Stillwater Regional Airport Still Pursuing Commercial Air Service

[Bunty]

Stillwater Regional Airport pursues commercial service » Local News » Stillwater News Press

[bombermwc]

Not to poo on Stillwater's party, but what chance do they think they have with TUL and OKC being equidistant? There isn't exactly a draw of daily traffic that would support a mainstream commercial carrier with any sized airplane. It's an easy analysis for the carriers based on the billing zip code of the passengers. Outside of OSU charter services, I can't imagine there's a draw for a town of 50K. Even Lawton only has what, 4 flights a day? And I betcha most of those are Ft. Sill passengers rather than Lawton area residents. And they're all just connections to DFW. Heck, there are only 2 gates there, and Lawton has twice as many residents....plus Ft. Sill.

[Bunty]

Is Lawton’s catchment area bigger than 195,000? Stillwater will never know until it tries passenger jet service. Manhattan, KS did and has enjoyed increased passengers every year since then. I doubt it's too discouraging for Stillwater that Manhattan is somewhat bigger with the nearest major airport being over an hour and a half away. A big question, though, will the cost to fly to Dallas, or wherever, be too high? It will help to have free parking at the Stillwater airport.

[BG918]

I know several people in Duncan that use Lawton's airport to fly to places via DFW for trips, as it's only a 30 min drive vs almost an hour and a half to OKC. The small cities around Stillwater would likely just go to OKC or TUL whichever is closer, while they don't have that option in SW Oklahoma. And the one time I flew out of LAW it felt like half the airport had military fatigues on, so FT Sill is a huge factor along with Altus AFB.

[Just the facts]

Stillwater Regional Airport pursues commercial service » Local News » Stillwater News Press

They would be better served if the they spent their transportation money trying to connect downtown Stillwater to TIA or WRWA via rail. Then not only do they get better access to air service, but they also get access to the 2 largest cities in Oklahoma - all for the same money.

[ou48A]

They would be better served if the they spent their transportation money trying to connect downtown Stillwater to TIA or WRWA via rail. Then not only do they get better access to air service, but they also get access to the 2 largest cities in Oklahoma - all for the same money.

OSU operates busses that could easily take passengers to the airports in Tulsa and OKC and do it many times cheaper than a train, with far more flexibility and with far more speed than a train currently could do and on roads that are mostly not congested.

[Bunty]

They would be better served if the they spent their transportation money trying to connect downtown Stillwater to TIA or WRWA via rail. Then not only do they get better access to air service, but they also get access to the 2 largest cities in Oklahoma - all for the same money.

It may cost as little as several million dollars to establish passenger jet service in Stillwater. How many millions would it cost to establish rail to WRWA?

[Bunty]

I know several people in Duncan that use Lawton's airport to fly to places via DFW for trips, as it's only a 30 min drive vs almost an hour and a half to OKC. The small cities around Stillwater would likely just go to OKC or TUL whichever is closer, while they don't have that option in SW Oklahoma. And the one time I flew out of LAW it felt like half the airport had military fatigues on, so FT Sill is a huge factor along with Altus AFB.

Federal subsidized passenger air service has failed from lack of passengers as recently as 1986 in Stillwater. But planes were flying to Tulsa, rather than a big hub, like Dallas-Ft. Worth. Airline Suspends Stillwater Passenger Service | News OK

A round trip ticket to Tulsa was $59. Flights to Oklahoma City were also tried during the mid 1980s, but failed.

[Snowman]

They would be better served if the they spent their transportation money trying to connect downtown Stillwater to TIA or WRWA via rail. Then not only do they get better access to air service, but they also get access to the 2 largest cities in Oklahoma - all for the same money.

From the existing lines, they might as well just go to Tulsa if a rail link was pursued, the existing rail route is both shorter and does not have the multiple times stop/reverses of direction that would be required to go to OKC. Granted there are gaps between the railroad & terminal at both airports but Tulsa has less of a gap too. (I know people are not fans of buses but) It is probably cheaper/faster to set up an express bus route and unless a lot was put into the tracks, it would take less time to get between locations as well.

[bombermwc]

Along with what Snowman is saying, rail would have to be point to point for it to make sense. No stops along the way. But good luck getting that because Stilly isn't going to pay for a line into either city like that. The airport is on the opposite side of the metro from Stilly in either metro so there is a lot to get around or through. ENORMOUS cost that would NEVER be returned on. They would more likely want to tie into an existing commuter rail, IF it existed. Otherwise, a bus system makes far more economic sense for all parties. And really, if there was enough of a demand for that, you'd already see the service in operation.

It's not in operation because it's still faster and more convenient to drive yourself. And with gas being cheap, it's not really an issue since the citizens of Stilly are going to own a car whether or not the rail/bus exists....sorry JTF, but that's just how it is. Simply laying several hundred millions in rail line doesn't make people use it.

[venture]

They would be better served if the they spent their transportation money trying to connect downtown Stillwater to TIA or WRWA via rail. Then not only do they get better access to air service, but they also get access to the 2 largest cities in Oklahoma - all for the same money.

The SCASD grant isn't flexible like that. It has to be used for what Stillwater applied for. They have 3 years to use it after award or it goes back.

[warreng88]

From the Journal Record:

Air Stillwater: Study suggests city could support commercial flights

By: D. Ray Tuttle The Journal Record December 30, 2014

STILLWATER – Research suggests there is demand to support daily airline flights from Stillwater Regional Airport to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

A study by the city of Stillwater is the latest in a three-year effort to obtain commercial air service, said Stillwater Regional Airport Director Gary Johnson.

Jet service for 50 passengers is the goal, said Lisa Navrkal, Stillwater Chamber of Commerce president and CEO.

“We would like to schedule two flights per day to a regional hub,” Navrkal said.

In September 2013, Stillwater received a $447,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Small Community Air Service Development Program to establish commercial air service, said Victor Bird, director of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission.

The grant allows Stillwater city and civic leaders to compete for commercial air service that might otherwise be unobtainable, Bird said.

If successful, Stillwater would be the fourth city in the state to offer commercial air service. Commercial air service is available in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Lawton.

As part of the effort to determine use of a regional airport, Stillwater officials invited the Ponca City Development Authority, Ponca City Chamber of Commerce and surrounding communities to take part in the analysis, Navrkal said. Calls to the Ponca City chamber were not returned by press time.

“We feel we can draw (passengers) from Ponca City,” Navrkal said. “The response was positive and this helped us to move forward with development.”

Stillwater officials hired airline development consultant Mead and Hunt. The Phoenix-based company, which reported $78 million in revenues in 2013, has served as an aviation consultant for decades, according to the Mead website. The engineering and architectural firm offers services in markets ranging from aviation to water resources.

Research by Mead and Hunt revealed 13,885 airline tickets were purchased during 2013 by people living in the study area, Navrkal said.

The consultant examined ticket purchases from the 194,838 people living in 35 ZIP codes in and around Stillwater, Navrkal said.

Stillwater has a population of nearly 48,000, Johnson said.

“We believe we have substantial support,” Johnson said. “We are an aggressive and growing community.”

A flight from Stillwater to Dallas would be 55 minutes, compared to the hourlong drive to Tulsa or Oklahoma City to board a flight to a regional hub, Johnson said.

If a contract with an airline is signed, the airport would be able to submit marketing expenses against the grant, Navrkal said.

Oklahoma State University regularly employs charter flights to events, Johnson said.

Johnson said regional service to Dallas is a possibility.

Navrkal agreed there is support to ensure success once regional service is established.

[catch22]

Waste of money.

[venture]

Speaking with some friends who are with American in other cities or directly involved with air service development, this grant is probably going no where. American is telling airports they must have proof of existing O&D traffic to start any service with a revenue guarantee. This means SWO is SOL. The only option is going to be to find a regional willing to do it At Risk (coughSkyWestcough) and go that route and code-share with AA or another carrier.

[catch22]

Speaking with some friends who are with American in other cities or directly involved with air service development, this grant is probably going no where. American is telling airports they must have proof of existing O&D traffic to start any service with a revenue guarantee. This means SWO is SOL. The only option is going to be to find a regional willing to do it At Risk (coughSkyWestcough) and go that route and code-share with AA or another carrier.

Won't happen. SkyWest is under the close watchful eye of shareholders at the moment, as they struggle to manage and digest the ExpressJet operation resulting in poor financial performance. SkyWest Inc. is not likely to allow SkyWest Airlines to push into very unknown territory flying at risk in Oklahoma. I think a SkyWest air maintenance base at OKC are more likely to happen, but not by much.

[venture]

It might depend on the market. I do know SkyWest has signed on to do At Risk under the AA banner to some of the US hubs.

[catch22]

38 a day round trip is a tiny number. Without revenue guarantees it won't happen.

[venture]

38 a day round trip is a tiny number. Without revenue guarantees it won't happen.

Oh I completely agree with you in regards to SWO. One of the markets I know they are talking about is an existing AA station, adding a second hub with around 40-60 ppd, and has around $1M in rev guarantees. AA however said they wouldn't do it since the O&D stats are based on a total market study and not DOT data...but OO said they would do it at risk.

[Bunty]

For an update, still not close to a deal on an airline:
Stillwater Regional Airport prepares for the future - Stillwater News Press: News

[bombermwc]

Should we be surprised? I mean I don't see how this ever had a chance of getting off the ground....haha pun.

[Bunty]

Auburn, AL does not have air passenger service. Since Auburn, AL is somewhat bigger and growing faster than Stillwater, while not too far from a major airport in the state, Montgomery, how can Stillwater hope to get air passenger service?

[AP]

Looks like this may actually happen.

BREAKING: Commercial flights coming to Stillwater in August - ocolly.com : News

[AP]

SWO is also an option now on AA.com, though no flights are listed yet.

[jerrywall]

heh

[Just the facts]

Reading the history of this thread is kind of amusing.