would dilute the market.

It is weird, since TUL has a lot of the same destinations offered. If OKC wants truly expanded destinations, not having TUL have the same offerings is a good thing. Like, OKC to PDX - we do not need TUL having that, as well, since it would dilute the market.
Unfortunately for Tulsa, I agree with you.

Unfortunately for Tulsa, I agree with you.

That definitely plays a role. Airlines might consider OKC/TUL as a combined market, with more service to OKC due to it being the larger market of the two. Off the top of my head OKC has SEA on Alaska, SFO, IAD & EWR on United, LAX, PHX & PHL on American and MDW, BNA*, BWI & DCA* on Southwest that do not exist from TUL. Both have seen similar new adds from Frontier but who knows how long those will last. Everything else is exactly the same though there are variations in frequency. The only TUL route that OKC doesn't have is MIA which is Saturday only on AA. I imagine Tulsa needs to grow larger to see more future service other than what is already in place, or have AA send more rev flights to the MX base (LAX, PHX, PHL, LGA).

Great News! So much more convenient

very good news! congrats OKC!

Keep 'em coming!

Now we need JFK or LGA, New Orleans, and Boston and I’ll be good to go!

Southwest to start direct flight from OKC to D.C.

By: Brian Brus The Journal Record May 31, 2018

OKLAHOMA CITY – Southwest Airlines will operate Oklahoma City’s first direct flight to Washington, D.C., this fall, Managing Director Juan Suarez said Thursday.

The new route to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, represented by the industry as DCA, will begin Nov. 4. Flights will leave Oklahoma City at 7:30 a.m. with return arrival at 8:45 p.m. Tickets are already available for purchase.

Among the factors Southwest considered were the overall economic health of the region and the businesses that are likely to be interested in the route, Suarez said. The flight is the result of new terminal slots opening at Ronald Reagan. No cities lost flights to Oklahoma City’s benefit, Suarez said.

Aside from the Oklahoma City flight, Southwest hasn’t made many other announcements about changes to its network. The company reported in April that it ended its first quarter with a fleet of 717 aircraft and has expectations to end 2018 with 752 aircraft. The company recently announced plans to serve Hawaii nonstop from four California cities.

Will Rogers spokeswoman Karen Carney said Southwest intends the Oklahoma City route to be in place for the long run, not merely a summer vacation setup. Southwest is the largest carrier at the airport with an average of 19 daily departures. The addition of Ronald Reagan brings the total number of Southwest cities served nonstop out of Oklahoma City to eight, including Chicago, Dallas and Las Vegas.

City Airports Director Mark Kranenburg said he, the city Airport Trust and representatives of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber have been lobbying with Southwest for a D.C. route for a long time.

Mayor David Holt said he knows firsthand how valuable the route will be to local businesspeople and those with government interests.

“We’re a capital city, and for that reason alone we have a lot of business in Washington, D.C.,” said Holt, who was a state legislator before winning an office at City Hall this year. “This makes all the sense in the world. We also obviously are an industrial center for the energy community and health and science.

“I went to D.C. for seven years, so I know that it’s nice to have a flight to BWI (Baltimore-Washington International Airport),” he said. “But when you fly into Washington Reagan, you’re 15 minutes from the White House.”

Chamber President Roy Williams said Southwest is not responsible alone for ensuring the success of the new route.

“We will actually be doing a promotional campaign both in Oklahoma City and in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “So we will be working both ends of the rope to raise awareness. There will be a very proactive marketing campaign.”

“I don’t know of a single route that we’ve received as much enthusiasm as has been expressed over this,” Williams said. “So many of our corporate community members, our organizations and other entities travel so much to D.C., and Reagan is by far the airport of choice.”

To the people in the know, what is usually the process of getting new flights to and from OKC from a local perspective?

Are there incentives? Space needed at the airport? Demo studies? Need?

Help me understand how something like this works and what the timeframe, usually, is for a decision that came out yesterday.

I suspect it's not a "follow this process and it will all work out" kind of thing because even if everything is perfect on our end the airline has to decide, yeah, they want to be in this market.

Was surprised to see AA use Gate 2 (Alaska) this morning. With their upcoming growth I wonder if they will need 4 gates in the future.

To the people in the know, what is usually the process of getting new flights to and from OKC from a local perspective?

Are there incentives? Space needed at the airport? Demo studies? Need?

Help me understand how something like this works and what the timeframe, usually, is for a decision that came out yesterday.

There are a lot of factors, but it's not just a "local" process that gets you new nonstop flights. It's what goes on at both ends of the spectrum that determines whether or not an airline is willing to invest in a new route or additional flights to an existing destination.

The city needs to show that there is demand for a nonstop flight to a certain destination, and sometimes, a particular airport (in this case, DCA which has been in demand for quite some time now). Sure, we already have nonstop service to BWI and IAD, the other two airports that serve the D.C. metro but they are of course far out from the main attractions and points of interest, especially for those who travel to/from D.C. for business. The airline needs to be convinced that investing in a route will indeed be profitable, because as they say, use it or lose it. If an airline does not make money on a route, chances are pretty high that route will get cancelled sooner rather than later. Especially these days when airlines have become a lot more cautious about flying with empty seats.

On the airline's side, even if the city shows there is demand a-plenty, it needs to ensure there are adequate takeoff/landing slots available. At OKC, no problem, we have three runways and more than adequate runway capacity at the moment. Gates are becoming a little tight now but we still have enough flexibility (see catch's post above as an example). The terminal is also being expanded with a construction project starting this year that will add four gates. At DCA of course things are not so straightforward. It's a well-known fact that airport is slot-constrained and has the "perimeter rule" in effect. That is 1,250 statute miles (so most flights cannot fly between DCA and airports farther than 1,250 statute miles), but several exemptions have been granted in recent years. Not sure if OKC will be an exemption or not because the straight-line distance is 1,150 miles from what I gathered on some distance calculators, but I'm guessing slot-wise it will be an exemption. That's just a guess though.

So it does take a while on both sides, especially if one or both airports are slot-constrained. Sometimes, cities with higher "buying power" so to speak get preference over cities with lesser population or importance. I believe someone asked the other day why cities like Knoxville or Charleston already have DCA service. That has to do with them being much closer to DCA than Oklahoma City, much like why many cities out east still don't have DFW service but we do (upto 9 times daily this summer).

So yes, it does take a while to hash out everything and even then, there's no guarantee you will get the nonstop flight/destination.

That's about the overall explanation I have based on my knowledge, as an aviation geek, but of course there are more factors "behind the scenes" that go into all of this.

Most of it happens in a Microsoft excel spreadsheet in a cubicle.

Usually the process starts from the top, interns or newer route planners are given a task such as “find 10 routes out of XYZ that you think we should serve nonstop”. They will sift through internal and external public data and put together a list of likely profitable routes. In a meeting with a managing director these routes will be put up for discussion and narrowed down to the best 3 or 4. This refining may mean skipping a market that does not fit the current strategy or require greater investment of aircraft time or obtaining more real estate. These will be chosen and presented to the VP of Network and he will give feedback and give the OK. If it involves opening a new station the process will go a lot higher and through more rigorous data.

Really, outside of cold hard cash or very generous incentives (Stillwater), you an lobby all you want to the airline network analysts but they are only enjoying your free lunch. It helps to have your city name in their mind though when they do happen to run across it in a spreadsheet. Every bit helps to push it the top of the list.

OKC-DCA was likely selected because their strategy was to fill the slots with cities that they are strong in (OKC) and could dominate the market TO DCA. If their strategy was to dominate markets FROM DCA we would have not shown up anywhere on a spreadsheet. So it ultimately depends on what the airline is trying to accomplish.

This is how United works anyway. A good friend of mine is a Managing Director of Long Range Network Planning, and I’ve also had a one-on-one lunch with the VP of Network (Brian Znotins) before he moved along to westJet. This is how it was explained to me by both of them.

Here’s a chance we could maybe get a hub

https://thepointsguy.com/news/the-us-could-see-the-return-of-a-popular-domestic-airline/

Here’s a chance we could maybe get a hub

https://thepointsguy.com/news/the-us-could-see-the-return-of-a-popular-domestic-airline/

Haha, what about that article suggested a hub in OKC? I would love a hub here as much as anyone, but I just don't see it ... Is all I'm saying.

Not sure if you missed it but the article does say that the hub would once again be MKE.

And of course, like no1cub17 said the chances of getting a hub at OKC are slim to none. Considering what we're getting though in recent months, I'd say we're doing quite well. If we do break the 4 million mark this year, that will bode even better for future increases in flights and destinations. A hub is very unlikely though.

^^^^^^^
Weird, I thought for a minute that might be the same brand (Air Midwest (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Midwest)) that I used to fly from Wichita to OKC (yes, this was a real thing) in the eighties to visit my family down here. My dad would buy me a ticket that cost about the same as a Greyhound ticket (actually at the time it was Trailways). I remember it being like $35 each way or something. Mom would take me to the airport in Wichita, flight would last less than an hour (turboprop if I recall) and Dad would pick me up at Will Rogers. I think we did this three or four times (plenty of bus trips too).

Not sure if you missed it but the article does say that the hub would once again be MKE.

And of course, like no1cub17 said the chances of getting a hub at OKC are slim to none. Considering what we're getting though in recent months, I'd say we're doing quite well. If we do break the 4 million mark this year, that will bode even better for future increases in flights and destinations. A hub is very unlikely though.
They used to have a hub in Kansas City. With some growth and time they’ll need more than just one.

Basically any hope at all for a hub will come from something like this. It’s still slim

^^^^^^^
Weird, I thought for a minute that might be the same brand (Air Midwest (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Midwest)) that I used to fly from Wichita to OKC (yes, this was a real thing) in the eighties to visit my family down here. My dad would buy me a ticket that cost about the same as a Greyhound ticket (actually at the time it was Trailways). I remember it being like $35 each way or something. Mom would take me to the airport in Wichita, flight would last less than an hour (turboprop if I recall) and Dad would pick me up at Will Rogers. I think we did this three or four times (plenty of bus trips too).

Yeah, Air Midwest was actually based in Wichita, where it had a hub, as well as a hub at the Kansas City airport. The airline also operated to/from Enid and Ponca City for a while. This was when jet fuel was a lot cheaper. Later on though, the airline was bought by Mesa and operated for various airlines as a feeder carrier for their respective umbrella brands (United Express, US Airways Express, Trans World Express, etc).

I grew up in Wisconsin so Midwest Express was all I flew growing up. They always had very comfortable seating and would serve complimentary warm chocolate chip cookies - which as a kid was all you could want in an airline. I believe in the later years they created a second hub in Kansas City.

^^^^^^^
Weird, I thought for a minute that might be the same brand (Air Midwest (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Midwest)) that I used to fly from Wichita to OKC (yes, this was a real thing) in the eighties to visit my family down here. My dad would buy me a ticket that cost about the same as a Greyhound ticket (actually at the time it was Trailways). I remember it being like $35 each way or something. Mom would take me to the airport in Wichita, flight would last less than an hour (turboprop if I recall) and Dad would pick me up at Will Rogers. I think we did this three or four times (plenty of bus trips too).

So I looked up their fleet and I got to say I would love this set up for regional flights around OKC. A 1-1 setup seems pretty nice, even if it is turboprop.

Quite a few DFW diversions this morning at OKC due to weather at DFW and DAL, mostly AA flights.

Not even just global connectivity, but if you want to fly to a city with fewer than 500-700k people, Southwest simply doesn’t fly there. The other carriers have a higher cost network because they are willing to fly into Rock Springs, WY, Gainesville, FL, and Santa Fe, NM.

Southwest doesn’t want to service those markets, and thus they consolidate all of their traffic to only the busiest of routes between the middle to large cities. They go for bulk traffic while the major network carriers are willing to chase the smallest of markets to the largest of international cities. They have higher costs because of the infrastructure tire required to do that. .

Apologies if this was already noted elsewhere, but this isn't 100% true. One example that immediately springs to mind is that WN flies to KMAF (Midland International) in west Texas. The entire Midland-Odessa CSA population was estimated at only 326,115 in 2015, and Midland itself only accounted for 132,950 residents. However, I'm not quite sure how much of an outlier that is.

Apologies if this was already noted elsewhere, but this isn't 100% true. One example that immediately springs to mind is that WN flies to KMAF (Midland International) in west Texas. The entire Midland-Odessa CSA population was estimated at only 326,115 in 2015, and Midland itself only accounted for 132,950 residents. However, I'm not quite sure how much of an outlier that is.

Midland was opened when SWA was an intra-Texas airline catering to oil executives. If that were not the case, Midland would not even be able to dream of even talking to Southwest today. They are only in the small Texas cities because they have a 40 year history at them. Outside of Texas how many small cities under 500k people can Southwest take you to?

Frontier will be ending SAN-OKC as of Aug 11. It was listed as seasonal, however it was mentioned as ending in a press release regarding new routes out of SAN. Usually a route that is seasonal does not get mentioned that it’s ending unless it’s not planned to resume.

Midland was opened when SWA was an intra-Texas airline catering to oil executives. If that were not the case, Midland would not even be able to dream of even talking to Southwest today. They are only in the small Texas cities because they have a 40 year history at them. Outside of Texas how many small cities under 500k people can Southwest take you to?
Portland ME. < 100K

Portland ME. < 100K

Portland Maine metro pop. 519k.

Next?

For those of us curious: AUS YTD (http://www.austintexas.gov/news/april-2018-passenger-cargo-traffic-austin-bergstrom). Pretty sure at this rate the yearly total for this year will crack 15 million. That might turn out to be a low estimate, as the busiest months are still not in yet, plus, AUS gets loads of passengers for the race and then of course you have the usual holiday traffic. Something tells me that east concourse expansion of the main terminal is not going to suffice.

For those of us curious: AUS YTD (http://www.austintexas.gov/news/april-2018-passenger-cargo-traffic-austin-bergstrom). Pretty sure at this rate the yearly total for this year will crack 15 million. That might turn out to be a low estimate, as the busiest months are still not in yet, plus, AUS gets loads of passengers for the race and then of course you have the usual holiday traffic. Something tells me that east concourse expansion of the main terminal is not going to suffice.
Have the Via Air flights from OKC started yet? If so, how are they doing?

So, OKC-San Diego does not look to be returning, huh? How were the loads on that route?

Portland Maine metro pop. 519k.

Next?

Here’s every US city southwest serves with its metro population.


Albuquerque, NM - ABQ 909k
Albany, NY - ALB 1.1M
Amarillo, TX - AMA 309k
Atlanta, GA - ATL 5.7M
Austin, TX - AUS 2.0 M
Hartford, CT - BDL 1.2 M
Birmingham, AL - BHM 1.1M
Nashville, TN - BNA 1.9M
Boise, ID - BOI 664k
Boston Logan, MA - BOS 4.6M
Buffalo/Niagara, NY - BUF 1.1M
Burbank, CA - BUR (LA MSA 13.1M)
Baltimore/Washington, MD - BWI 2.7M
Charleston, SC - CHS 744k
Cleveland, OH - CLE 2.1M
Charlotte, NC - CLT 2.5M
Columbus, OH - CMH 2.1M
Corpus Christi, TX - CRP 443k
Cincinnati, OH - CVG 2.1M
Dallas (Love Field), TX - DAL 6.4M
Washington (Reagan), DC - DCA 6.1M
Denver, CO - DEN 2.8M
Des Moines, IA - DSM 645k
Detroit, MI - DTW 4.3M
Panama City Beach, FL - ECP 168k
El Paso, TX - ELP 838k
New York/Newark, NJ - EWR 20.3M
Ft. Lauderdale, FL - FLL 5.7M
Flint, MI - FNT 415k
Spokane, WA - GEG 556k
Grand Rapids, MI - GRR 1.0M
Greenville/Spartanburg, SC - GSP 895k
Houston (Hobby), TX - HOU 6.3M
Harlingen, TX - HRL 406k
Washington (Dulles), DC - IAD 6.1M
Wichita, KS - ICT 644k
Indianapolis, IN - IND 2.0M
Long Island/Islip, NY - ISP 7.8M
Jacksonville, FL - JAX 1.5M
Las Vegas, NV - LAS 2.2M
Los Angeles, CA - LAX 13.1M
Lubbock, TX - LBB 314k
New York (LaGuardia), NY - LGA 20.3M
Long Beach, CA - LGB (LA MSA 13.1M)
Little Rock, AR - LIT 724k
Midland/Odessa, TX - MAF 295k
Kansas City, MO - MCI 2.1M
Orlando, FL - MCO 2.4M
Chicago (Midway), IL - MDW 9.5M
Memphis, TN - MEM 1.3M
Manchester, NH - MHT 406k
Milwaukee, WI - MKE 1.6M
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN - MSP 3.6M
New Orleans, LA - MSY 1.2M
Oakland, CA - OAK (Bay Area 7.7M)
Oklahoma City, OK - OKC 1.3M
Omaha, NE - OMA 924k
Ontario/LA, CA - ONT (LA MSA 13.1M)
Norfolk, VA - ORF 1.6M
West Palm Beach, FL - PBI 5.8M
Portland, OR - PDX 2.4M
Philadelphia, PA - PHL 6.1M
Phoenix, AZ - PHX 4.7M
Pittsburgh, PA - PIT 2.3M
Pensacola, FL - PNS 461k
Providence, RI - PVD 1.6M
Portland, ME - PWM 519k
Raleigh/Durham, NC - RDU 2.1M
Richmond, VA - RIC 1.2M
Reno/Tahoe, NV - RNO 425k
Rochester, NY - ROC 1.1M
Ft. Myers, FL - RSW 77k
San Diego, CA - SAN 3.3M
San Antonio, TX - SAT 2.4M
Louisville, KY - SDF 1.3M
Seattle/Tacoma, WA - SEA 3.7M
San Francisco, CA - SFO 7.7M
San Jose, CA - SJC (Bay Area 7.7M)
Salt Lake City, UT - SLC 1.1M
Sacramento, CA - SMF 2.1M
Orange County/Santa Ana, CA - SNA LA 13.1M
St. Louis, MO - STL 2.8M
Tampa, FL - TPA 3.0M
Tulsa, OK - TUL 961k
Tucson, AZ - TUS 1.0M

Every city under 500k fits the following profiles:

A) Texas city
B) in a highly populated region
C) has high volumes of leisure traffic

Are we done discussing the outlier cities to Southwest’s core strategy now?

Have the Via Air flights from OKC started yet? If so, how are they doing?

Yeah, the Via Air flights have begun. Initial loads posted by someone else earlier in this thread were around 20% or so. Catch did mention they will get better as the summer goes along.

Yeah, the Via Air flights have begun. Initial loads posted by someone else earlier in this thread were around 20% or so. Catch did mention they will get better as the summer goes along.
I thought I had seen that, but couldn't find the post. Thanks!

So, OKC-San Diego does not look to be returning, huh? How were the loads on that route?

That is disappointing ! But at least they are adding San Antonio the day after.

I really hope they stick with the OKC market

Every city under 500k fits the following profiles:

A) Texas city
B) in a highly populated region
C) has high volumes of leisure traffic

Are we done discussing the outlier cities to Southwest’s core strategy now?

:congrats:

Facts are awesome.

Is Via the only nonstop service we have to AUS?

Is Via the only nonstop service we have to AUS?

At the moment, yes. As a side note, Expressjet tried this route back in '07 and failed. One might recall Expressjet started its own, independent operation with ERJ-145s, and had a bunch of routes all across the southern and western states. If memory serves me, at OKC Expressjet launched service between OKC and AUS, ABQ, SAN, SMF, SAT and ONT. Neither lasted for long, and eventually the whole independent operation was shut down since it was losing money. Things have changed since then though and hopefully Via will have better results.

At the moment, yes. As a side note, Expressjet tried this route back in '07 and failed. One might recall Expressjet started its own, independent operation with ERJ-145s, and had a bunch of routes all across the southern and western states. If memory serves me, at OKC Expressjet launched service between OKC and AUS, ABQ, SAN, SMF, SAT and ONT. Neither lasted for long, and eventually the whole independent operation was shut down since it was losing money. Things have changed since then though and hopefully Via will have better results.

If expressjet launches in say I dk 2002 it might have been successful but 08

OKX-PHL off to a good start. The flight is booked full today (76/76) and tomorrow the first flight is booked about 75% and the second flight is full.

Only one flight today for scheduling purposes. (Don’t have to ferry a flight in last night)

OKX-PHL off to a good start. The flight is booked full today (76/76) and tomorrow the first flight is booked about 75% and the second flight is full.

Only one flight today for scheduling purposes. (Don’t have to ferry a flight in last night)

Have to think this route will do very well with its European/Northeast US connection implications.

Also noticed that UA is running 1x daily A319 on OKC-ORD! Pretty awesome as IIRC that last time OKC-ORD got true mainline service was when AA briefly flew S80s on the route, I want to say 2001-2002. Pretty sure after that it was exclusively RJs. Maybe this will convince AA to run at least a daily 737 to ORD as well! Wishful thinking I know...

Also noticed that UA is running 1x daily A319 on OKC-ORD! Pretty awesome as IIRC that last time OKC-ORD got true mainline service was when AA briefly flew S80s on the route, I want to say 2001-2002. Pretty sure after that it was exclusively RJs. Maybe this will convince AA to run at least a daily 737 to ORD as well! Wishful thinking I know...

Enjoy it while it lasts it’s only for June. Maybe a few days in a July.

Enjoy it while it lasts it’s only for June. Maybe a few days in a July.

Ah that stinks - figured it was a seasonal upgauge but didn't think it'd be for just a month!

Ah that stinks - figured it was a seasonal upgauge but didn't think it'd be for just a month!
Some weird schedule load. They added a ton of mainline throughout the US from ORD IAH and DEN. But most don’t stick. Almost like they are just trying to get some data if these markets can actually support some more capacity. I don’t think that’s the strategy but thats what it feels like.

It seems Amazon's free shipping is coming at a cost (https://airlinegeeks.com/2018/06/08/the-cost-of-free-shipping-cargo-pilots-claim-amazon-is-driving-down-air-cargo-industry-standards/) to air cargo pilots. This shouldn't be happening again, especially after mutltiple incidents/accidents involving pilot fatigue over the years.

Some weird schedule load. They added a ton of mainline throughout the US from ORD IAH and DEN. But most don’t stick. Almost like they are just trying to get some data if these markets can actually support some more capacity. I don’t think that’s the strategy but thats what it feels like.

Isn't F9 doing basically the same? Fly a route for a few months and if it doesn't work, can it quickly (OKC-SAN?). Sounds like something Scott Kirby would do. He would fit in much better at a ULCC IMO.

Isn't F9 doing basically the same? Fly a route for a few months and if it doesn't work, can it quickly (OKC-SAN?). Sounds like something Scott Kirby would do. He would fit in much better at a ULCC IMO.

Not really the same. This is just tinkering with capacity on well established routes. Frontier is using a dartboard, drunk sometimes.

It seems Amazon's free shipping is coming at a cost (https://airlinegeeks.com/2018/06/08/the-cost-of-free-shipping-cargo-pilots-claim-amazon-is-driving-down-air-cargo-industry-standards/) to air cargo pilots. This shouldn't be happening again, especially after mutltiple incidents/accidents involving pilot fatigue over the years.

These topics always come up around contract time. While I’m not a pilot, our contract is nearing the negotiating stages (next year) and the rhetoric is already pumping from the company on how costs are up (true) and from the union on how staffing is down but workload is increasing (true) and safety is at risk (eh).

Both sides just try to set the tone for the negotiation. Company wants to do what’s best for the company and the union wants to increase opportunity for members. Both say silly things leading into these.

Hmm, interesting . Pretty sure Atlas' pilots are not negotiating at the moment for a new contract (from what I can gather). The article does mention however that many pilots are leaving Atlas for other carriers and that many of the new pilots jump ship, making a pilot shortage that much worse. I see what you're saying though. The article did say that while everything is within the new safety limits, it is just barely. If some of the concerns are true however, this page (https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/charter/108225-atlas-air-pilot-negotiations-8.html) does raise some eyebrows.

Early this morning, between 1:00am and 1:30am what sounded like a small jet flew over my house 3 times in about 10 minute increments. Any idea what this was? Touch and goes from Tinker? I guess it could have been 3 separate planes, but I doubt it. The sound was much quieter than the typical commercial jet. Those jets usually fly south a little further after take off to avoid the highly populated areas before turning east. Needless to say it was irritating.

Early this morning, between 1:00am and 1:30am what sounded like a small jet flew over my house 3 times in about 10 minute increments. Any idea what this was? Touch and goes from Tinker? I guess it could have been 3 separate planes, but I doubt it. The sound was much quieter than the typical commercial jet. Those jets usually fly south a little further after take off to avoid the highly populated areas before turning east. Needless to say it was irritating.

Where do you live?

I see that a Southwest flight landed at WRWA at 12:46 am (delayed 18 minutes from scheduled), and another Southwest at 1:58 am (delayed 1 hr, 25 minutes)...

SW 119th and May. I checked the time when the first plane flew over as it seemed odd, it was straight up 1:00....again about 1:15 and 1:30.

SW 119th and May. I checked the time when the first plane flew over as it seemed odd, it was straight up 1:00....again about 1:15 and 1:30.

Last Saturday, two F-15/16's (some sort of fighter jet, not a big plane guy) flew over Lake Hefner when I was out there around 4:45 p.m. Maybe some sort of test flights are happening out of Tinker...?

https://flyokc.com/sites/default/files/News/May2018Enplanement.pdf

10% gain for May. Up 12% on the year.

ViaAir 30% load factor.

https://flyokc.com/sites/default/files/News/May2018Enplanement.pdf

10% gain for May. Up 12% on the year.

ViaAir 30% load factor.

Wasn’t last month 25%? Progress? I guess?

Wasn’t last month 25%? Progress? I guess?

I’m curious as to their pricing. I’d think since they see consistent low LF, why aren’t they selling 10 seats at a very low fare to drum up interest? They could be running 55% or so if they did that. Your variable costs generally increase as load factor goes up (higher weight more fuel burn), but your fixed costs (lease/financingin aircraft payments, rent, crew, etc.) are spread out at a higher load factor. Recovering some of those fixed costs on some $49 one way tickets wouldn’t be a bad idea. Current prices are $175 one way I think.

https://flyokc.com/sites/default/files/News/May2018Enplanement.pdf

10% gain for May. Up 12% on the year.

ViaAir 30% load factor.

Fantastic passenger growth for AA. I'd be interested in knowing what their LF's are.

I’m curious as to their pricing. I’d think since they see consistent low LF, why aren’t they selling 10 seats at a very low fare to drum up interest? They could be running 55% or so if they did that. Your variable costs generally increase as load factor goes up (higher weight more fuel burn), but your fixed costs (lease/financingin aircraft payments, rent, crew, etc.) are spread out at a higher load factor. Recovering some of those fixed costs on some $49 one way tickets wouldn’t be a bad idea. Current prices are $175 one way I think.

Agreed. $175 isn’t too expensive but it’s not cheap either.

Not sure if I mentioned this or not, but the seasonal Sunday Orlando flight will continue into this new Southwest schedule that was announced recently. I was curious if they would trade Orlando for Nashville but it appears they will be running both on Sundays still. I am hopeful they can extend either one to daily.