Omaha Eppley Airfield - DISCUSSION

[Bearcat06]

I'm great with anything under $600 for a nonstop to California. Between SF, LA, and SD I am out there 6-10 times a year so price/time shopping is sort of a hobby. The cheapest is always the Alaska nonstop to SD. I've flown it for under $300. I am not into the Amtrack out there cause its expensive and inconvenient. The most is the United nonstop to SF which is tough to get under $700. The fact to me that United has 2 daily nonstops to SF on a 2x2 and and the 4 times I have flown it this year its 90% full is mind blowing. My son that works and lives in SF swears there are commuters that live in Omaha and work in SF on it. LA is all over the map cost wise but it basically gives you 5 of more airports to work with. I was shocked by 2 things. The first being that I could not find anything for under $800 and if u add that I dont want to fly through Denver or Chicago due to weather delays it was frustrating . I was just waiting it out. LAX can add an hour or more to your commute so I had not checked it. Its over at least an hour quicker in travel time but the bag car rental part just sucks. The 2nd shocking thing was falling into the $432 daily nonstop on Delta into LAX. No ads, no announcement, it was just suddenly there. I don't get how they expect to fill it when no one knows about it.

This DL addition might have been one we scooped here on the forum- but shortly after both OWH and OAA did announce the addition. I believe the Lincoln Star Journal ran a quip too.

I don't think it would be as bad as one might think. DL is one of the big three so they show up on Google flights and all the discount sites like Expedia and Kayak. Plus it's an RJ-175 with 76 seats.

It appears that SWA is the only airline willing to send anything from OMA to California (obviously they only fly B737s) larger than an RJ-175, other than AA's new addition of the A319 going to LAX starting after 9/4.

[Blade1655]

The fact to me that United has 2 daily nonstops to SF on a 2x2 and and the 4 times I have flown it this year its 90% full is mind blowing. My son that works and lives in SF swears there are commuters that live in Omaha and work in SF on it.

I can confirm this is true - I take the 5:55 am flight from Omaha to SFO and am in my desk at our office near San Jose by 8:30 am. I work a full day, and take the 6:30 flight from SFO to Omaha and will be home by midnight. It is a brutal day but has advantages over staying the night in a hotel or flying into San Jose where I would have to connect and spend an entire day traveling. Not something I would want to do more than a couple times a month - but a great option for people who work remote and have corporate headquarters in the Bay area. Clearly many others feel the same way.

[joleo]

The fact to me that United has 2 daily nonstops to SF on a 2x2 and and the 4 times I have flown it this year its 90% full is mind blowing. My son that works and lives in SF swears there are commuters that live in Omaha and work in SF on it.

I can confirm this is true - I take the 5:55 am flight from Omaha to SFO and am in my desk at our office near San Jose by 8:30 am. I work a full day, and take the 6:30 flight from SFO to Omaha and will be home by midnight. It is a brutal day but has advantages over staying the night in a hotel or flying into San Jose where I would have to connect and spend an entire day traveling. Not something I would want to do more than a couple times a month - but a great option for people who work remote and have corporate headquarters in the Bay area. Clearly many others feel the same way.

October-February is going down to only 1x daily regional jet. In October and January and February, it is an afternoon departure from Omaha nonstop. It returns to 2x daily in March.

[Bearcat06]

SWA announcement in USA Today noting several non-stop flights being cut nationwide. LAX-OMA is gonzo as of Jan 6th.





https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/2049341001 ... ssion=true

[Bob from Omaha]

KC lost Boston. OKC lost Dallas Love. Those two are surprising.

Ok. It's the 20th. Time for a statistics update.

[EastCB]

-1.2 for July.

[Bearcat06]

Stats are attached. Down 1.2% from last year. Biggest items of note, Frontier down 48.5%, AA down 4.3% and SWA down 4.2%. Allegiant up 67.2%, but they were only able to make up about 7k of the 10k pax load dropped by Frontier.

With updates numbers I'm forecasting about a 1.43% increase on the year with a pax estimate of around 5,115,240.

https://www.flyoma.com/wp-content/uploa ... istics.pdf

[Ryan Air]

Stats are attached. Down 1.2% from last year. Biggest items of note, Frontier down 48.5%, AA down 4.3% and SWA down 4.2%. Allegiant up 67.2%, but they were only able to make up about 7k of the 10k pax load dropped by Frontier.

With updates numbers I'm forecasting about a 1.43% increase on the year with a pax estimate of around 5,115,240.

https://www.flyoma.com/wp-content/uploa ... istics.pdf

My contribution: I typically fly out of Omaha 3-4 times a month. I'm a big WN guy, mostly because I have status and they had the best times arriving to my client cities. I have decreased my flying and opted for driving more and more since March really. The impact of scheduling for southwest (maintenance contact issues and the max) have reduced the service I was used to into IND, CMH, SDF etc...Either a flight eliminated in the morning or afternoon, requiring a late Monday arrival or Sunday travel. It's not so much the cost with them, or other carriers- it's the time it takes to travel. It's really not on the OMA end, as I am still able to have plenty of options flying out. If they can't get me there when I want, I have no problem with getting .58/mile diving. As a result I've only flown twice since end of May- both in June. Delta is now my carrier of choice and I have three flights booked next month. My last trip for this month is to South Bend... American and United both have great fares... If I want to spend 8-10 hours traveling (or outrageous fare for midday flights) I can drive it in 7.

My point: I'm one of the reasons WN and OMA are down. I'm likely to use WN less and less. I'm likely to use DL more in the future. I'm prob not the only one

[ita]

Stats are attached. Down 1.2% from last year. Biggest items of note, Frontier down 48.5%, AA down 4.3% and SWA down 4.2%. Allegiant up 67.2%, but they were only able to make up about 7k of the 10k pax load dropped by Frontier.

With updates numbers I'm forecasting about a 1.43% increase on the year with a pax estimate of around 5,115,240.

https://www.flyoma.com/wp-content/uploa ... istics.pdf

My contribution: I typically fly out of Omaha 3-4 times a month. I'm a big WN guy, mostly because I have status and they had the best times arriving to my client cities. I have decreased my flying and opted for driving more and more since March really. The impact of scheduling for southwest (maintenance contact issues and the max) have reduced the service I was used to into IND, CMH, SDF etc...Either a flight eliminated in the morning or afternoon, requiring a late Monday arrival or Sunday travel. It's not so much the cost with them, or other carriers- it's the time it takes to travel. It's really not on the OMA end, as I am still able to have plenty of options flying out. If they can't get me there when I want, I have no problem with getting .58/mile diving. As a result I've only flown twice since end of May- both in June. Delta is now my carrier of choice and I have three flights booked next month. My last trip for this month is to South Bend... American and United both have great fares... If I want to spend 8-10 hours traveling (or outrageous fare for midday flights) I can drive it in 7.

My point: I'm one of the reasons WN and OMA are down. I'm likely to use WN less and less. I'm likely to use DL more in the future. I'm prob not the only one

WN (SW) being such a big servicer at Eppley, accounting for 1/3 of passengers, is really hurting Eppley this year. Comparatively, Lincoln, which only has Delta and United, has seen huge growth after a tough year will solid losses. Even if Southwest was flat year to year, Eppley would be up an additional percentile. My question is what's up with Frontier?

[ScrattyB]

My question is what's up with Frontier?

Have you flown Frontier?

[ita]

My question is what's up with Frontier?

Have you flown Frontier?

Yes, earlier this year. It was to Florida. The plane was full both ways. Seats weren't as plush as Delta, which I flew on in June, but legroom was comparable, if not better. I guess service was not as friendly, but it was acceptable. Nothing stood out to me as it being much worse. It could be I have lower standards, though.

[Bearcat06]

Stats are attached. Down 1.2% from last year. Biggest items of note, Frontier down 48.5%, AA down 4.3% and SWA down 4.2%. Allegiant up 67.2%, but they were only able to make up about 7k of the 10k pax load dropped by Frontier.

With updates numbers I'm forecasting about a 1.43% increase on the year with a pax estimate of around 5,115,240.

https://www.flyoma.com/wp-content/uploa ... istics.pdf

My contribution: I typically fly out of Omaha 3-4 times a month. I'm a big WN guy, mostly because I have status and they had the best times arriving to my client cities. I have decreased my flying and opted for driving more and more since March really. The impact of scheduling for southwest (maintenance contact issues and the max) have reduced the service I was used to into IND, CMH, SDF etc...Either a flight eliminated in the morning or afternoon, requiring a late Monday arrival or Sunday travel. It's not so much the cost with them, or other carriers- it's the time it takes to travel. It's really not on the OMA end, as I am still able to have plenty of options flying out. If they can't get me there when I want, I have no problem with getting .58/mile diving. As a result I've only flown twice since end of May- both in June. Delta is now my carrier of choice and I have three flights booked next month. My last trip for this month is to South Bend... American and United both have great fares... If I want to spend 8-10 hours traveling (or outrageous fare for midday flights) I can drive it in 7.

My point: I'm one of the reasons WN and OMA are down. I'm likely to use WN less and less. I'm likely to use DL more in the future. I'm prob not the only one

WN (SW) being such a big servicer at Eppley, accounting for 1/3 of passengers, is really hurting Eppley this year. Comparatively, Lincoln, which only has Delta and United, has seen huge growth after a tough year will solid losses. Even if Southwest was flat year to year, Eppley would be up an additional percentile. My question is what's up with Frontier?

This piqued my curiosity so I looked at DSM's numbers. WN makes up only 10% of their traffic. As of July, DSM is up 8.2% on the year. WN is down 4.2% on the year, Frontier is down 15.9% for them and all other carriers are in the black with UA up 11.6% and AA up 14.6% on the year.

Makes me wonder if any other mid-sized locations similar to OMA are struggling this year if WN is a big share of their traffic.

[Bearcat06]

My question is what's up with Frontier?

Have you flown Frontier?

Yes, earlier this year. It was to Florida. The plane was full both ways. Seats weren't as plush as Delta, which I flew on in June, but legroom was comparable, if not better. I guess service was not as friendly, but it was acceptable. Nothing stood out to me as it being much worse. It could be I have lower standards, though.

Frontier flies to only 5 locations non-stop from OMA.

Denver - UA and WN fly more consistently. Frontier is 1 flight a day Tues, Wed, Thurs, Sat, Sun.
Fort Meyers - only seasonal
Las Vegas - WN is more consistent. Frontier appears to only fly direct on Tues, Thurs and Sun otherwise the connection is through Denver.
Philadelphia - only seasonal
Orlando - only seasonal

My guess is the inconsistency of departing/returning flights makes travel somewhat difficult. Also, it appears based on 2018 stats, several websites have them listed as the worst carrier in the US due to a nearly 25% flight cancellation rate, the common practice of bumping paid customers from flights and scoring poorly in the customer complaint category. Obviously, the first two issues go hand in hand with the complaint department.

[Omahacritic]

Airlines is one thing. Why can’t Eppley be like every other airport in the world ... have a sign that says Arrivals and Departures.

Saw “Terminal” and I thought it was an exit for sick people.

[Stargazer]

(Thankfully) Eppley doesn't have nearly enough traffic to require separate arrivals/departures areas. Or would you like a sign over the door that leads to both?

[Omahacritic]

(Thankfully) Eppley doesn't have nearly enough traffic to require separate arrivals/departures areas. Or would you like a sign over the door that leads to both?

Just be like every other airport in the world. When the access road was constructed Eppley was a blip of an airport. Basically a regional serving few but the local yokels.

Now, there are international travelers coming here. And bi-coastal business travelers. And at every other airport they travel, they See “Arrivals” and/or “departures”. “Terminal” doesn’t tell you much, and it doesn’t translate well.

A simple sign, “Arrivals and Departures” moves Omaha one step closer to the 21st century (20 years late).

If they proceed with the remodel/reconfigure it will be even more important.

[Bob from Omaha]

(Thankfully) Eppley doesn't have nearly enough traffic to require separate arrivals/departures areas. Or would you like a sign over the door that leads to both?

Lots of airports have separate levels for ticketing and bag claim. Some have quite a bit less traffic than Eppley. OKC is one. Other airports have distinct drives for pickup and drop off on the same level. My point is that there is more than one way to accomplish traffic flow. If Eppley in fact can handle all traffic as it does now then fine. I'm thinking that there must be times when it's pretty busy in the drive.

[nativeomahan]

Airlines is one thing. Why can’t Eppley be like every other airport in the world ... have a sign that says Arrivals and Departures.

Saw “Terminal” and I thought it was an exit for sick people.

Hahaha

I find the new signage along Abbot Drive very confusing, especially at night, when it is not illuminated, and there is too much verbiage to take it all in as you drive by at 45 mph.

[nativeomahan]

As far as separating arrivals and departures on different levels (arrivals on the ground floor and departures above) I am trying to think of a single airport I have used in the past 10 years where this is combined. Even in tiny Key West, they have an upper ramp for arrivals! And they only have 3 gates.
In PVR (similar sized airport to Omaha) while all activities occur at ground level, arrivals are steered to separate lanes apart from departures, so there is no mixing. Arrivals also leave the terminal on the south end of the terminal, whereas the departures entrances are further down the line. It’s still a bit of a crunch at busy times, but it works. And in passing I would note that bus stops for city and regional bus lines (and Uber) are separated from all the other chaos. And busses into the city arrive every 5 minutes!

[Bearcat06]

(Thankfully) Eppley doesn't have nearly enough traffic to require separate arrivals/departures areas. Or would you like a sign over the door that leads to both?

Just be like every other airport in the world. When the access road was constructed Eppley was a blip of an airport. Basically a regional serving few but the local yokels.

Now, there are international travelers coming here. And bi-coastal business travelers. And at every other airport they travel, they See “Arrivals” and/or “departures”. “Terminal” doesn’t tell you much, and it doesn’t translate well.

A simple sign, “Arrivals and Departures” moves Omaha one step closer to the 21st century (20 years late).

If they proceed with the remodel/reconfigure it will be even more important.

I guess I've really never had an issue with this. "Terminal" to me means ticketing/gates/etc. If you fly through DFW the signage is based on terminals A, B, C, etc... I know DEN and ATL have arrivals and departures signage, but their set up is all the terminals in a straight line after you get through ticketing; you can't go straight to a specific terminal.

[ScrattyB]

My question is what's up with Frontier?

Have you flown Frontier?

Yes, earlier this year. It was to Florida. The plane was full both ways. Seats weren't as plush as Delta, which I flew on in June, but legroom was comparable, if not better. I guess service was not as friendly, but it was acceptable. Nothing stood out to me as it being much worse. It could be I have lower standards, though.

Fort Meyers or Orlando? Did you have a checked bag? Why did you pick Frontier over another carrier? Did you have to relax your travel dates a bit to match their flight schedule?

[ita]

My question is what's up with Frontier?

Have you flown Frontier?

Yes, earlier this year. It was to Florida. The plane was full both ways. Seats weren't as plush as Delta, which I flew on in June, but legroom was comparable, if not better. I guess service was not as friendly, but it was acceptable. Nothing stood out to me as it being much worse. It could be I have lower standards, though.

Fort Meyers or Orlando? Did you have a checked bag? Why did you pick Frontier over another carrier? Did you have to relax your travel dates a bit to match their flight schedule?

Ft. Meyers. One checked bag. Cheaper and offering free kids tickets at the time. We need to be flexible while travelling. We have three young kids, so we try to take the most direct route as possible when we travel, which is not very often. I know Frontier isn't for anyone, but we wanted to go to the beach as cheaply as possible in March, and Frontier's direct to Ft. Meyers fit the bill.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

(Thankfully) Eppley doesn't have nearly enough traffic to require separate arrivals/departures areas. Or would you like a sign over the door that leads to both?

Just be like every other airport in the world. When the access road was constructed Eppley was a blip of an airport. Basically a regional serving few but the local yokels.

Now, there are international travelers coming here. And bi-coastal business travelers. And at every other airport they travel, they See “Arrivals” and/or “departures”. “Terminal” doesn’t tell you much, and it doesn’t translate well.

A simple sign, “Arrivals and Departures” moves Omaha one step closer to the 21st century (20 years late).

If they proceed with the remodel/reconfigure it will be even more important.

I guess I've really never had an issue with this. "Terminal" to me means ticketing/gates/etc. If you fly through DFW the signage is based on terminals A, B, C, etc... I know DEN and ATL have arrivals and departures signage, but their set up is all the terminals in a straight line after you get through ticketing; you can't go straight to a specific terminal.

Most of the signage for both Maui and Oakland's airports direct you to "Terminal(s)." They both have mixed arrivals/departures traffic, although there are signs indicating "baggage claim" at the other end of the terminal from the ticketing counters, so perhaps not quite as mixed.

Kansas City and San Diego's terminal 1 also have mixed traffic for arrivals/departures.

[ScrattyB]

offering free kids tickets at the time

Well yeah, that's a no brainer then.

Frontier is horrible for any connecting flight. 100% not worth it.
Frontier is great if you don't have a checked bag and are flying to one of their nonstop destinations. If you do have a checked bag, then it's likely not the cheapest flight or within $20. Then if you rarely ever fly the airline because of their non-daily schedule, or seasonal flights, their loyalty program becomes worthless.

[Bearcat06]

As far as separating arrivals and departures on different levels (arrivals on the ground floor and departures above) I am trying to think of a single airport I have used in the past 10 years where this is combined. Even in tiny Key West, they have an upper ramp for arrivals! And they only have 3 gates.
In PVR (similar sized airport to Omaha) while all activities occur at ground level, arrivals are steered to separate lanes apart from departures, so there is no mixing. Arrivals also leave the terminal on the south end of the terminal, whereas the departures entrances are further down the line. It’s still a bit of a crunch at busy times, but it works. And in passing I would note that bus stops for city and regional bus lines (and Uber) are separated from all the other chaos. And busses into the city arrive every 5 minutes!

For the most part I believe the shuttles/buses and passenger traffic are pretty well separated at OMA. I don't know about ride-share traffic (Uber/Lyft/taxis) and which lanes they take. It certainly can be a bit chaotic at times though.

I know multiple levels of traffic have been discussed previously on this board, but given how OMA is boxed in by the terminal and the parking garages, I don't know how feasible it would be. And I'm pretty sure they have no plans to tear down the new elevated walkway they just opened a couple months ago.

[nativeomahan]

In Omaha there is one Taxi “button” you push for a taxi if none are visible. The taxis mostly wait out of sight in their own waiting area south of the terminal. Taxis use the lanes nearest the garages. They do not ever pick up passengers adjacent to the terminal doorways. I am thinking that Eppley does this so as to segregate as much as possible private passenger cars from shuttle busses and taxis. But it is an inconvenience (sometimes a serious inconvenience) for arriving passengers who have to walk through rain, ice and snow with their luggage in order to access a taxi or airport shuttle. (I’m not the only one who has arrived at Eppley in winter in shorts!)

[Ryan Air]

In Omaha there is one Taxi “button” you push for a taxi if none are visible. The taxis mostly wait out of sight in their own waiting area south of the terminal. Taxis use the lanes nearest the garages. They do not ever pick up passengers adjacent to the terminal doorways. I am thinking that Eppley does this so as to segregate as much as possible private passenger cars from shuttle busses and taxis. But it is an inconvenience (sometimes a serious inconvenience) for arriving passengers who have to walk through rain, ice and snow with their luggage in order to access a taxi or airport shuttle. (I’m not the only one who has arrived at Eppley in winter in shorts!)

I've had many clients/visitors complain about this very thing!

[Omahacritic]

Crossing those lanes in the slushy snow is a pain. As are the puddles when it rains. But an elevated roadway for departures ... might have been a better investment than extra garage space.

[Mr.Nuke]

OMA-MKE is coming back at some point on newly to be launched airline Midwest Express.
https://fox6now.com/2019/08/28/midwest- ... iA6gvL0u0c

[damonhynes]

OMA-MKE is coming back at some point on newly to be launched airline Midwest Express.
https://fox6now.com/2019/08/28/midwest- ... iA6gvL0u0c

...and chocolate-chip cookies!

[Bearcat06]

In Omaha there is one Taxi “button” you push for a taxi if none are visible. The taxis mostly wait out of sight in their own waiting area south of the terminal. Taxis use the lanes nearest the garages. They do not ever pick up passengers adjacent to the terminal doorways. I am thinking that Eppley does this so as to segregate as much as possible private passenger cars from shuttle busses and taxis. But it is an inconvenience (sometimes a serious inconvenience) for arriving passengers who have to walk through rain, ice and snow with their luggage in order to access a taxi or airport shuttle. (I’m not the only one who has arrived at Eppley in winter in shorts!)

I've had many clients/visitors complain about this very thing!

So maybe a cover or roof and heat stations over the driveway area? Could actually be a nice, modern design (though it would have to be able to withstand the baseball/softball size hail that takes out the string of pearls every few years).

I know the arrival pick-up at DEN is covered, but it certainly is open to the cold winter air. I'm sure they have many winter arrivals coming in with shorts as well. I experienced the snow/slush this last winter at OMA, it wasn't enjoyable even with proper attire.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

I think something along the lines of what Grand Rapids and Portland do could be good for this:


Grand Rapids


Portland

[Bearcat06]

OMA-MKE is coming back at some point on newly to be launched airline Midwest Express.
https://fox6now.com/2019/08/28/midwest- ... iA6gvL0u0c

...and chocolate-chip cookies!

They are hoping to still potentially have flights in 2019. More details in the next 4-6 weeks.

https://amp.jsonline.com/amp/2131665001 ... 2i&ampcf=1

[Bearcat06]

I think something along the lines of what Grand Rapids and Portland do could be good for this:


Grand Rapids


Portland

I think either of those would be reasonable solutions that could be considered. The bigger question is, is it something that's even being seen as an issue outside of this forum?

[Bob from Omaha]

Check out Milwaukee's airport. Not 2 levels for arrivals and departures but totally separate drives. I doubt Omaha could do that without completely destroying the parking garage but in a perfect world it could work.

On the other hand and money would have to be absolutely no object, and I've said this before, the entire terminal complex could be moved south toward Locust St. Much more land, less Carter Lake and Park encroaching on the airport and plenty of room to grow. I've got to believe it would be billions but still. It would solve a lot of problems. As a matter of fact years ago the owh had a story and graphic outlining a 75 gate terminal near where I'm suggesting.

[Bearcat06]

Check out Milwaukee's airport. Not 2 levels for arrivals and departures but totally separate drives. I doubt Omaha could do that without completely destroying the parking garage but in a perfect world it could work.

On the other hand and money would have to be absolutely no object, and I've said this before, the entire terminal complex could be moved south toward Locust St. Much more land, less Carter Lake and Park encroaching on the airport and plenty of room to grow. I've got to believe it would be billions but still. It would solve a lot of problems. As a matter of fact years ago the owh had a story and graphic outlining a 75 gate terminal near where I'm suggesting.

If only there was someone we knew who lived in Omaha who was worth billions...

[Omahacritic]

That Grand Rapids cover is sharp.

[Omababe]

That Grand Rapids cover is sharp.

Kinda reminds me of OMA with the perpetual construction fences!

[Omahacritic]

That Grand Rapids cover is sharp.

Kinda reminds me of OMA with the perpetual construction fences!

Add some traffic cones and it’s just like Omaha.

[damonhynes]

Alaska is dropping OMA-SAN this October.