2018 Oklahoma City Aviation Thread

[Celebrator]

OKC-PHL will be operated by an E75, not ERJ.

Oh, great! That'll be much better.

[PaddyShack]

OKC-PHL will be operated by an E75, not ERJ.

I meant to say ERJ 175, but it still is an ERJ...

[no1cub17]

I meant to say ERJ 175, but it still is an ERJ...

But "ERJ" is clearly not the designation used by AA for the E75, and the E75 is an objectively better experience than pretty much any mainline jet these days.

[NoOkie]

I meant to say ERJ 175, but it still is an ERJ...

The ERJ family is different from the current E-Jet family. I loathe the old ERJ-140s, can't even stand upright in them. I in fact, ranted a bit last year about ERJs before I realized the current E-175s are a whole different family(Sometimes just called an E75).

The E75/E90s I've been on lately are fine, and usually pretty nice. Had an older one operated by Skywest/United or something from Denver to here that I wasn't crazy about(Mostly because I upgraded to first class, but the seats were garbage. Felt like it wasn't worth the money. The outbound flight on a different E75 was fine), but AA's are nice. The CRJ700/900s are decent, too.

Probably the only bad thing about them is you may still have to gate check larger carry-on bags.

[gopokes88]

https://twitter.com/davidfholt/statu...487460352?s=21

Mayor hinting more destinations will be announced soon

[HangryHippo]

https://twitter.com/davidfholt/statu...487460352?s=21

Mayor hinting more destinations will be announced soon

Exciting!

Sidenote - I really appreciate how interactive Mayor Holt is on Twitter.

[no1cub17]

https://twitter.com/davidfholt/statu...487460352?s=21

Mayor hinting more destinations will be announced soon

YES!!! We need some more competition for sure. F9 is nice to have. Surely NK is taking a hard look too?

[catch22]

https://twitter.com/davidfholt/statu...487460352?s=21

Mayor hinting more destinations will be announced soon

Southwest has their regular schedule extension on May 31. Could be related.

[PaddyShack]

The ERJ family is different from the current E-Jet family. I loathe the old ERJ-140s, can't even stand upright in them. I in fact, ranted a bit last year about ERJs before I realized the current E-175s are a whole different family(Sometimes just called an E75).

The E75/E90s I've been on lately are fine, and usually pretty nice. Had an older one operated by Skywest/United or something from Denver to here that I wasn't crazy about(Mostly because I upgraded to first class, but the seats were garbage. Felt like it wasn't worth the money. The outbound flight on a different E75 was fine), but AA's are nice. The CRJ700/900s are decent, too.

Probably the only bad thing about them is you may still have to gate check larger carry-on bags.

Ah, I guess I thought they were all of the same family, just the E-jets were the newer line of regional jets. I would probably fly AA or United or Delta if they were to not charge of check baggage. Part of the main problem I have with flying is everybody bringing large bags into the already small cabin and gumming up the boarding process. I like to place my backpack or small carry-on item in the overhead bin so I get my leg room, but it is difficult now a days with everybody bringing luggage with them. Sorry for the little rant.

Is there any justification in the major carriers charging more for fares as well as charging for checked baggage while Southwest gives two free bags? I would even consider flying the others if they only gave one free checked bag. I guess I don't understand how airlines differ between full service carriers and the low-cost carriers to make charging for checked bags justifiable.

[no1cub17]

Is there any justification in the major carriers charging more for fares as well as charging for checked baggage while Southwest gives two free bags? I would even consider flying the others if they only gave one free checked bag. I guess I don't understand how airlines differ between full service carriers and the low-cost carriers to make charging for checked bags justifiable.

Of course there is - otherwise they wouldn't do it. WN gives you two free bags - sure - but how many checked bags would they allow if you flew WN to Paris or Tokyo? How many rapid rewards points would you have to redeem to go to Paris or Rome? This is oversimplifying of course, but the legacies and WN compete on very different playing fields IMO. At least in my opinion, WN has to make up for their network's shortcomings with other perks - and it works for them. The legacies may nickel and dime, charge change fees, and charge some passengers for checked bags, but they have worldwide connectivity to go with it. WN doesn't.

OTOH simply getting an airline branded credit card enables you to get a free bag, earlier boarding, and bonus miles, leveling the playing field somewhat. And keep in mind WN's fares are generally not the cheapest. The legacies have gotten very aggressive competing with NK/F9/G4, so while WN includes more, it may not be the cheapest.

[catch22]

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. .

[gopokes88]

Of course there is - otherwise they wouldn't do it. WN gives you two free bags - sure - but how many checked bags would they allow if you flew WN to Paris or Tokyo? How many rapid rewards points would you have to redeem to go to Paris or Rome? This is oversimplifying of course, but the legacies and WN compete on very different playing fields IMO. At least in my opinion, WN has to make up for their network's shortcomings with other perks - and it works for them. The legacies may nickel and dime, charge change fees, and charge some passengers for checked bags, but they have worldwide connectivity to go with it. WN doesn't.

OTOH simply getting an airline branded credit card enables you to get a free bag, earlier boarding, and bonus miles, leveling the playing field somewhat. And keep in mind WN's fares are generally not the cheapest. The legacies have gotten very aggressive competing with NK/F9/G4, so while WN includes more, it may not be the cheapest.

That’s a shift I’ve noticed in southwest’s model. They were a budget carrier 10-15 years ago and now they’re what id call a no frills consistent carrier. You know you’re gonna be on a 737 that’s probably on time, you get 2 checked bags, a drink, peanuts and with an A boarding can get a window or aisle seat.

[Jersey Boss]

I thought SWA served Tulsa?

[OUman]

I thought SWA served Tulsa?

It does. The reason for your question?

[Jersey Boss]

It was posted that SWA does not fly to cities with a population <500K.

[d-usa]

Tulsa MSA is close to a million though.

[BG918]

It was posted that SWA does not fly to cities with a population <500K.

Completely false. Southwest flies to Wichita, Des Moines, Omaha, Little Rock, Lubbock, Amarillo, Midland, El Paso, Corpus Christi just in our region and at least a dozen others. SWA doesn’t *typically* fly into small airports though.

[catch22]

Completely false. Southwest flies to Wichita, Des Moines, Omaha, Little Rock, Lubbock, Amarillo, Midland, El Paso, Corpus Christi just in our region and at least a dozen others. SWA doesn’t *typically* fly into small airports though.

Wichita: Metro 644k
Des Moines: Metro 645k
Omaha: Metro 924k
Little Rock: Metro 724k

Amarillo, Midland , El Paso, Corpus Christi were some of the very first Southwest cities. That is the only reason Southwest flies to any of those, they've been in those markets for 40 years.

I forgot the internet was so literal. *eyeroll* Let me know when you book your ticket on Southwest to Rock Springs, Gainesville, Santa Fe, Lawton, or Cheyenne.

[HOT ROD]

i think the flights to small cities in the OK region is mostly due to WN being based out of DAL. No other region of the country has this level of small city service that BG mentions we have here.

It's sort of like the numerous small cities Alaska airlines flies to in Washington state, Alaska, Oregon, and California and that Alaska only 3-years ago reached its largest market without service (in OKC) - its based out of Seattle. ...

[no1cub17]

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. .

Great point - just as an example WN just recently started service to GRR. As a native of AZO, WN was never an option growing up unless we wanted to make the trek to MDW or DTW. Of course sometimes the cost savings would make it enticing, but I'd just as soon pay a little extra to fly to AZO and get to my parents' house in 10 minutes.

[warreng88]

Airport growth has director seeking more staff

By: Brian Brus The Journal Record May 29, 2018

OKLAHOMA CITY – Groundskeeping is important enough to business development near Will Rogers World Airport that the city’s director of airports is boosting his staff by three employees in fiscal 2019, which begins July 1.

Director Mark Kranenburg’s budget submission to the Oklahoma City Council asked for seven new positions to address growing demands across all of the department’s operations. The horticulture and grounds maintenance jobs are needed to address significant increases in the number of acres Will Rogers now maintains, he told council members Tuesday.

The first area that needs to be addressed is the 40-acre rental car depot at SW 54th Street and Meridian Avenue. The airport has been able to provide only half of the landscaping, irrigation and mowing necessary to keep the area attractive, Kranenburg said. The Airport Trust provided the land three years ago so that rental companies could consolidate their operations and improve customer efficiency. It is still the city’s responsibility to keep it tidy.

A major expansion along Portland Avenue between SW 54th and 104th streets about a year ago also opened more right-of-way land for the airport to tend, he said in response to Councilman Mark Stonecipher’s questions.

“There will be other common areas of maintenance that we need to do at Lariat Landing so we can continue to attract development,” Kranenburg said.

Last year, several maintenance, repair and overhaul companies moved into a 1,000-acre space set aside by the trust for development near the airport. Lariat Landing is just west of the Interstate 40 and Interstate 240 interchange. Kranenburg said the area, which is designed to attract aviation-related businesses, hotels, retail and office space, may need yet another employee for groundskeeping someday.

City Council members haven’t agreed to the staffing proposal yet. By state law, they must vote on City Hall’s overall budget within the next few weeks in order to have it in place by July 1. The full budget totals $1.56 billion.

[NoOkie]

Ah, I guess I thought they were all of the same family, just the E-jets were the newer line of regional jets. I would probably fly AA or United or Delta if they were to not charge of check baggage. Part of the main problem I have with flying is everybody bringing large bags into the already small cabin and gumming up the boarding process. I like to place my backpack or small carry-on item in the overhead bin so I get my leg room, but it is difficult now a days with everybody bringing luggage with them. Sorry for the little rant.

Is there any justification in the major carriers charging more for fares as well as charging for checked baggage while Southwest gives two free bags? I would even consider flying the others if they only gave one free checked bag. I guess I don't understand how airlines differ between full service carriers and the low-cost carriers to make charging for checked bags justifiable.

For me, it's the ability to get a reserved seat. I'm 6'7", so for anything longer than jump to Dallas or Austin, I want economy plus, an exit row or first class.

I've also been flying to places SW doesn't handle, lately, so it's basically legacy carriers or nothing.

[catch22]

Appears I was correct about it being Southwest.

OKC-DCA nonstop begins November 5th.

[catch22]

What is the deal with Thursdays being OKC's day for route announcements?

Southwest to DCA - Thurs May 31 2018
Frontier to San Antonio - Thurs, May 17 2018
Southwest to Nashville - Thurs, March 8 2018
American to Philadelphia - Thurs, January 18 2018
American to Phoenix - Thurs, Dec 7 2017

[HangryHippo]

Very nice!