Will Rogers World Airport

[Jeepnokc]

Agreed bluedog. And for the scope of changes 9/11 caused, i feel like WRWA has done a pretty good job of making it not feel like the changes were slapped on at the end (like they were). Places like San Diego or New Orleans still have multiple check points because some areas are disconnected from one another and require a second screening just to change planes. Places like John Wayne are so spread out that you can be the only one at a security checkpoint at certain times of day....but they staff them all because it's such a long walk between them.

WRWA is a mid-sized airport (i would call places like Pensacola/Lawton/Mobile small...you know the 6 gaters), and some of the growing pains of being between the small fries and the big boys and add some difficulties. Just be thankful we never turned into a hub! You think you complain now....oh boy. The speed of WRWA is often lost on people because we take it for granted. In Houston, i would have to wait almost an hour to get bags from an international flight to the carousel. Add that to the next hour it takes to get through customs and then through security. Yeah, it's annoying that at WRWA you have to wait for what seems to be a long time, but i would say that most of the public feel that way because we think, "heck, it's just WRWA and there aren't any other flights coming in, surely they can get the bags here quickly...come on". But would you feel the same way if you were at say, SEA-TAC or DFW?...or the nightmare that is O'Hare?

Sometimes I think people (including me) forget or don't understand that compared to a lot of places, we are pretty fortunate with the flights and airlines we have. I would definitely like more options. I flew through Daytona Beach couple of weeks ago and it appeared that they only have two airlines that serve them and six to eight gates.

[Just the facts]

I flew through Daytona Beach couple of weeks ago and it appeared that they only have two airlines that serve them and six to eight gates.

Keep in mind though that within a about an hour drive of Daytona Beach is Orlando International, Sanford International, Melbourne International, and Jacksonville International. Tampa International is only 2 hours away. Plus, Frontier Airlines now flies into North Florida Regional Airport (St Augustine). That is a lot of competition for passengers.

[adaniel]

Sometimes I think people (including me) forget or don't understand that compared to a lot of places, we are pretty fortunate with the flights and airlines we have. I would definitely like more options. I flew through Daytona Beach couple of weeks ago and it appeared that they only have two airlines that serve them and six to eight gates.

While there is always room for improvement, I agree. The airline industry kinda "is what it is" at this point, so there will simply be certain routes that will be hard for OKC to obtain. At the same time, the airport is largely in line with what someone would expect for a market of our size, which is limited by the rather sparse popuation outside the immediate OKC area and a massive internation hub just three hours south.

I for one always enjoyed flying out of OKC and never felt like it was a pain to get anywhere, at least domestically. OKC could use some free Wi-Fi and the restaraunts were a bit sparse, but you'd be surprised how many people from out of state LOVE Sonic, so take it FWIW. Its interesting that someone compared us to TUL. While they have a nice facility, there was recently an article in the Tulsa World about how bad their service has slipped compared to OKC. So sometimes the grass isn't always greener.

[bluedogok]

Sometimes I think people (including me) forget or don't understand that compared to a lot of places, we are pretty fortunate with the flights and airlines we have. I would definitely like more options. I flew through Daytona Beach couple of weeks ago and it appeared that they only have two airlines that serve them and six to eight gates.

My wife flies to Midland (MAF) to visit family, she has two options from Denver, Southwest and United. The Southwest flights go through Houston Hobby, Dallas Love (and OKC or Tulsa for the time being) or Las Vegas, those flights run between 300 and 400, United has a direct flight but it is 1,100.

Those smaller airports are a challenge to plan and get to for job site visits, we are doing a new six gate terminal building for Minot, North Dakota, upgrading from two gates. My company also did the New Orleans airport (before I went to work for them) but that has been a mess of a project for a lot of different reasons.