2021 Oklahoma City Aviation Thread

[gopokes88]

Yes it is. United has been doubling down on them. They are cheap to fly and somewhat reliable, and SkyWest is a pro at operating them.

But they still suck.

It's pretty much pushed me away from United and back to American. I hate them. So cramped in there.

[PoliSciGuy]

New airline to begin three routes from OKC, with service to SAT, TPA and MSY

https://paxex.aero/breeze-airways-la...-first-flight/

[BG918]

New airline to begin three routes from OKC, with service to SAT, TPA and MSY

https://paxex.aero/breeze-airways-la...-first-flight/

They will also be serving TUL with the same routes. Hopefully better than Via Air.

[Jeepnokc]

New airline to begin three routes from OKC, with service to SAT, TPA and MSY

https://paxex.aero/breeze-airways-la...-first-flight/

Perfect. My son just graduated and accepted a cross country scholarship at Loyola New Orleans. This will make going down there to see him a lot easier.

[catch22]

Excellent. I mentioned them a while ago, but based on their initial guidance thought they would be more of a NE airline, not SE.

They will be much better than ViaAir.

[Richard at Remax]

YESSSSSSSSS Finally MSY. The time down there is great. 7am flight coming back here not so great.

[Pete]

Press release:

****************

BREEZE AIRWAYS ANNOUNCES OKLAHOMA CITY AS A NEW DESTINATION
Non-stop flights starting at $39 one way.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Friday, May 21, 2021 – Oklahoma City welcomes Breeze Airways, the new U.S. carrier from JetBlue founder David Neeleman. Breeze announced new nonstop service for unserved routes to Tampa, New Orleans, and San Antonio. Flights are on sale now at www.flybreeze.com and the Breeze app, starting at just $39 one way.

The first flight out of Oklahoma City will be to Tampa, Florida on July 1 followed by San Antonio and New Orleans on July 15. The entry of Breeze Airways to the area and the addition of three nonstop services will greatly enhance the overall air service in the Oklahoma City market by providing more travel options for travelers.

“We are excited to announce that Breeze has selected OKC and the Greater Oklahoma City area as one of its first markets, said Airports Director Mark Kranenburg. The markets Breeze has chosen for OKC are three of our top ten unserved markets.”

Joined by an experienced team of industry veterans, Mr Neeleman set out to build an airline that offers a great experience, with low fares and high flexibility. A staggering 90 percent of Breeze routes currently have no airline serving them nonstop. With seamless booking, no change or cancellation fees, up to 24-months of reusable flight credit and customized flight features delivered via a sleek and simple app, Breeze makes it easy to buy and easy to fly.

Breeze’s introductory fares start at just $39 and there are no change or cancellation fees. Passengers earn credit called “BreezePoints” on all purchases that can be used towards future flights or other ancillary products, such as bags and seat assignments. Guests can change or cancel a flight up to 15 minutes before scheduled departure without penalty. Unused funds from changes and cancellations are automatically saved in the Guest’s Breeze account and do not expire for 24 months.

During booking, passengers have the option to choose fares that can affect the price of a fare, items that may be accepted for carry-on, and seating options. To learn more about Breeze and their booking options visit www.flybreeze.com.

[FighttheGoodFight]

Well we will see if Neeleman can strike gold again after JetBlue.

[Snowman]

Are the new gates expected to be completed by July?

[Jeepnokc]

YESSSSSSSSS Finally MSY. The time down there is great. 7am flight coming back here not so great.

We were just looking at that. Great times for my son flying home for weekend (MSY-OKC) but we will probably be flying Southwest home on Sundays as I am not doing 7 am return flights on weekend trips.

[gopokes88]

This is awesome.

[damonsmuz]

Great news for OKC. But, another flight to Texas. Meh.

Breeze will be using Gate #1

[BG918]

Great news for OKC. But, another flight to Texas. Meh.

Breeze will be using Gate #1

SAT and AUS are the two of the biggest regional markets currently unserved from OKC and TUL. MCI (Kansas City) is the other one but I suspect Southwest will start that route back up after the new airport is finished there. AUS could likely either be served by Southwest or Delta at some point as they build up their focus city to include regional connections.

I think COS is a market that could work from Oklahoma for an airline like Breeze.

[Celebrator]

I NEVER thought we would get a look from Breeze this early. This is really a big get. Neeleman is a very successful airline guy, so this has a real shot at being a long term thing for OKC. I really hope I can try them out sometime soon. Can't believe service starts so quickly after the announcement! So, so, cool.

[Downwind17]

Excited to see how this progresses! Definitely hoping to see the routes from OKC grow in the future...and very pleased to see that OKC and TUL were on the radar screens of the leadership at Breeze as viable markets for their launch.

[PoliSciGuy]

Idle question spawned by this - has any airline ran a non-stop OKC-TUL flight, or are they just too close to make it not profitable since the drive cost isn't too bad?

[Plutonic Panda]

Idle question spawned by this - has any airline ran a non-stop OKC-TUL flight, or are they just too close to make it not profitable since the drive cost isn't too bad?

I too have wondered this and thought it is the perfect reason to build HSR.

[Snowman]

Idle question spawned by this - has any airline ran a non-stop OKC-TUL flight, or are they just too close to make it not profitable since the drive cost isn't too bad?

It has been several decades, but yes.

Granted between modern security and a range of other factors commercial flights there are no longer going to save time, plus the vast majority of development of the two cities since WW2 pretty much demand most residents need to own a car, so even if the flight were free then it would still cost more to fly there and rent/hire a car verse driving yourself.

[HOT ROD]

United, American, Delta, and Great Plains ran OKC-TUL at various times through history.

[Bellaboo]

Idle question spawned by this - has any airline ran a non-stop OKC-TUL flight, or are they just too close to make it not profitable since the drive cost isn't too bad?

Pan Am back in the 60's.

[BG918]

United, American, Delta, and Great Plains ran OKC-TUL at various times through history.

I flew Delta OKC-TUL one time in the 90's. It was the only time I walked into the airport in OKC and purchased a ticket at the check-in counter then flew to TUL about an hour later. If I remember correctly it was just under a 30 min flight that was part of a TUL-OKC-DFW routing. That was back when Delta was a big player at DFW. They had an odd-ball AMA-LBB flight too that operated DFW-LBB-AMA.

Delta Route Map from the 1990's


And I flew Great Plains once TUL-OKC-COS. We stopped in OKC and some people got on and off. I'm surprised more airlines don't have a stop in either city on their way somewhere else. I've long thought this could work for connecting OKC and TUL to cities like New York JFK, Boston, Toronto, etc that may not have enough demand for a single city but would for OKC and Tulsa combined.

[damonsmuz]

With these new routes announced. How many passengers(pre-pandemic) were flying from OKC to San Antonio? New Orleans? Tampa?

EMB-190 will be a new equipment type for OKC. I don't think we've ever had that regularly serviced to here before.

[d-usa]

I’ve flown them on KLM a few times, comfortable plane.

[catch22]

With these new routes announced. How many passengers(pre-pandemic) were flying from OKC to San Antonio? New Orleans? Tampa?

EMB-190 will be a new equipment type for OKC. I don't think we've ever had that regularly serviced to here before.

Frontier used them in 2009-2010 for their OKC-TPA/MCO route, and they also appeared on OKC-DEN. No different than an E175 from an interior perspective. Same airplane just stretched (think 737-700 to 900)

[catch22]

Off the top of my head. OKC-SAT and TPA were around 65-80 passengers per day each way. MSY was the lowest around 50.

They will clearly need to stimulate the markets.