The other thread was closed...

So, is Southwest (or anybody) offering nonstop OKC to Orlando service anymore? If so, what's the schedule?

Also, what about nonstops from OKC to Tampa? Any chance of that happening?

Not that I know of man. I know we used to have one carrier out of the bunch that went to disney world. Delta, southwest...but now they are really cutting back on routes.

For families especially, nonstops are a lot easier to deal with. Not to mention nonstops to Orlando! I mean, come on!

:)

They (southwest) had a seasonal nonstop running for a little bit but I think that is shut down right now.

I can't remember which one, I think it was either Chautauqua or Comair operated under the Delta Connection banner out of OKC to Orlando on a daily flight. It was axed when the Orlando operation was cut back a few years ago. Allegiant Air had planned to offer service to Sanford, FL (northeast of Orlando), but since they couldn't sell enough packages to Las Vegas they just opted to cancel the whole thing out of OKC.

I'm working with a few people right now on some early ideas/business plan on a new start up that would be in the public charter format (at first). Depending on the focus of the operation, the OKC-Florida market is definitely something that is of interest. Depending on what the market looks like in the next year or so will dictate what happens. I think Allegiant would be an amazing addition to OKC again, but the market will need to take to it quickly in order for it to last. Considering how widely successful they are in other small and medium markets (and being one of the few profitable carriers out there now), they should be able to make it work here.

I can't remember which one, I think it was either Chautauqua or Comair operated under the Delta Connection banner out of OKC to Orlando on a daily flight. It was axed when the Orlando operation was cut back a few years ago. Allegiant Air had planned to offer service to Sanford, FL (northeast of Orlando), but since they couldn't sell enough packages to Las Vegas they just opted to cancel the whole thing out of OKC.

I'm working with a few people right now on some early ideas/business plan on a new start up that would be in the public charter format (at first). Depending on the focus of the operation, the OKC-Florida market is definitely something that is of interest. Depending on what the market looks like in the next year or so will dictate what happens. I think Allegiant would be an amazing addition to OKC again, but the market will need to take to it quickly in order for it to last. Considering how widely successful they are in other small and medium markets (and being one of the few profitable carriers out there now), they should be able to make it work here.

It was a Comair-operated flight. I remember working it, mainly out of gate 11 before the move to the new gates. I believe Southwest took it next after Delta dropped it.

Venture79- Just some FYI...the CVG flights will be changed over to Freedom Air ERJ's here at the first of may. There is talk of some Compass EMB175's returning (hope they do), but of most interest is that DL currently has no scheduled mainline (MD88/737) service at all this summer!

We flew with Allegiant last summer to Orlando. It was a nonstop and it was ridiculously cheap. The 2 hour jaunt to Wichita was worth it. Unfortunately, we learned that our return flight from Orlando back to Wichita was their last trip! Now Allegiant only flies to Vegas and LA from Wichita. Now, the closest Allegiant airport that flies to Orlando and/or Tampa is Springfield, Missouri which, according to Google, is about a four hour drive. Allegiant offers $60 round trip airfare from Springfield to Tampa and Orlando (when they have their specials). I'm trying to figure out if a four hour drive is worth it for the price. (gas money, hotel if you get there the night before, long term parking...) Ultimately, I wish an OKC to TPA or OKC to MCO would happen with Allegiant. That would be awesome.

DFW has a nonstop to MCO on AA. For $160 it's not bad at all. Still have to drive...

Just curious, as someone who currenty lives in Orlando, do more Oklahomans go to Arizona than Florida for winters/vacations? AZ is quicker flight time, I guess. Granted it is a long drive, but we see more Missouri and Kansas plates down here than OK plates on visitor cars.

It was a Comair-operated flight. I remember working it, mainly out of gate 11 before the move to the new gates. I believe Southwest took it next after Delta dropped it.

Venture79- Just some FYI...the CVG flights will be changed over to Freedom Air ERJ's here at the first of may. There is talk of some Compass EMB175's returning (hope they do), but of most interest is that DL currently has no scheduled mainline (MD88/737) service at all this summer!

The 175s would be nice again. Don't really care taking a CRJ all the way to DTW - CVG was rough enough when they dumped the 737s on it. I kind of figured mainline is a thing of the past here right now. Next couple years for DL will be the path of consolidation (sucks for CVG and MEM). Though that may mean that we could finally see mainline back to ATL (which does me no good, since my primary destination lost that server a year or so ago).

^Transmeridian Airlines (remember that?) also had nonstops between OKC and MCO at one point, but those also lasted only a few months, The trouble with those flights was that they were not timed correctly for most people. And then Southwest has tried the route a couple of times as well with Sat-only service, didn't work, and obviously didn't work for Comair either. Something about Orlando which keeps the yields low no matter which airline/aircraft you put there.

I completely forgot about TMA. I had a couple friends that worked those flights at probably their only profitable out station (it was in Ohio). They were pretty disorganized, but had the right idea.

Allegiant is a weird case. They make their money off of selling packages. If you are just looking at them to buy a seat on the plane, but are doing the rest of your reservation planning through someone else - they aren't interested. However, this seems to work well and there are tons of smaller cities that now have service from them a few times a week and are running profitable with load factors well into the 90s.

Allegiant's Route Map:

http://www.allegiantair.com/aaImages/routemap/routemap_static.jpg

^Yeah, Allegiant has been clever in the way it has shaped its business. That's the main reason why even though it operates an all-gas-guzzling-MD 83 fleet, it is still profitable. It avoids direct competition with the legacy carriers. But it prices the packages at competitive levels so even though it is flying to all these small markets, it is still able to make profits on most of its flights. Another thing is Allegiant doesn't fly daily nonstops on most routes; they're all mostly twice or thrice-weekly roundtrips. It should be interesting to see how it does this year though, with big downturns in both, leisure and business traffic. Still, it should do better than most others out there.

Yeah, they have more markets moving towards daily service - only a few are right now - but yeah, the reduced frequencies helps a lot. It is funny to see how even AirTran is now looking at this market and style of business from Orlando. Majority of their markets that they have recently opened are Orlando only destinations and operate 2-4 times per week. It is funny how the MD-83s use to be one of the best aircraft to use, and is now lumped in with the other gas guzzlers. : ) I think they'll do fine this year. Their fleet is only growing by 6 aircraft this year, they have plenty of markets left to move in to, and they control their costs pretty well (I believe all aircraft are owned as well).

We got 3 round trip tickets from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Tampa for $250 on Allegiant. That was with taxes, fees and all charges. They run reduced fares quite a bit.

Aviation Maintenance Magazine :: AAR Wins Allegiant Air MD-80 Contract (http://www.aviationtoday.com/am/topstories/AAR-Wins-Allegiant-Air-MD-80-Contract_27386.html)

Might this be good news for another Allegiant expansion to OKC?

Looks like it was just for 6 aircraft and the work is probably done by now. Alaska does a lot of their maintenance here as well, but so far no scheduled service. RenoAir was the last one that made that happen, and AA took care of that.

No non-stops to Orlando? None? That gives new meaning to "flyover country." Orlando is the very definition of a destination city.

Venture, the map you had posted got me thinking. Why are these planes flying in curves? Isn't that a waste of time and gas. Especially gas! Isn't it more logical to fly a straight path?

why are these planes flying in curves? isn't that a waste of time and gas. especially gas! isn't it more logical to fly a straight path?

newsflash... the earth is round. -M

http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/original/nbc_the_more_you_know.jpg

No non-stops to Orlando? None? That gives new meaning to "flyover country." Orlando is the very definition of a destination city.

I know, right? It's really ridiculous. You would think a twice-a-week non-stop from OKC to MCO would do pretty good here. When Allegiant was here a few years ago, I think they only did Vegas. And they weren't the only ones doing a nonstop to Vegas at the time. So, I hope they come back and do Florida... Tampa or Orlando at least.

Edit: PS: I wrote Allegiant and explained to them the situation. The representative wrote me back and told me s/he would be forwarding my letter to the "Planning Department" for review. Let's hope for the best...

Venture, the map you had posted got me thinking. Why are these planes flying in curves? Isn't that a waste of time and gas. Especially gas! Isn't it more logical to fly a straight path?

The route map has nothing to do with how the planes fly, the lines have been drawn that way to make each route as clear as possible, you'll see that other maps are also drawn in the same way.

mmm is correct for medium and long-haul flights though, most of the time they do follow a curved flight path to make use of the shorter distance involved in going up and over (transatlantic and transpacific flights show this very clearly). Then again weather does alter flight paths.

Back on the topic, I would think a weekly or twice weekly service between OKC and MCO would do well.

Venture, the map you had posted got me thinking. Why are these planes flying in curves? Isn't that a waste of time and gas. Especially gas! Isn't it more logical to fly a straight path?

OMG, since there is no way possible that you were serious, I'm going to assume that you said this just to liven up the day for everyone and see if we were paying attention.