Not OKC related but saw a rumor that AA is going to start TUL-PHL flights as well. Really suggests that 1) OKC-PHL is doing well and 2) the PHL hub is far more profitable than some armchair CEOs thought it would be (on a.net anyway). Unless this is coming with a reduction to 1x/day for OKC-PHL which I have not seen mentioned anywhere...

Not OKC related but saw a rumor that AA is going to start TUL-PHL flights as well. Really suggests that 1) OKC-PHL is doing well and 2) the PHL hub is far more profitable than some armchair CEOs thought it would be (on a.net anyway). Unless this is coming with a reduction to 1x/day for OKC-PHL which I have not seen mentioned anywhere...

Means more, to me, that Tulsa is trying a lot harder to market their airport. OKC keeps getting more to already established locales. But where are the new destinations? Has the OKC to Nashville flight even started? OKC will have no more advantages over TUL if they don't get more new destinations.

Means more, to me, that Tulsa is trying a lot harder to market their airport. OKC keeps getting more to already established locales. But where are the new destinations? Has the OKC to Nashville flight even started? OKC will have no more advantages over TUL if they don't get more new destinations.

Not sure what you mean? TUL-PHL isn't exactly an earth-shattering route. A good add for TUL, but I doubt TUL had to market connecting TUL to one of AA's largest hubs in PHL. That's not terribly risky for AA.

OKC isn't doing too badly in terms of being connected to most legacy carrier's hubs. Obviously there are holes (LGA, MIA, etc), but overall OKC is doing decently well I'd say. AA adding OKC-PHL at 2x/daily on E75s (AA's most comfortable ride IMO) is a pretty solid add.

The only carrier I could see adding OKC-BNA would be WN, not any of the legacies.

Not sure what you mean? TUL-PHL isn't exactly an earth-shattering route. A good add for TUL, but I doubt TUL had to market connecting TUL to one of AA's largest hubs in PHL. That's not terribly risky for AA.

OKC isn't doing too badly in terms of being connected to most legacy carrier's hubs. Obviously there are holes (LGA, MIA, etc), but overall OKC is doing decently well I'd say. AA adding OKC-PHL at 2x/daily on E75s (AA's most comfortable ride IMO) is a pretty solid add.

The only carrier I could see adding OKC-BNA would be WN, not any of the legacies.

TUL has San Jose, as well.

I thought OKC to BNA was already announced to begin last year. A flight to NYC, BOS, as well as PDX would be a killer year. I just think the airports in this state cannibalize themselves by offering all of the same destinations.

Means more, to me, that Tulsa is trying a lot harder to market their airport. OKC keeps getting more to already established locales. But where are the new destinations? Has the OKC to Nashville flight even started? OKC will have no more advantages over TUL if they don't get more new destinations.

Sure it will, there will be more options in terms of time of day, connections, etc. Not to mention the built-in advantage of a larger population base from which to draw passengers.

TUL has San Jose, as well.

I thought OKC to BNA was already announced to begin last year. A flight to NYC, BOS, as well as PDX would be a killer year. I just think the airports in this state cannibalize themselves by offering all of the same destinations.

Who flies TUL-SJC? Wikipedia says F9 seasonally. That hardly counts.

Who flies TUL-SJC? Wikipedia says F9 seasonally. That hardly counts.

TUL is missing some big links that OKC has like SFO, SEA, IAD and EWR. PHL would be great for restoring some connectivity to the Northeast and Europe. SEA will likely be added by Alaska this year. Not sure if United would try SFO or not, how does the OKC flight perform?

The TUL wish list would probably be PHL and LGA on AA, SEA on Alaska, BWI, DCA and BNA on Southwest and SFO on United. That and increased mainline capacity to hubs like DFW, IAH, ORD, ATL and DEN. AA resuming LAX in April fills a big hole in the network and it would be nice to eventually see that go 2x/daily.

Means more, to me, that Tulsa is trying a lot harder to market their airport. OKC keeps getting more to already established locales. But where are the new destinations? Has the OKC to Nashville flight even started? OKC will have no more advantages over TUL if they don't get more new destinations.


Hard to be impressed with Tulsa air service.

10 years ago both OKC and TUL were both aroudn 3.2 or 3.3 millions of passengers. Now OKC is 4.3 while Tulsa just made it over 3 mil back from 2.8.
I am not sure why they have been taking such a hit while OKC is doing fairly well.

Means more, to me, that Tulsa is trying a lot harder to market their airport. OKC keeps getting more to already established locales. But where are the new destinations? Has the OKC to Nashville flight even started? OKC will have no more advantages over TUL if they don't get more new destinations.

Friend of mine flew it back in December I believe.

Hard to be impressed with Tulsa air service.

10 years ago both OKC and TUL were both aroudn 3.2 or 3.3 millions of passengers. Now OKC is 4.3 while Tulsa just made it over 3 mil back from 2.8.
I am not sure why they have been taking such a hit while OKC is doing fairly well.

Does the increased service at XNA bleed any passengers from TUL?

Does the increased service at XNA bleed any passengers from TUL?

Possibly in the counties east of Tulsa. There is a nonstop to LGA that neither OKC or TUL offer. No Southwest though so fares are pretty high (I’m sure Wal-Mart has something to do with that too)

but in fairness, im sure OKC has more bleed to DFW and DAL than TUL has to XNA. Yet OKC still had significant growth and significantly the most busy airport in the state.

I'd honestly attribute this to OKC's population size (>400K vs TUL) and the city's flight options are being met.

I’m surprised we have no direct nonstop flights into Florida at all, except for the one seasonal flight to the emerald coast.

Are there any plans to add some in the near future? It is odd to me given FL is still one of the most popular domestic vacation destinations that we only have the one seasonal flight.

I’m hopeful that AA will add MIA at some point.

Florida, however is challenging from Oklahoma for the very reasons you mention. It is a very popular leisure destination. People going on vacation are the most cost sensitive travelers that exist. There is very limited natural business ties between OKC and Florida, so business traffic is limited in its ability to drive higher fares in these markets. The result is that it is cheaper for the airlines to send you to Dallas, Houston, and Atlanta to get you there as cheap as possible. Nonstop flights have been attempted time and time again and seem to always fail.

However, service to florida is better than it has been in the past. Allegiant can take you to VPS and SFB, while Frontier can take you to MCO. I think Frontier to MCO is year round or close to it, it just operates less than daily.

Yeah and most of those vacationers have no problems driving 12 hours to save several hundred in airfare. We know several families who go to Destin every year and drive.

Had my flight to Denver (noon flight last Thursday/CRJ200) canceled. Talked to United res and they told me that they would not be able to get me out of OKC until Saturday PM, 60 hours after my original flight.

I ended up going to Tulsa which had a few empty seats to Denver and was amazed that Tulsa has more United mainline to Denver right now compared to OKC. I know Tulsa doesn't have a few United routes that OKC has but was nice to see.


Thanks Tulsa for saving my vacation. Looks like OKC could replace that CRJ-200 noon flight w/ atleast a -700 if we're running that full right now.

^ I believe Southwest is now 3x daily to Denver from OKC while still 2x from Tulsa so that could explain why United has extra capacity. It looks like the 2x weekly service to DEN on Frontier goes to 1x weekly from both airports in March. Bummer.

Southwest has had 3x daily to DEN for probably 5-6 years now, if not longer.

Speaking of Tulsa, did you guys see that air map that was released last week? They have multiple direct flights into various parts of Florida. Any idea how they can do that if we struggle with that? I’m really curious.

Speaking of Tulsa, did you guys see that air map that was released last week? They have multiple direct flights into various parts of Florida. Any idea how they can do that if we struggle with that? I’m really curious.

From the Tulsa Airport website, it looks like the only destination that OKC does not service is Tampa. I noticed the weekly flight from TUL-MIA on American appears to have ended.

From the Tulsa Airport website, it looks like the only destination that OKC does not service is Tampa. I noticed the weekly flight from TUL-MIA on American appears to have ended.

Oh you’re right. The only year round flight that either city has to Florida is Orlando. Both cities Val Praiso flights are seasonal, and Tulsa has the extra Tampa seasonal flight.

From the Tulsa Airport website, it looks like the only destination that OKC does not service is Tampa. I noticed the weekly flight from TUL-MIA on American appears to have ended.

AA used the MIA flight to ferry 757’s to the Mx Base. Hopefully AA will start rotating more 737 MAX aircraft into the TUL base and restart MIA and add PHL and LGA

United seems to have come to its senses.

I’m seeing 6x daily to DEN in June plus the return of a mainline. I’ve never seen UA go to 6 frequencies in this market.

We will lose the mainline to IAH in exchange. No other changes I see.

American will go to 4x daily to ORD for the summer. (The OAG thread on a.net shows 5x daily but I believe 5 was a misfile - 4 are presently for sale in GDS)

^ I believe Southwest is now 3x daily to Denver from OKC while still 2x from Tulsa so that could explain why United has extra capacity. It looks like the 2x weekly service to DEN on Frontier goes to 1x weekly from both airports in March. Bummer.

I have to laugh at the fact Frontier has 1 - 2 flights per week to OKC. Who would give them a serious look? It's not even particularly inexpensive compared to the others.

United seems to have come to its senses.

I’m seeing 6x daily to DEN in June plus the return of a mainline. I’ve never seen UA go to 6 frequencies in this market.

We will lose the mainline to IAH in exchange. No other changes I see.

So 9x daily to Denver on United and Southwest this summer. It looks like I was wrong about Frontier it's now showing 3x/weekly for both OKC and TUL. Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday non-stop service.

Impressive for OKC-DEN, that's nearing the type of frequency to Dallas (DFW & DAL) and Houston (IAH & HOU).

So 9x daily to Denver on United and Southwest this summer. It looks like I was wrong about Frontier it's now showing 3x/weekly for both OKC and TUL. Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday non-stop service.

Impressive for OKC-DEN, that's nearing the type of frequency to Dallas (DFW & DAL) and Houston (IAH & HOU).

Im betting Colorado gets a ton of tourism dollars from Oklahomans. I go to Colorado probably 4 times to every one time I go to Texas.

I have to laugh at the fact Frontier has 1 - 2 flights per week to OKC. Who would give them a serious look? It's not even particularly inexpensive compared to the others.

Leisure travelers will bite at anything to save a few dollars. I think they are a necessary force in today’s market. Affordable travel is the greatest gift to mankind.

Travel is fatal to prejudice. I wish everyone could travel more, especially Oklahomans. I know of people who have never flown on an airplane or left the state other than Texas. There’s so much more to the world than Oklahoma.

Looks like AA will be increasing daily service to ORD for June,June and August to 5 flights a day on a CRJ-700.

Anyone know the last time AA had 5 flights a day to ORD?

United will have 4 flights a day this summer as well to ORD

I don't think AA/Eagle have ever had 5 flights daily to ORD. AA did have mainline service though, back in the late '90s-early 2000s with F-100s and MD 80s.

I don't think AA/Eagle have ever had 5 flights daily to ORD. AA did have mainline service though, back in the late '90s-early 2000s with F-100s and MD 80s.


American will go to 4x daily to ORD for the summer. (The OAG thread on a.net shows 5x daily but I believe 5 was a misfile - 4 are presently for sale in GDS)

I cleared this up last week. AA had 5x daily to ORD back in 2019-2013 I believe. That was when they only had flights to DFW. However it is irrelevant as they are only offering 4x daily this summer.

May only:

AA will increase OKC-CLT to 3x
AA will increase (extend) OKC-PHX to 2x (mainline will end will be CR9)

Nice to see the increase for May from AA. But, May seems like a weird month to *only* increase service out of OKC on those routes when the following months are just as busy. Right?

Nice to see the increase for May from AA. But, May seems like a weird month to *only* increase service out of OKC on those routes when the following months are just as busy. Right?

Means they are not confident enough or they don’t have the resources to extend them permanently. I.e. maintenance-planning “delivered” extra flying time in May they weren’t expecting.

United is doubling down on 50 seaters, but not in a way you’d expect:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/06/united-adding-1600-high-end-seats-in-bid-for-more-premium-passengers-.html?__source=twitter

United will be the launch customer for the CRJ-550, a CRJ-700 (traditional 70 seater) that is configured down to 50 seats. Will include 10 first class seats and a snack bar. Will begin flying this summer from Chicago. I imagine this might be an airplane we will see in OKC.

Decided to switch my SWA DCA flight next Thursday to United so I could get in a little earlier. I was surprised that there was only one daily nonstop to IAD with United. Good time slot though.

United is doubling down on 50 seaters, but not in a way you’d expect:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/06/united-adding-1600-high-end-seats-in-bid-for-more-premium-passengers-.html?__source=twitter

United will be the launch customer for the CRJ-550, a CRJ-700 (traditional 70 seater) that is configured down to 50 seats. Will include 10 first class seats and a snack bar. Will begin flying this summer from Chicago. I imagine this might be an airplane we will see in OKC.

Looks like the inaugural flight announced is ORD-XNA. The article I read specifically mentioned Wal-Mart execs use ORD as their gateway to Asia and demand more premium seats.

Looks like the inaugural flight announced is ORD-XNA. The article I read specifically mentioned Wal-Mart execs use ORD as their gateway to Asia and demand more premium seats.

That’s a good example but there will be plenty of others. United is maxed out on 70-76 seat airplanes so this will be the only way to get more first class seats in the network.

Interesting. a -700 that is a 50 seater. I guess there will be some fantastic leg room in these, right?

Interesting. a -700 that is a 50 seater. I guess there will be some fantastic leg room in these, right?

I don't think so - the different classes of travel will have the same amount of legroom as on other planes, it's just a more premium-heavy layout, plus snack bar in F.

Josh Ryan - do you still participate here? I feel like I got screwed by airport parking and would like to file a complaint but I'm not sure who to contact. Can you please advise?

I don't think so - the different classes of travel will have the same amount of legroom as on other planes, it's just a more premium-heavy layout, plus snack bar in F.

Correct. A fantastic benefit that doesn’t seem to be getting much attention is all of the storage room inside for carryon bags. Being able to not valet check your bag will be a huge benefit for all (or most) customers. I know a large source of misconnections in the hubs are Express inbounds on minimum connect time itineraries are a result of customers waiting for valet bags. There will be 3 closets on board just for bag storage.

https://flyokc.com/sites/default/files/News/January2019Enplanement.pdf

January numbers are in, 2019 off to a flat start.

https://flyokc.com/sites/default/files/News/January2019Enplanement.pdf

January numbers are in, 2019 off to a flat start.

To be fair, there has been a lot of crappy weather that may have an impact on travellers. Also, no new destinations recently to help increase desire to travel.

Yay for Delta growth!

Yay for Delta growth!
+1

Quite a few diversions from both DFW and DAL inbound to OKC right now (12:54pm 2/13/19)...no weather. FAA says traffic management program in affect due to "Other." Anyone know what the "Other" is. Pretty strange to see diversions with weather not in the DFW area.

I believe there was a fire at DFW TRACON (approach/departure control).

I believe there was a fire at DFW TRACON (approach/departure control).

Yeah, smoke. Stop is lifted now. I did see an Alaska flight land, and I saw an AA 321 on Flightradar24...

I believe there was a fire at DFW TRACON (approach/departure control).

That would certainly qualify as "other." Very good, thanks for the info.

A friend whose flight arrives in OKC this afternoon said they were adding extra fuel and lining up a contingency airport due to wind before the flight took off

Sept 2019 UA extends 6x daily to DEN, upgrades one additional frequency to mainline (A320). 2x mainline now, both afternoon flights.

A friend whose flight arrives in OKC this afternoon said they were adding extra fuel and lining up a contingency airport due to wind before the flight took off

While there is some exceptions to when an alternate destination must be filed on the flight plan, this pretty much the standard procedure for most flights anywhere, that they were even considering not implies the conditions were near ideal at the destination for at least an hour before and after planned landing time

Booked late tickets to FLL for spring break The cheapest ticket I could find on Delta was over 1000 each. Almost same flight times out of Wichita was just over $500 ticket. I am one of those that I like to fly out of my closest airport (Will Rogers is about 2 miles away) but for $2500 (5 tickets) I will drive.

I have been tracking DL fights out of OKC compared to Wichita and Tulsa and it seems that OKC DL flights are consistently higher than the other two. Does DL have that big of a hold on OKC?

Anyone familiar with Wichita airport as far as easiest reasonable place to park for a week?

^ sounds like simple supply and demand. OKC either has very high demand or lower supply; either of which drives up the price. ICT/TUL either has very low demand or (hard to believe) higher supply - low prices. Subsidy can also come into play, this is very likely true with ICT.

Therefore, I suspect OKC has high demand relative to capacity resulting in high yield (price) for this FLL market. Hopefully Delta can increase supply out of OKC in the form of more mainline or larger airframes OR (even better) perhaps AAL can open up OKC-MIA since the demand is there.

Booked late tickets to FLL for spring break The cheapest ticket I could find on Delta was over 1000 each. Almost same flight times out of Wichita was just over $500 ticket. I am one of those that I like to fly out of my closest airport (Will Rogers is about 2 miles away) but for $2500 (5 tickets) I will drive.

I have been tracking DL fights out of OKC compared to Wichita and Tulsa and it seems that OKC DL flights are consistently higher than the other two. Does DL have that big of a hold on OKC?

Anyone familiar with Wichita airport as far as easiest reasonable place to park for a week?
I fly Delta OKC-MSP on a relatively regular basis. Always a RJ, always full, and always over $500 pp no matter how far in advance you book and how odd of times you pick. Fares to Atlanta aren't bad usually, but Delta seems to be very happy with keeping supply very low and keeping an inferior product in OKC (CRJs rather than more ERJ-175 if they fly RJs on the route). This is one reason I am very frustrated that OKC leased them the new gates being built.

I fly Delta OKC-MSP on a relatively regular basis. Always a RJ, always full, and always over $500 pp no matter how far in advance you book and how odd of times you pick. Fares to Atlanta aren't bad usually, but Delta seems to be very happy with keeping supply very low and keeping an inferior product in OKC (CRJs rather than more ERJ-175 if they fly RJs on the route). This is one reason I am very frustrated that OKC leased them the new gates being built.

Hopefully the lease comes with some guarantees from Delta.

I fly Delta OKC-MSP on a relatively regular basis. Always a RJ, always full, and always over $500 pp no matter how far in advance you book and how odd of times you pick. Fares to Atlanta aren't bad usually, but Delta seems to be very happy with keeping supply very low and keeping an inferior product in OKC (CRJs rather than more ERJ-175 if they fly RJs on the route). This is one reason I am very frustrated that OKC leased them the new gates being built.
I want to stick with Delta as I think they're run very well, but damn, out of OKC they make it hard.

Hopefully the lease comes with some guarantees from Delta.
While I understand “first come first served”, the city made a (typical) boneheaded move by letting the carrier that has the lowest gate utilization block the citizen’s investment.

I want to stick with Delta as I think they're run very well, but damn, out of OKC they make it hard.

Yep. Best of the big airlines for sure.

Although, for price, my most recent purchase for a HNL trip was much better priced than last time, and my two recent trips to SJC were priced better than usual. Delta seems to be focused on better fares to the west, and keeping the higher fares to the east/southeast, where they control markets via Delta.