Omaha Eppley Airfield - DISCUSSION

[Mr.Nuke]

To get to the next level, which in my opinion is closing in on 6-7 million, Eppley needs to pull out all the stops to create demand, which includes regional advertising in its catchment area, a 200 mile circle around Omaha.

We had this discussion about two years ago. I still don’t think Eppley’s catchment area is a 200 mile circle. We can have the same discussion again about what is probably a more reasonable catchment area if you’d like…

I also think you are potentially making a pretty big assumption that Eppley doesn’t have its actual catchment area locked down. 10-15 years ago I remember seeing KCI billboards in Omaha. As Eppley has expanded destinations and the average fare gap has closed between KCI and OMA, you don’t see KCI making as concerted an effort to lure passengers away here anymore.

Lincoln estimates 70% of their catchment area leaks to Omaha already as it is.

In the commercial realm, Haring says that Lincoln has some nearby competition. “We lose about 70 percent of our potential market to Omaha,” he notes. “It’s located about 60-70 miles away from us. We lose a very small fraction of our potential market to Kansas City, but that’s a much farther drive – about three-and-a-half hours from here. So, those are really the two primary commercial competitors.

https://businessviewmagazine.com/lincol ... -thriving/
That doesn’t leave a lot of room to pull more meat off the bone.

It includes working with the airlines to keep fares low and competing with the rest of the airports in Nebraska, western Iowa, southern South Dakota and northern Kansas and Missouri. It will take a complete marketing plan and a very aggressive one.

Eppley’s average ticket prices are already lower than adjacent catchment area airports with the exception of MCI and GRI which has ridiculously low average fares. This is also somewhat of a catch-22 if you take it to the extreme, as in general, airlines would obviously prefer higher fares. As for advertising/marketing, again I’m not sure there is the need. Eppley has access to better data than we do and would have a pretty good idea of where people in the catchment area are going and what the potential gains versus costs would be to attract potentially leaking customers.

The other factor here is the population density within say your 200-mile circle makes advertising in-and-of-its-self problematic on a couple of levels.
https://ekenes.github.io/esri-js-sample ... ation.html

Eppley has a policy and has pretty much forever that they don't subsidize airlines to bring service. Des Moines, Lincoln, etc. do. Lots of airports do.

I'd argue it has worked out pretty well for them given the expansion in destinations and the increase in available seats to all destinations over the past 5 years. They had some of the highest growth rates in the company by doing what you’d say was nothing.

So what incentive do the airlines have to bring better routes/flight times to OMA then?

Actual demand for flights to places and or filling up seats on flights to existing routes. That is literally what drove the crazy growth the past couple of years. The incentive is a self-incentive if the opportunity is there for the airline to make more money than they could elsewhere on a predictive basis.

If not, what does the authority do to entice the airlines to 1, not cut OMA out or their destinations and/or drop flights and 2, bring in new/exciting destinations or non-stop service.

Eppley like other airports has people on staff whose job is to research data and present it to airlines to try and get new routes or up gauge service. The only difference is to our knowledge they’re not offering any incentives as part of the process like some airports do, which is fine by me. Someone like Lincoln or Grand Island needs to do it to have a basic level of service to compete with Omaha. Omaha does not.

Speaking of spending money to make money...(as you've mentioned), is there anything to believe that would happen? I have seen a billboard off I-80 heading into Omaha from Lincoln touting the new parking garage...whoo hoo. I mean it's nice, but parking garages don't bring people to the airport...

No but they do bring revenue to the airport and parking is the only thing Eppley has direct local competitors at. FYI, this is from 2015, but parking revenue for Eppley was $16.3 million or 38% of the airport's total revenue. By comparison Airline revenue including landing fees and terminal rents was only $14.65 million. With that in mind it is pretty clear why they’re advertising about parking.

[Mr.Nuke]

» Moving the airline and ticket counters to the terminal’s second floor. Projections call for 60% of the airport’s customers to enter the terminal on the second floor anyway.

I'm curious how one gets to this number based on a single drive…

Total gates appears to remain the same...I believe they were initially projecting for 20-22 to be done to start with expansion to 28 being long term.

Correct.

Interesting that the initial expansion only calls for two more gates. I know the reconstruction isn't all for expansion but I would have expected a few more gates on the first go around.

That has always been the plan. The “initial expansion” is more about the actual terminal modernization and the things that need to be done to make that happen i.e. you need to build a new central utility plant to get the old one out of the way of the linear terminal design. There is quite a bit of excess capacity in unused gates right now too that makes anything more than 22 unnecessary for the foreseeable future.

Interesting about widening and lengthening the terminal drive. If they can do that why not bite the bullet and have upper and lower drives?

The approach has never been the issue. The exit has. Decisions made with the new parking garage made that seemingly more complicated.

[Mr.Nuke]

Here's a comparison of the initial renderings and the newest ones.
https://ibb.co/1vGzFPH

There is something potentially very exciting that I'm surprised no one picked up on on the first level...

Looks like 22 gates...wonder if the 28 gate potential is a thing of the past.

Or they’re sticking with what they said they were going to do with approximately 22 gates at PAL 2 and waiting until PAL 3 for the full 28 gates.

I'll really try to reserve final judgement here.

We haven't seen any actual renderings yet... A top down “Preliminary Terminal Modernization Program Concept” with terrible resolution doesn’t tell us much of note and the title itself tells me that what they shared in still in the “concept”ual phase…

This plan looks like they are looking at doing this on the cheap.

I don’t see how you can draw that conclusion based on what was presented.

Is there room for more gates? Hard to tell.

It is a linear terminal. They can easily add on.

I hate to sound like a broken record but go to flyokc.com & see what OKC is doing. AND doing it with less destinations, less passenger totals & less flights.

Yeah an airport that is years ahead in the planning process is going to look better that is in the middle of beginning it…

Looks stupid. 10 lanes? Why don't we run 880 through there while we are at it. SEND THEM BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD, OAA. You hear me? We don't approve.

If you are going to have to go on a single level, 10 becomes slightly less ridiculous than it sounds. If you count the parking lane as a lane Oakland looks like they have about 13 on a single level. https://www.google.com/maps/@37.7127127 ... 384!8i8192

I hope they use that as a template as there is a lot to like if you are forced on one level. There are a few controlled points that force pedestrians to use designated cross walks and only the designated cross walks. We’ll see what they do with the 4 regular pick-up and drop-offs but having a proper lane for parking or double parking would increase traffic flows immensely right now at Eppley.

The other odd switch here though having just returned from multiple trips picking up and dropping off people at the A terminal in SMF is that the 2018 industry day concept separating arrivals/departure traffic at opposite ends of the terminal works in practice. I just saw it. By going back to the separate arrivals and departures levels I’m curious what impact that has on their traffic flow models if any.

I’m also interested to see what 3 lanes they’re routing through the garage as if it is the commercial and they “force” or “strongly suggest” departing passengers go up stairs through the garage; that is about the only way the airport authorities 60% of passengers will be entering on the 2nd level makes any sense.

So operationally speaking we can probably get more out of each gate. Said another way, airlines don't need to utilize our gates very efficiently because there's not that much demand. Therefore it's not clear that we even need to add new gates at this time.

It is also why it is the perfect time to do the terminal modernization, because at various points of the project you could be down 4 or more gates. You’d like to be doing that when you have plenty of excess gate capacity just as they did with the taxiway/apron reconstruction over the past 5 or so years.

[Bearcat06]

Flew out of Eppley today and something I picked up on, maybe someone mentioned it before and I missed it. The shuttle driver mentioned they are only dropping off at door 3 now, they have pillars painted orange and blue for south economy and north economy parking, respectively, and they have a monitor outside and inside showing the location of the shuttles.

Nothing major, but maybe a glimpse of future planning/testing.

Also of note and I should have checked this before parking, but the north econ lot is 98% full almost 800 spots filled. I thought it was busier than usual. Anyway, the new north garage has a total of 420 spots filled between the covered and rooftop. I know Mr. Nuke noted the revenue stream, but is a $12 minimum daily price point pricing that parking out? I'm sure the authority had someone run the numbers to set the price points, but $12-$16 per day is a significant increase I would say many aren't willing to pay. I would think that if your pushing 5-7 days at that rate, Uber/Lyft fees would be similar. Maybe the garage use changes with increased pax load though?

[Bearcat06]

Here's a comparison of the initial renderings and the newest ones.
https://ibb.co/1vGzFPH

There is something potentially very exciting that I'm surprised no one picked up on on the first level...

Mr. Nuke - Either you have a bigger screen and better eyes or you can decipher some of the color coding better than the rest of us. I'm guessing it's not concession support though. Maybe a potential spot for customs? Could a remodel allow for arriving pax? There was one baggage claim with a different color code on the rendering.

[Bearcat06]

Southwest extended their Max cuts for the summer, June-August.

From Omaha notable stuff:
1 less OMA-MDW - 4x vs 5x daily. 5am flight now and next isn't until 12:30pm leaving a big gap.
No weekday service to Houston this summer. Only weekend service with 2x Sunday and 1x Saturday.
Nashville stays in schedule
Phoenix is 1x daily at a 5am departure on weekdays. I think this was originally loaded as 2x daily but not 100% sure.
San Diego stays
Denver stays at 4x daily, that is 1 more flight than operated last summer.

So with max cuts loaded, looks like Omaha lost 3 daily flights and other flights went to smaller planes vs the Max8.

It is around a cut of 30,000 seats from Omaha per month I would estimate from what was previously loaded in their schedule. Pretty big cuts.

Remember, their previous schedule showed large increases over summer 2019 so when comparing year over year, it won't be nearly 30,000 seats, probably 10,000 seats less or maybe even net zero from last year.

And so does AA and UA.

https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/ ... ssion=true

[Mr.Nuke]

I know Mr. Nuke noted the revenue stream, but is a $12 minimum daily price point pricing that parking out? I'm sure the authority had someone run the numbers to set the price points, but $12-$16 per day is a significant increase I would say many aren't willing to pay. I would think that if your pushing 5-7 days at that rate, Uber/Lyft fees would be similar. Maybe the garage use changes with increased pax load though?

Yeah, I think they’re playing a delicate balance here. if you want to charge a premium for the covered parking and proximity to the terminal provided by the garages that is fine. But at the same time, you just dumped a ton of extra inventory on the marketplace. Obviously, the long-term play here is that the demand increases and the spots are filled at the market rate. Near-term though it creates some issues on pricing especially on longer trips versus uber or lyft as you note.

Mr. Nuke - Either you have a bigger screen and better eyes or you can decipher some of the color coding better than the rest of us. I'm guessing it's not concession support though. Maybe a potential spot for customs? Could a remodel allow for arriving pax? There was one baggage claim with a different color code on the rendering.

https://www.flyoma.com/wp-content/uploa ... ncepts.jpg
Yep. The resolution is obviously subpar but If you start by looking at the upper level on the above linked image you’ll notice the 7th and 8th gates from the left are linked together. Furthermore, there is a passageway from those two gates that isn’t present on the other gates. Next look at the lower level rendering. You'll find a separate baggage sorting area (in white) that corresponds with said passage. Arriving international passengers to the US need to collect their luggage prior to going through C&I. Then you've got the giant yellow 22,000 square foot area labeled “FIS” on the Southwest corner. That is precisely what you want to see for potential handling of international commercial arrivals.

What remains to be seen at this point is if anything has changed since 2005 regarding CBP''s FIS staffing decision for Eppley. This may just be a planned "shell" space ala OKC. The fact it is there is there though on a preliminary design in and of itself is an incredibly positive development to me.

[Omaha Cowboy]

To get to the next level, which in my opinion is closing in on 6-7 million, Eppley needs to pull out all the stops to create demand, which includes regional advertising in its catchment area, a 200 mile circle around Omaha.

We had this discussion about two years ago. I still don’t think Eppley’s catchment area is a 200 mile circle. We can have the same discussion again about what is probably a more reasonable catchment area if you’d like…

I also think you are potentially making a pretty big assumption that Eppley doesn’t have its actual catchment area locked down. 10-15 years ago I remember seeing KCI billboards in Omaha. As Eppley has expanded destinations and the average fare gap has closed between KCI and OMA, you don’t see KCI making as concerted an effort to lure passengers away here anymore.

Lincoln estimates 70% of their catchment area leaks to Omaha already as it is.

Let’s have this discussion again..

I think it’s reasonable to “assume” that OMA’s catchment area extends about 200 miles to the north. I know a number of business related people that live in Sioux Falls SD, for example, that will either drive to OMA or MSP for a piece of their their business air transportation needs..small sample size of course, but this does happen. I also believe the catchment area extends pretty much 200 miles to the west and east as well.. DSM has made much improvement in their price and route offerings especially over the last 5-7 years.. But it’s very well known that DSM leaks a goodly number of air travelers to OMA and likely still does today. Westbound, I don’t think there’s much question that Omaha would be the air transportation destination of choice..even over Denver, which would be an extra 80-120 mile drive depending upon where in Central Nebraska one would live..

200 miles to the south is where it gets tricky..because once you get 80-100 miles south of Omaha, you’re crossing into KCI territory..

I’d say you could draw a semi-circle 200 miles to the north/east/west of Omaha then a flatline about 100 miles south..and we’d have a pretty reasonable idea of where Eppley’s catchment area is..

Just my non air professional .02 cents...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

[Louie]

Its annoying that DSM gets that Int’l tag and does only half the traffic of OMA.

[Omaha Cowboy]

Its annoying that DSM gets that Int’l tag and does only half the traffic of OMA.

They’re “international” in name only. It doesn’t make DSM any more “international” than OMA.. At least OMA had a non stop international passenger flight for nearly 2 years before Air Canada pulled the plug..

In any case, DSM is doing a fine job improving their pricing and destination options..They still lose catchment to OMA, but good for them. Competition so close together like OMA, DSM and KCI keeps everyone on their toes and the hopeful beneficiaries of this is us (the consumer)..

Regarding OMA, I’ve long gotten over the plain Jane name of “Eppley Airfield”. Would I like It renamed to “Eppley International Airfield (or Airport)”? Sure.. But I’m not going to lose any sleep over it...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

[Bob from Omaha]

There are lots of "International" airports. In the recent past Milwaukee's airport was Mitchell Field. It really doesn't matter.

As for DSM, good for them. They aggressivly sought and got destinations and brought down fares. I'm a bit surprised Southwest hasn't added more.

With regard to OMA, I hope the modernization project comes to fruition. When you look at destinations and statistics you have to be impressed with the growth. It wasn't all that long ago that the east and west coasts and Florida were a dream. Once in a while an airline offered flights to New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, etc. but it didn't last.

Will a more modern terminal with more amenities bring more service? I honestly have no idea. What I do know is that DSM is sorely lacking in terminal space, and has a 50 year old terminal. I certainly hope they can somehow come up with the $200M they need to build a new terminal. Kansas City really looked outside the box with their new one. I was sure that OMA would finish their new terminal before KCI and DSM. I still think OMA will have the new one before DSM but KCI has started their new single terminal airport.

As for competing with DSM, I think it's more a matter of DSM capturing back their shrinkage. I don't think OMA is losing passengers to DSM and if so a very small percentage.

As far as catchment, I think it's north to Sioux City and maybe a bit farther north, east to about halfway to Des Moines, south to the Missouri and Kansas state lines and west to a bit west of Lincoln, with some Kearney and Grand Island people making the drive. That's just my opinion.

[Bearcat06]

Its annoying that DSM gets that Int’l tag and does only half the traffic of OMA.

They’re “international” in name only. It doesn’t make DSM any more “international” than OMA.. At least OMA had a non stop international passenger flight for nearly 2 years before Air Canada pulled the plug..

In any case, DSM is doing a fine job improving their pricing and destination options..They still lose catchment to OMA, but good for them. Competition so close together like OMA, DSM and KCI keeps everyone on their toes and the hopeful beneficiaries of this is us (the consumer)..

Regarding OMA, I’ve long gotten over the plain Jane name of “Eppley Airfield”. Would I like It renamed to “Eppley International Airfield (or Airport)”? Sure.. But I’m not going to lose any sleep over it...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

I will say that last summer I needed to catch a last minute flight to DFW and KCI beat OMA rates by $200 RT. For the 2 tix, decided to drive from Omaha to KC and spend $30 in gas to save $370.

I'm also watching for a flight to the Pac NW (Seattle or Portland) for this summer via the Hopper App. It has come up a couple times that DSM had cheaper prices. We'll see if OMA comes down a bit between now and then, as I did see Alaska was starting twice daily out to Seattle starting May 21st (per signage) at OMA last night.

[Omababe]

Its annoying that DSM gets that Int’l tag and does only half the traffic of OMA.

Having very recently flown into DSM, I can very confidently say that flying into Des Moines makes you really appreciate Eppley!

They could, if they wanted, adopt the "International" tag for Eppley, or even Millard, as the term doesn't really mean that much. They have simply declined to do so.

[Cermak]

The word “international “ has such a nice important sound to it. when you attach that name to an airport it makes it sound like an almost exotic place , that it may even have some fine French or Italian restaurants inside its terminal, or maybe you will see a movie star like George Clooney inside its terminal. So much better than airfield. Airfield sounds like a dusty windy place. Eppley deserves better than just airfield. I’d say change it to Eppley International.

[ProgKingHughesker]

Honestly, if one day we're getting flights from London and Tokyo because Chicago fell into Lake Michigan I hope we're still calling it "Eppley Airfield"

[Bob from Omaha]

Here you go!

[Uffda]

Let’s have this discussion again..

I think it’s reasonable to “assume” that OMA’s catchment area extends about 200 miles to the north. I know a number of business related people that live in Sioux Falls SD, for example, that will either drive to OMA or MSP for a piece of their their business air transportation needs..small sample size of course, but this does happen.

Ciao..LiO...Peace

From what I have seen in news articles, the Sioux Falls airport has been picking up more passengers. There was an article recently suggesting that local travelers take Uber/Lyft/friends to get to airport because parking lot is full. Also there was an article about them building a parking garage.

[Omaha Cowboy]

Let’s have this discussion again..

I think it’s reasonable to “assume” that OMA’s catchment area extends about 200 miles to the north. I know a number of business related people that live in Sioux Falls SD, for example, that will either drive to OMA or MSP for a piece of their their business air transportation needs..small sample size of course, but this does happen.

Ciao..LiO...Peace

From what I have seen in news articles, the Sioux Falls airport has been picking up more passengers. There was an article recently suggesting that local travelers take Uber/Lyft/friends to get to airport because parking lot is full. Also there was an article about them building a parking garage.

That’s great for SF. I think it’s a fine city..one I’ve always enjoyed visiting ...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

[Omaha Cowboy]

Its annoying that DSM gets that Int’l tag and does only half the traffic of OMA.

They’re “international” in name only. It doesn’t make DSM any more “international” than OMA.. At least OMA had a non stop international passenger flight for nearly 2 years before Air Canada pulled the plug..

In any case, DSM is doing a fine job improving their pricing and destination options..They still lose catchment to OMA, but good for them. Competition so close together like OMA, DSM and KCI keeps everyone on their toes and the hopeful beneficiaries of this is us (the consumer)..

Regarding OMA, I’ve long gotten over the plain Jane name of “Eppley Airfield”. Would I like It renamed to “Eppley International Airfield (or Airport)”? Sure.. But I’m not going to lose any sleep over it...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

I will say that last summer I needed to catch a last minute flight to DFW and KCI beat OMA rates by $200 RT. For the 2 tix, decided to drive from Omaha to KC and spend $30 in gas to save $370.

I'm also watching for a flight to the Pac NW (Seattle or Portland) for this summer via the Hopper App. It has come up a couple times that DSM had cheaper prices. We'll see if OMA comes down a bit between now and then, as I did see Alaska was starting twice daily out to Seattle starting May 21st (per signage) at OMA last night.

I think that’s smart. The competition trickles benefits to us and we should always be looking for the best deals...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

[ProgKingHughesker]

Let’s have this discussion again..

I think it’s reasonable to “assume” that OMA’s catchment area extends about 200 miles to the north. I know a number of business related people that live in Sioux Falls SD, for example, that will either drive to OMA or MSP for a piece of their their business air transportation needs..small sample size of course, but this does happen.

Ciao..LiO...Peace

From what I have seen in news articles, the Sioux Falls airport has been picking up more passengers. There was an article recently suggesting that local travelers take Uber/Lyft/friends to get to airport because parking lot is full. Also there was an article about them building a parking garage.

Sioux Falls has to take advantage of all those "headquarters" within their city limits for tax loopholes.

Not sarcasm, they should rake in the cash while they can, good for them for doing what they can

[Mr.Nuke]

January Up 5.4% over last January.
https://www.flyoma.com/wp-content/uploa ... istics.pdf

[Omaha Cowboy]

January Up 5.4% over last January.
https://www.flyoma.com/wp-content/uploa ... istics.pdf

Encouraging start to the new year...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

[Bob from Omaha]

Air Canada gone, Alaska down about 24%, Allegiant down 10%, American down about 3%

Delta up over 14%, Frontier up 65%, Southwest actually up almost 3%, United up over 6%

Fontier add a destination? Or a frequency?

Still nothing new about Terminal Modernization in a while.

[Bearcat06]

January Up 5.4% over last January.
https://www.flyoma.com/wp-content/uploa ... istics.pdf

Way too early pax projection for 2020 (based solely on the January increase and 2019 monthly numbers), I'm predicting 5,295,616 passengers through OMA for the year.

[Bearcat06]

Air Canada gone, Alaska down about 24%, Allegiant down 10%, American down about 3%

Delta up over 14%, Frontier up 65%, Southwest actually up almost 3%, United up over 6%

Fontier add a destination? Or a frequency?

Still nothing new about Terminal Modernization in a while.

I thought I remembered someone previously mentioning that Frontier was going to either pick up routes or daily flights (maybe both?).

For what it's worth the Jan 2020 numbers for Frontier are nearly double the prior two years. Maybe they are taking some of Alaska's business?

[Bearcat06]

September numbers are out. Overall, down 3.8% from 2018.

Frontier down 61%, WN down 3.8%, United down 3.2%.

Air Canada made a push (+4.1%), though they are gonzo in the near future. Alaska up 10%, AA up 8.6% and Delta up 6.4%.

With these numbers my current projection is .74% increase for the year with a 5,080,458 pax load.

https://www.flyoma.com/omaha-airport-au ... cts-stats/

Did Allegiant quit flying out of OMA? If not, what's up with no entry in September? I'm going to contact Eppley.

Edit. I have some more info.
Allegiant didn't have any OMA flights between August 12 and October 3. Evidently they do this in other markets as well.

Also I understand that the team at Eppley has been working through the preliminary design process for the terminal project and at some point they will post updates on the Flyoma web site.

Correct, September is very weak for Allegiant so they decided this year to just do no flights in many markets and very limited flights in others. They used to ramp September way down but never completely eliminate a market. Change of strategy this year. I'm assuming they have a station manger in Omaha, probably just cheaper to pay their salary vs having them work a flight that isn't full.

Southwest next March is up several flights from last year as a FYI but we have to wait until March. That assumes the 737 Max is flying. If max isn't flying, flights will be cut. Also, Frontier and Allegiant will also be up this coming winter season with more flights than last year.

That will help to offset the loss of Air Canada, the loss of LAX on southwest and the loss of San Diego on Alaska.

Note San Diego was 86% full on Alaska this past September! That is going to hurt when dropped this November. The San Diego times on Southwest are terrible next march. Flight leaves at 8pm from Omaha. That is really going to hurt this flight. Southwest made Omaha to Orlando have terrible flight times, when they did that, they dropped it the next year. Then they made the Omaha to LAX have terrible times, loads dropped and the flight was dropped. I hate this about southwest, the are constantly making big changes to flight times vs Alaska, they really don't change their times, they know what times work best and stick with it within an hour or so.

Found it! Joleo mentioned Frontier would be ramping up in the winter back in October.

[joleo]

September numbers are out. Overall, down 3.8% from 2018.

Frontier down 61%, WN down 3.8%, United down 3.2%.

Air Canada made a push (+4.1%), though they are gonzo in the near future. Alaska up 10%, AA up 8.6% and Delta up 6.4%.

With these numbers my current projection is .74% increase for the year with a 5,080,458 pax load.

https://www.flyoma.com/omaha-airport-au ... cts-stats/

Did Allegiant quit flying out of OMA? If not, what's up with no entry in September? I'm going to contact Eppley.

Edit. I have some more info.
Allegiant didn't have any OMA flights between August 12 and October 3. Evidently they do this in other markets as well.

Also I understand that the team at Eppley has been working through the preliminary design process for the terminal project and at some point they will post updates on the Flyoma web site.

Correct, September is very weak for Allegiant so they decided this year to just do no flights in many markets and very limited flights in others. They used to ramp September way down but never completely eliminate a market. Change of strategy this year. I'm assuming they have a station manger in Omaha, probably just cheaper to pay their salary vs having them work a flight that isn't full.

Southwest next March is up several flights from last year as a FYI but we have to wait until March. That assumes the 737 Max is flying. If max isn't flying, flights will be cut. Also, Frontier and Allegiant will also be up this coming winter season with more flights than last year.

That will help to offset the loss of Air Canada, the loss of LAX on southwest and the loss of San Diego on Alaska.

Note San Diego was 86% full on Alaska this past September! That is going to hurt when dropped this November. The San Diego times on Southwest are terrible next march. Flight leaves at 8pm from Omaha. That is really going to hurt this flight. Southwest made Omaha to Orlando have terrible flight times, when they did that, they dropped it the next year. Then they made the Omaha to LAX have terrible times, loads dropped and the flight was dropped. I hate this about southwest, the are constantly making big changes to flight times vs Alaska, they really don't change their times, they know what times work best and stick with it within an hour or so.

Found it! Joleo mentioned Frontier would be ramping up in the winter back in October.

Yes, Las Vegas was 6x weekly in January. I don't remember what it was last January, but maybe only 3x weekly? Also, I think Orlando and Ft Myers saw increased flights over last winter.

[Uffda]

Let’s have this discussion again..

I think it’s reasonable to “assume” that OMA’s catchment area extends about 200 miles to the north. I know a number of business related people that live in Sioux Falls SD, for example, that will either drive to OMA or MSP for a piece of their their business air transportation needs..small sample size of course, but this does happen.

Ciao..LiO...Peace

From what I have seen in news articles, the Sioux Falls airport has been picking up more passengers. There was an article recently suggesting that local travelers take Uber/Lyft/friends to get to airport because parking lot is full. Also there was an article about them building a parking garage.

There is an article in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader Nearly half of travelers used to leave Sioux Falls to fly. Now, more stay here.
It is behind a paywall but some statements from the article

Ten years ago, whether locals would fly out of Sioux Falls was basically a coin flip.

Driven by the appeal of lower fares, 45% of prospective passengers were heading to Omaha, Minneapolis or other airports, according to a 12-month study completed in June 2010...

Today, fewer than 20% of people in the airport's "true market," which consists of Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties, are choosing not to leave from the Sioux Falls Regional Airport, Executive Director Dan Letellier said.

That's alongside an increase of more than 200,000 in passenger boardings — from 358,108 in 2010 to 582,500 in 2019.

[Bearcat06]

It's looking like the major airlines are cutting back on international and domestic flights into the summer at this time due to the covid-19.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/10/delta-m ... worse.html

[joleo]

It's looking like the major airlines are cutting back on international and domestic flights into the summer at this time due to the covid-19.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/10/delta-m ... worse.html

Yes, everything is out the window with 2020 numbers now. Who knows how far the virus will spread. For example, Italy has basically shut down their airports now. (not officially closed - airlines have just cancelled all the flights).

Best case, down 0%-10% on the year. Worst case, down 25%+ on the year or more. Don't want to make predictions, who knows what happens with the virus.

I saw Delta said NYC airport for them are average 40% full flights right now and all the airlines are cutting flights like crazy there. That could easily come to the midwest as well. So far that I've seen, OMA has lost the following: 1x daily DL to LGA, 1x daily UA to EWR, 1x daily UA to SFO for April. More to come for sure!

[daveoma]

USA is halting flights from Europe. Also Southwest has suspended the charging of cancellation fees.

https://reut.rs/2Q6N1xu

[Bob from Omaha]

The March Eppley board meeting agenda. Items 4 & 7 should be interesting. Item 6 could be interesting for the front end loader crowd.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

OMAHA AIRPORT AUTHORITY
MEETING NOTICE
DATE: March 10, 2020
This is to advise that there will be a meeting of the Omaha Airport Authority on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. in the Board Room located on the second level of the Terminal Building, Eppley Airfield, Omaha, Nebraska.
The purpose of the meeting is as follows:
1. Minutes of the Last Meeting
2. Election of Board Officers
3. Verizon Wireless Supplemental Agreement No. 3
4. Professional Services Agreement – HDR –
Terminal Entrance Drive
5. Award Contract – Replace Automatic Gate Operators
6. Award Contract – Replace Front-End Loader
7. Terminal Modernization Program Update
8. Briefing Items

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[Bearcat06]

March Madness and CWS cancelled. Warren's annual meeting may be in jeopardy. It's not looking good for OMA this year.

[Omahacritic]

The Annual Meeting can’t be postponed. But Investor Day can be rescheduled.

You should also expect swim trials to be cancelled ... depending on what Japan does with Olympics.

[Bearcat06]

The Annual Meeting can’t be postponed. But Investor Day can be rescheduled.

You should also expect swim trials to be cancelled ... depending on what Japan does with Olympics.

It sounds like it's going to be streamed at this time. I know a lot of the investors use private planes, but it's likely still to be a decent hit.

[Bearcat06]

The March Eppley board meeting agenda. Items 4 & 7 should be interesting. Item 6 could be interesting for the front end loader crowd.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

OMAHA AIRPORT AUTHORITY
MEETING NOTICE
DATE: March 10, 2020
This is to advise that there will be a meeting of the Omaha Airport Authority on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. in the Board Room located on the second level of the Terminal Building, Eppley Airfield, Omaha, Nebraska.
The purpose of the meeting is as follows:
1. Minutes of the Last Meeting
2. Election of Board Officers
3. Verizon Wireless Supplemental Agreement No. 3
4. Professional Services Agreement – HDR –
Terminal Entrance Drive
5. Award Contract – Replace Automatic Gate Operators
6. Award Contract – Replace Front-End Loader
7. Terminal Modernization Program Update
8. Briefing Items

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

With airport numbers are likely to be down nationwide due to the Covid-19, I'm curious to see if they will move forward with the anticipation that numbers will bounce back or if they delay construction.

[Erik]

Lmao.. what a difference one year makes.

[Mr.Nuke]

United is dropping Newark and San Francisco from Omaha in April.
https://hub.united.com/2020-03-17-unite ... 16655.html

[Mr.Nuke]

February up 5.9% for the month, up 5.7% YTD.
https://www.flyoma.com/wp-content/uploa ... istics.pdf

[Omababe]

United is dropping Newark and San Francisco from Omaha in April.

The Newark flights tended to be late more than they were on time!

I say fasten your seatbelt! There are certainly more such announcements coming as the impending recession deepens.