2018 Oklahoma City Aviation Thread

[HOT ROD]

Basically, Milwaukee is the only game in Wisconsin. OKC competes with Tulsa.

also MKE gets lots of pax from the Chicago area. Northern Chicago metro (which actually extends into Wisconsin) is less than 30 miles to MKE, closer than it is to ORD actually and definitely supports International that MKE has to offer. ..

[BG918]

Basically, Milwaukee is the only game in Wisconsin. OKC competes with Tulsa.

And DFW for international flights. I know several people who make the drive down there for nonstop flights to Mexico and Europe.

[OUman]

I'll never understand the driving down to/back up from DFW part, even for international service. It's a breeze to fly out of WRA and connect to an international flight. Connecting at DFW itself has also become easy ever since it had the Skylink in service.

Parking at DFW anywhere close-in is steep as well. I guess when gas goes back up to the $4-$5 range (which it will in the future at some point) driving down there will not seem as attractive.

[gopokes88]

I'll never understand the driving down to/back up from DFW part, even for international service. It's a breeze to fly out of WRA and connect to an international flight. Connecting at DFW itself has also become easy ever since it had the Skylink in service.

Parking at DFW anywhere close-in is steep as well. I guess when gas goes back up to the $4-$5 range (which it will in the future at some point) driving down there will not seem as attractive.

The same people that drive down there to save $250 on a fare, are the same ones that complain about not having international service. Part of the reason we don't have international is because we're perceived as a cheap market (based on what catch said). The whole thing is really quite funny

[d-usa]

The few times I’ve looked, the fare difference hasn’t been that much.

[HangryHippo]

I've driven to DFW for international flights because there have been some amazing savings. But I've left from here for international flights and had equally pleasant experiences. I'd leave from here more if the options were better for connections.

[jedicurt]

only time i have driving to DFW for a flight is because it left very early in the morning from DFW, and there wasn't a connecting flight from OKC to DFW that would have gotten me there on time, unless i left the night before. but i almost always just from the here to DFW for those flights

[LakeEffect]

The same people that drive down there to save $250 on a fare, are the same ones that complain about not having international service. Part of the reason we don't have international is because we're perceived as a cheap market (based on what catch said). The whole thing is really quite funny

Saving $250 on one ticket is one thing, but saving it per ticket for a family of 4 more than justifies a drive down. Also, being practical, I'll never complain about a lack of international service from WRWA because I know the financial needs for the airlines to make it profitable.

[YeahIKnow]

Saving $250 on one ticket is one thing, but saving it per ticket for a family of 4 more than justifies a drive down. Also, being practical, I'll never complain about a lack of international service from WRWA because I know the financial needs for the airlines to make it practical.

Yes! Exactly this. We just got back from Mexico this week. We drove down to DFW to catch our flight because of how much it would have cost us to fly out of OKC as a family of 5. Another reason we chose to drive to DFW is because it was a direct 2 1/2 hour flight from DFW to GDL, and we have a 3 year-old that we did not want to subject others to on one or multiple connecting flights. Her being just on the one direct flight was enough! With that said, when she gets older, we will look into departing from OKC if the price justifies it.

[brianinok]

The same people that drive down there to save $250 on a fare, are the same ones that complain about not having international service. Part of the reason we don't have international is because we're perceived as a cheap market (based on what catch said). The whole thing is really quite funny

The only time I've driven to DFW for flights have been for AA European flights that I have used miles. From OKC I could not have used the "cheap" miles (for business seats), but from DFW I could (only AA knows why availability was like that). Or from OKC I would have had to connect twice to get to my European destination, but from DFW, I only had to connect once. I am typically very flexible on dates when I book-- usually looking at most dates within a month or two.

My goal in using AA miles is to try to get the cheap mile tickets and fewest connections. And I virtually only use them for tickets to Europe and Hawaii. Now that DFW has flights to KOA on the big island (opening up more of Hawaii), and OKC has flights to PHL, there is LESSER chance that I'll have to drive DFW to use the cheap miles. Sometimes using the miles at the more expensive level is unavoidable, though, and then I might as well choose OKC for convenience. Sometimes if the price is right I just buy the tickets, though. Maybe some day we will have a BA non-stop to LHR. AUS has one. We just need to triple our passenger count I guess!!

But...for domestic flights (and close international)...to save a few hundred dollars...I just don't see the point in driving to DFW. It is so much easier to get through OKC. Plus you don't have to worry about DFW traffic. You can get a lot of places non-stop and virtually anywhere domestic one-stop.

[damonsmuz]

United will reduce service to ORD in March from 4 flights to 3 flights a day. Also, Frontier is significantly reducing service to Austin and San Antonio early next year. Frontier flights for OKC are staying put (for now)

[no1cub17]

The only time I've driven to DFW for flights have been for AA European flights that I have used miles. From OKC I could not have used the "cheap" miles (for business seats), but from DFW I could (only AA knows why availability was like that). Or from OKC I would have had to connect twice to get to my European destination, but from DFW, I only had to connect once. I am typically very flexible on dates when I book-- usually looking at most dates within a month or two.

My goal in using AA miles is to try to get the cheap mile tickets and fewest connections. And I virtually only use them for tickets to Europe and Hawaii. Now that DFW has flights to KOA on the big island (opening up more of Hawaii), and OKC has flights to PHL, there is LESSER chance that I'll have to drive DFW to use the cheap miles. Sometimes using the miles at the more expensive level is unavoidable, though, and then I might as well choose OKC for convenience. Sometimes if the price is right I just buy the tickets, though. Maybe some day we will have a BA non-stop to LHR. AUS has one. We just need to triple our passenger count I guess!!

But...for domestic flights (and close international)...to save a few hundred dollars...I just don't see the point in driving to DFW. It is so much easier to get through OKC. Plus you don't have to worry about DFW traffic. You can get a lot of places non-stop and virtually anywhere domestic one-stop.

Next time - if there's award availability ex-DFW but none for the OKC-DFW segment, you can call AA and book a revenue ticket OKC-DFW and an award ticket DFW-XXX into one PNR (which enables through check-in and baggage check). OKC-DFW can be had for cheap if bought in advance. You might have to call 5 times to find an agent who actually knows how to do this though. But this has been a lifesaver for us multiple times, especially since AA no longer through-checks bags on separate tickets (even AA-AA).

[no1cub17]

The same people that drive down there to save $250 on a fare, are the same ones that complain about not having international service. Part of the reason we don't have international is because we're perceived as a cheap market (based on what catch said). The whole thing is really quite funny

Yup. Plus I hate to say it but unlike AUS, OKC attracts pretty no tourism. BA from OKC to LHR? Hahaha that's a good one.

[Snowman]

I wonder if the person who posts WRWA statistics is on vacation, it looks like for quite a while they have come out on the last day of the month but Octobers has yet to be released

[OKCbyTRANSFER]

Couple More days, Catch is pretty good about it. Sept numbers weren't on here until about the 10th

[catch22]

Usually between the 10th and the 15th of the following month.

The airlines have to reconcile their numbers systemwide and close out any open tickets and fix any errors. This data doesn’t make it down to the station (city) level until about 7 days in to the month. The airline then submits to the city and they have to compile it into their report for us to gawk at.

[gopokes88]

I wonder if the person who posts WRWA statistics is on vacation, it looks like for quite a while they have come out on the last day of the month but Octobers has yet to be released

That date you're seeing isn't the day they release them. Usually pops up between 10-15th.

[damonsmuz]

In April, United will reduce ORD-OKC service by 1 flight (from 4 to 3) but in May, United will increase DEN-OKC service by 1 flight from 4 to 5.

[gopokes88]

https://flyokc.com/sites/default/fil...nplanement.pdf

October up

[catch22]

Rumor in the industry is that Via has lost (or surrendered) their airline operating certificate. Showing all flights cancelled today.

[catch22]

Also of note, they have cancelled the last 8 flights out of OKC. Their last operation was Nov 4.

[damonsmuz]

Whoa. That's huge for Via but in all reality, how much are they trying in this market. I know they had ads at one point but do they still do ads? Are they bookable on expedia?

[gopokes88]

Rumor in the industry is that Via has lost (or surrendered) their airline operating certificate. Showing all flights cancelled today.

How do you lose an operating cert? Finances? Safety? Pilots?

[d-usa]

All of the above?

[OUman]

Via's operation has appeared like a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type deal to me, especially after reading all of the bad reviews and technical problems.