2014 Oklahoma Commercial Aviation Discussion

[venture]

Yeah...it is happening everywhere. Comair was probably the first major victim of it - I miss them a ton. American is dumping all the Chautauqua ERJ-140s and those will probably get parked. Then I think there are another 50 ERJ-145s being removed from the Eagle/MQ/Simmons/Envoy whatever you wanna call them now...fleet.

I'm waiting to see what American does with the Piedmont Dash 8 fleet and if they replace them with the newer generation props. I would love to see a nice fresh order of ATR-72-600s come in and give that program a massive boost and get them back in the country.

[CaptDave]

I swear sometimes it seems like we are headed toward a US version of Aeroflot. I feel for you folks that work in the industry.

[venture]

I swear sometimes it seems like we are headed toward a US version of Aeroflot. I feel for you folks that work in the industry.

Ameriflot coming 2016. :-P

Once I'm done with this programming degree I'm probably jumping out. Though once Jet A gets in your blood...it never gets out.

[catch22]

Yes it does. I'm going to stay in as long as I can. When the inevitable happens and they outsource my job in OKC, hopefully I'll have enough seniority to hold a line at a hub.

[OUman]

The main reason people did not like the turboprops was because many a time they were jetway-incompatible at many of the smaller airports (except ones like the ATR 72s), requiring them to step out onto the ramp or worse yet, have a long bus ride to/from the plane (DFW comes to mind in the ATR days before American Eagle switched to Terminal B), and then the biggest complaint about them was the noise inside the cabin (I flew in a Brasilia once right next to the prop-bad idea. The return flight in the last row however was better, save for the buzz I heard in my own voice when I said anything.) Once the RJs came along it was a love-affair for a short while till airlines realized they could also be used on flights longer than 1 1/2 hours, then people disliked those as well. Now of course they're just plain cost-inefficient for the fuel prices today and on their way out.

Newer generation turboprops are way better however, and those that have been retro-fitted with better noise reduction are also better than the old ones. I've read that the Saab 340Bs that Silver Airways uses are much quieter than ones used in the old days since they have been retro-fitted with newer sound-reduction. The ATR 72-500 however is my favourite turboprop, it basically sounds like a CRJ while in-flight, and on the ground the prop noise is not too bad at all (unless you happen to be right next to the blades).

On a different subject, Bergstrom International airport passed the 10 million mark last year.

[LakeEffect]

What does SWA's expansion at DAL mean for OKC?

Airchive ‏@airchive 19m

#Breaking, new @SouthwestAir destinations from @DallasLoveField: BWI, DEN, LAS, MCO, MDW, ATL, BNA, DCA, FLL, LAX, LGA, SNA, PHX, SAN, TPA

[venture]

What does SWA's expansion at DAL mean for OKC?

Airchive ‏@airchive 19m

#Breaking, new @SouthwestAir destinations from @DallasLoveField: BWI, DEN, LAS, MCO, MDW, ATL, BNA, DCA, FLL, LAX, LGA, SNA, PHX, SAN, TPA

Nonstop service from OKC-DAL will remain. I personally expect it to either remain flat or go down to 3 daily flights. The 4 right now seems like a good number and will also work in to feed pax to these new flights. TUL will probably lose one and go down to 4. MCI, STL, ABQ, and HOU should see some cuts. I really don't see a need for there to be 25 daily DAL-HOU flights when most go out half full. Sure business pax love the ability to easily switch flights based on their schedule, but to me it seems like a waste of aircraft.

[ljbab728]

This doesn't directly impact OKC, but:

http://www.oklahoman.com/article/3930347

outhwest Airlines says it will start nonstop flights from Dallas to New York, Los Angeles, Washington and 12 other cities this fall, when federal limits on the airline’s home airport end.

Southwest expects to add nearly 20 flights a day, to 146 daily departures in November, from Love Field, the airline’s eighth-busiest airport.

On Oct. 13, Southwest will start flying from Dallas to Chicago; Baltimore; Denver; Las Vegas; and Orlando, Fla. On Nov. 2, it will add New York’s LaGuardia Airport; Washington’s Reagan National Airport; Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Ana, Calif.; Atlanta; Nashville; Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, Fla.; and Phoenix.

[Richard at Remax]

Just a curious question to those in the business but why do prices on airline tickets go up as the departure dates gets closer? I was thinking about taking a sporadic trip next weekend for V day but, not to my surprise, the high prices axed that plan. I know there is a reason but you would think you'd want to fill the plane.

[venture]

Just a curious question to those in the business but why do prices on airline tickets go up as the departure dates gets closer? I was thinking about taking a sporadic trip next weekend for V day but, not to my surprise, the high prices axed that plan. I know there is a reason but you would think you'd want to fill the plane.

Revenue Management is the simplest answer. The basic theory is to reward those that plan their trip ahead of time to allow the airline to plan for it easier, but then increase the fare closer in to ensure profitability of the flight. It is a weighted risk analysis done by a bunch of number crunchers to ensure the airline can make money based on buying trends. It is also important to keep in mind that a full plane doesn't equal a profitable flight. If they fill a flight to Vegas, for example, with a bunch of sub $100 air fares - the airline is probably going to lose a ton of money on it. However, if they spread it out and put say 40 seats at the low fare, another 30 at one $20 higher, another 30 $30 more than that, and so on...they can easily balance the risk and get the flight to a profitable level.

[no1cub17]

Just a curious question to those in the business but why do prices on airline tickets go up as the departure dates gets closer? I was thinking about taking a sporadic trip next weekend for V day but, not to my surprise, the high prices axed that plan. I know there is a reason but you would think you'd want to fill the plane.

There are always exceptions. Flights don't always fill - and in that case you can get last minute tickets at pretty good discounts. My fiancee just flew to LAX last weekend on AA's nonstop for less than $300, bought less than a week in advance. Normally sells for $450+, even in advance. There's a reason though - when I booked her seats the flights were more than half empty, and F was completely open. So you can get lucky sometimes.

[blangtang]

I saw a 747 I believe just west of the terminal.

On a map it shows FAA and US Prisons Bureau. Or was I seeing stuff?

[catch22]

Was probably this. What used to be a 747.

[shawnw]

If that's the one you saw then, yes, it's the FAA's, the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute's (CAMI) to be specific. Incidentally, the CAMI building is the coolest one on the FAA campus (inside anyway) IMO.

[blangtang]

yeah, that is it.

I thought it was a cargo plane!

[catch22]

It appears March 31 will be the last day OKC-CLE operates.

[catch22]

January

http://www.flyokc.com/statistics/Jan...nplanement.pdf

[catch22]

Not sure about if Allegiant had any cancels or not during January, but assuming they ran all of their flights :

166 seats x 9 flights = capacity of 1,494 seats in January.

Outbound: 1137/1494=76% load factor
Inbound: 1160/1494 = 78%

If they had any cancelations the LF would be higher.

[ljbab728]

I'm not sure what prompted it but American has announced that they are ending interline agreements with Frontier.

[damonsmuz]

It could just be in the dummy schedule,but per recent browsing, I see DL is sending the A319 into OKC from ATL late summer-fall.

[catch22]

Starts next month I believe.

[catch22]

We were getting it on one of their afternoon turns a month or two ago.

[OUman]

DL has also flown the MD 90-30 and the 320 last year for the summer months on and off-and-on basis between ATL and OKC.

[catch22]

United will drop Gate 8 and then take Gate 11, American will pick up Gate 8.

UA: 3, 5, 9, 10, 11
AA: 4, 6, 8.

This is a sure sign we will see some AA expansion to US hubs. They are currently not constrained on gates...

[HangryHippo]

Since this is the aviation thread, I thought about a little airport I recently visited in Duluth. For a small operation, their airport was first rate. It is a great example of what I wish we'd accomplished here in OKC when we redid Will Rogers. Small, but very nicely done with good attention to detail and quality construction.