2014 Oklahoma Commercial Aviation Discussion

[ljbab728]

For anyone talking about OKC becoming a hub, I thought this was a pretty interesting read:

7 American Airports That Are Struggling After Losing Hub Status - TheRichest

It's probably not a coincidence that the airports mentioned are concentrated in the Midwest and Mississippi valley area of the country not too far apart.

[venture]

Diversions from DFW due to storms are starting...

AAL1242

MD82

Denver Intl (KDEN)

05:12p

06:39p

[OUman]

Just read an Aviation Week article that pretty much sums up Delta's strategy, CEO Richard Anderson's philosophy on buying new jets (especially ones that he deems "experimental") and the new Seattle-Tacoma hub. Very interesting for those who like aviation in general and then some:

Source: Aviation Week - Delta's Next Initiative

It looks like he really wants Airbus to go after the 330NEO and it appears the NRT (IATA code for Tokyo-Narita International Airport) hub is about to get a downgrade now that the Sea-Tac hub is going to get amped.

[HangryHippo]

I wonder if we will get connected to Seattle if it's going to see such continued expansion? I think some of venture's and catch22's posts have illustrated there's pretty good traffic for the route.

[catch22]

There's enough to fill an RJ up.

about 180 per day -- each way. Add in some connections on the Seattle end and it can be done. Very costly flight for an RJ though.

[damonsmuz]

What's the 411 with this flight????

SkyWest (OO) #1326 ? FlightAware

[bradh]

it appears to be a second leg of a flight from ORD. the reverse is OKC-MCI-ORD.

[no1cub17]

What's the 411 with this flight????

SkyWest (OO) #1326 ? FlightAware

Bizarre indeed. No major flies MCI-OKC now. Skywest only flies CR2s for AA out of DFW and LAX (AFAIK) so it's not for AA. Wouldn't make any sense at all for it to be DL. Searched on UA's site and couldn't find this flight. And it's not Frontier. Weird!

[catch22]

It's crew training flights. SkyWest just recently began to take delivery of the E175. The flight crews need to build up hours in the type for proficiency and training.

[no1cub17]

It's crew training flights. SkyWest just recently began to take delivery of the E175. The flight crews need to build up hours in the type for proficiency and training.

Ah that makes sense - thanks for the info!

[gopokes88]

Any chance we could ever get a direct to Albuquerque? ExpressJet used to when they were around but since then nothing.

[catch22]

Pretty unlikely. I think there's only around 50-60 passengers per day in the market (25-30 each way daily on average). Not good with no connections available on either end.

[LakeEffect]

Inbound medical emergency (passed out person, I believe)... heard it at 12:30 pm on the scanner.

[Jeepnokc]

I live near the airport (OKC) and just saw what looked to be a private 737 or something close in size take off to the south. Appeared to head off to the west. It was about 410 pm today. Any clue who the plane belongs to as I didn't recognize it as one of the ones we normally see?

[Jeepnokc]

I live near the airport (OKC) and just saw what looked to be a private 737 or something close in size take off to the south. Appeared to head off to the west. It was about 410 pm today. Any clue who the plane belongs to as I didn't recognize it as one of the ones we normally see?

I figured it out on Flight Aware. Sierra Pacific which is charter service that does charters for military and others. It is heading to McChord-Lewis so assuming it's a military charter flight. Interesting that the airline started with the profits from a soft X rated later R rated 3d movie called the Stewardesses

[BG918]

Any chance we could ever get a direct to Albuquerque? ExpressJet used to when they were around but since then nothing.

Great Plains flew this route for a couple years around 2001-03. I flew on GPA twice, once to Albuquerque from OKC and another time from TUL to Colorado Springs with a stop in OKC. Both were to go skiing, which were nice alternatives to DEN which at the time was very expensive with United the only option. Too bad there is not a seasonal flight to either one still available during the winter months.

[warreng88]

I just got back from Orlando flying Allegiant direct from OKC to Sanford (30-40 minutes north and east of Orlando). The cost was great, it was a no frills airline. We had to pay $20 for each carry-on each way and $11-$20 per seat each way. They did not offer food or beverage for free, but they were available for purchase. The cost was about the same as what you would pay in the airport. Both the flight out on Thursday and the flight back on Sunday were completely filled to capacity. What are the chances of Allegiant adding another flight once August-September is over and they resume flights to and from Orlando? We really enjoyed that it was direct and would like to go again, but different days.

[venture]

As long as the flights are really strong, there is a chance they could add another day to the service. Though I think it might be more likely that they would try to add in another market, which would be great as well.

[venture]

For those that missed it...F9 (Frontier) announced a new focus city out of Washington Dulles. This follows on the tails of announcing Cleveland. Just insane how much thier network is growing and diversifying away form the DEN hub. Hopefully we get looked at at some point to get connecting to these focus cities.

[warreng88]

As long as the flights are really strong, there is a chance they could add another day to the service. Though I think it might be more likely that they would try to add in another market, which would be great as well.

Good to hear. Like I said in my PM, it would be nice to have another option to Vegas or Phoenix directly, although I wouldn't be opposed to Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday to Sanford flights as well.

Typically, how long do they look at capacity before they decide to add another flight or another market?

[venture]

Good to hear. Like I said in my PM, it would be nice to have another option to Vegas or Phoenix directly, although I wouldn't be opposed to Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday to Sanford flights as well.

Typically, how long do they look at capacity before they decide to add another flight or another market?

It really depends on the market for them. I've seen them go years without announcing expansion at a city and I've seen them go a few months. They have their revenue targets at a certain level and stick to them. The big thing we can't see his how much ancillary revenue they are generating - vacation packages, extra fees, etc - out of OKC and that is a major driver for them. If those are low, they won't expand.

[venture]

On August 19th, Mesa dba US Airways Express will take over the LAX-OKC route from Envoy/American Eagle. This will also result in an upgrade in the gauge of equipment going to a CRJ-900.

[s00nr1]

Can't complain about that venture. Still wouldn't mind seeing an E70 on that route eventually.

[venture]

Yeah that would be nice, but I don't think any are going to be out there for awhile. One thing we need to watch though is American's load factors when the data starts becoming available. A buddy of mine who works for AA in another city has seen their load factors go from 65% up to 91% in the last couple of months. Apparently those from US Airways have taken over handling ticket pricing and such and are squeezing more revenue out of the existing operation. So far it doesn't seem like we've had a huge boost the first two months of the year, but Envoy (Eagle) is up 5 pts to a 71.65% load factor in February compared to last year.

[damonsmuz]

Good for F9. Are they trying to get away from WN at DEN???

I booked F9 to DEN for the 4th. It will be my 1st taste at the ULCC brand. Price of ticket was nice and beat WN and UAL by $150 even after all the fees.

I enjoy F9... just wish they'd bring back the fresh cookies