Omaha Eppley Airfield - DISCUSSION

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Thu Feb 02, 2023 3:52 pm

2022 Q3 PDEW
Denver 293
Chicago 285
Phoenix 257
Los Angeles 243
Las Vegas 239
Dallas 221
Washington D.C. 214
New York City 184
Atlanta 167
Houston 145
Seattle 144
Orlando 132
Seattle 120
Tampa 113
Boston 93
San Diego 93
Nashville 94
Miami 80
St. Louis 76
Charlotte 76
Salt Lake City 74
Minneapolis 73
Detroit 66
Portland 60
Sacramento 52
Philadelphia 50
Austin 48
San Antonio 43
Destin 43
Raleigh Durham 41
New Orleans 34
Fort Myers 32
Cleveland 29
Columbus 27
Jacksonville 27
Pittsburgh 26
Spokane 25
Cincinnati 25
Pensacola 24
Charleston 23
Savannah 22
Myrtle Beach 22
Norfolk 21
Hartford 21
Reno 21
Sanford 21
Albuquerque 20
Boise 20
Sarasota 20

ita · Post by **ita** » Thu Feb 02, 2023 4:25 pm

So, should we expect a direct to Boston in the near future?

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Thu Feb 02, 2023 6:13 pm

ita wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 4:25 pm So, should we expect a direct to Boston in the near future?

It is in the range solely based on passengers flying between the two cities (not accounting for revenue) that quarter, you'd expect someone to have interest. The problem is the largest carrier out of Boston JetBlue, doesn't serve Omaha, and is preoccupied with a pending merger with Spirit. American would've been a good candidate if the NEA with JetBlue was still on, but that seems iffy with the Spirit merger. And it doesn't really seem like something Delta would do out of Omaha.

Bob from Omaha · Post by **Bob from Omaha** » Fri Feb 03, 2023 12:58 pm

Mr.Nuke wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 6:13 pm
ita wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 4:25 pm So, should we expect a direct to Boston in the near future?
It is in the range solely based on passengers flying between the two cities (not accounting for revenue) that quarter, you'd expect someone to have interest. The problem is the largest carrier out of Boston JetBlue, doesn't serve Omaha, and is preoccupied with a pending merger with Spirit. American would've been a good candidate if the NEA with JetBlue was still on, but that seems iffy with the Spirit merger. And it doesn't really seem like something Delta would do out of Omaha.

Why doesn't it seem like Delta would do out of Omaha? They fly MCI-BOS. They serve a lot of U.S. cities from BOS. And anyway, why wouldn't Jetblue serve OMA? They've added service since the announcement of the merger.

For what it's worth:
https://simpleflying.com/delta-air-lines-boston-biggest-user/

damonhynes · Post by **damonhynes** » Fri Feb 03, 2023 6:50 pm

Mr.Nuke wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 3:52 pm

In 1972, between Braniff and Frontier, there were 10x MCI-OMA. Times change.

ricko · Post by **ricko** » Fri Feb 03, 2023 11:34 pm

damonhynes wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 6:50 pm
Mr.Nuke wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 3:52 pm
In 1972, between Braniff and Frontier, there were 10x MCI-OMA. Times change.

I forgot about that. I took a Braniff turbo-prop plane in the early 70’s between OMA and MCI. Thing was ancient (looked like something from WW2, and had a big hump in the aisle about where the wings were), the one flight attendant had to be at least 60, and there couldn’t have been more than 30 seats. Fun times. The plane also landed at the old downtown airport.

SkyWarrior55 · Post by **SkyWarrior55** » Mon Feb 20, 2023 9:28 am

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/allegian ... 00906.html

Allegiant to Austin!

Bearcat06 · Post by **Bearcat06** » Mon Feb 20, 2023 10:19 am

SkyWarrior55 wrote: Mon Feb 20, 2023 9:28 am https://finance.yahoo.com/news/allegian ... 00906.html

Allegiant to Austin!

Also announced on OMA's Twitter page.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Mon Feb 20, 2023 1:14 pm

Allegiant announces nonstop seasonal route from Omaha to Texas starting in June

Allegiant announced a new nonstop seasonal route from Eppley Airfield in Omaha to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, TX starting in June, according to a press release from the airline. The seasonal route is only open for select dates, and it will run from June 15, 2023, through November 12, 2023.

PotatoeEatsFish · Post by **PotatoeEatsFish** » Tue Feb 21, 2023 1:26 pm

Have they already started redoing the terminal? I remember they announced it with the parking garage yet I haven't flown in years.

Bearcat06 · Post by **Bearcat06** » Tue Feb 21, 2023 1:39 pm

AA to start OMA to LGA twice daily starting June 1st.

Garrett · Post by **Garrett** » Tue Feb 21, 2023 1:51 pm

Bearcat06 wrote: Tue Feb 21, 2023 1:39 pm AA to start OMA to LGA twice daily starting June 1st.

Finally!

Bearcat06 · Post by **Bearcat06** » Tue Feb 21, 2023 2:13 pm

PotatoeEatsFish wrote: Tue Feb 21, 2023 1:26 pm Have they already started redoing the terminal? I remember they announced it with the parking garage yet I haven't flown in years.

Parking garage, rental car area and terminal traffic lanes, yes. The terminal itself has not started construction yet to my knowledge. There has been word construction may start yet in 2023, but we haven't seen anything finalized yet regarding a date or renderings. Covid dealt a blow and put everything in a significant delay.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Tue Feb 21, 2023 2:43 pm

A relatively minor item, but does anyone know why the new information signage on the terminal drive are orange instead of blue which seems to be pretty standard at other airports? The whistle letters on the orange background doesn’t exactly provide great contrast to easily read.

ProgKingHughesker · Post by **ProgKingHughesker** » Tue Feb 21, 2023 2:54 pm

iamjacobm wrote: Tue Feb 21, 2023 2:43 pm A relatively minor item, but does anyone know why the new information signage on the terminal drive are orange instead of blue which seems to be pretty standard at other airports? The whistle letters on the orange background doesn’t exactly provide great contrast to easily read.

Orange generally means construction, no?

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Tue Feb 21, 2023 3:15 pm

ProgKingHughesker wrote: Tue Feb 21, 2023 2:54 pm
iamjacobm wrote: Tue Feb 21, 2023 2:43 pm A relatively minor item, but does anyone know why the new information signage on the terminal drive are orange instead of blue which seems to be pretty standard at other airports? The whistle letters on the orange background doesn’t exactly provide great contrast to easily read.
Orange generally means construction, no?

They looked pretty permanent. I can't find a picture of the completed project, but basically, the large overhead signs like the blue ones below are now orange. Again nothing earth-shattering, just seemed like an odd design choice curious if there is a reason for it.

TitosBuritoBarn · Post by **TitosBuritoBarn** » Tue Feb 21, 2023 4:28 pm

These? https://goo.gl/maps/ayugdkE8EjGWfVYq6

I believe airports are exempt from needing to follow The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which states that orange is for construction, though it doesn't seem to be the same shade of orange MUTCD says to use to indicate construction. My guess is the difference is color is to differentiate guidance signs for terminal drop-off/pick-up from guidance signs for parking.

I'm going to hazard a guess that they picked orange because, on the color wheel, orange is opposite of blue.

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Tue Feb 21, 2023 6:38 pm

It looks like the South Economy lot also has orange signs with pricing. In addition to being opposite on the color wheel, I think they're probably also not so subtly trying to warn/distinct you are about to enter a place you have to pay to get out of.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Tue Feb 21, 2023 7:53 pm

Good ideas. Not keeping a ledger or anything, but hadn't seen signs like that before at airports or anywhere really. Caught the eye. Figuring a place as highly planned to move people as an airport would be extremely deliberate with these decisions. Will be curious if something similar pops up elsewhere since I assume there are few favored engineers/planning firms that do this type of work.

SkyWarrior55 · Post by **SkyWarrior55** » Tue Feb 21, 2023 8:16 pm

One of the main issues at airports in general is having good signage. The orange and blue signs definitely catch the eye and don’t seem difficult to read.

SkyWarrior55 · Post by **SkyWarrior55** » Tue Feb 21, 2023 11:14 pm

Also, numbers are out for January

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

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Tue Feb 21, 2023 11:56 pm

That’s a huge increase 24% year over year!

Garrett · Post by **Garrett** » Wed Feb 22, 2023 7:36 am

Decided to look back at January 2020 numbers. Only down about 24k now from those highs!

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

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Wed Feb 22, 2023 9:02 am

Interesting to see United jump Delta for the #3 carrier spot (and mainline UA was actually #2 overall behind Southwest). We'll see if that holds or not going forward.

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Wed Feb 22, 2023 2:51 pm

Garrett wrote: Wed Feb 22, 2023 7:36 am Decided to look back at January 2020 numbers. Only down about 24k now from those highs!

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

Yep and that is pretty big jump. The December 2019 to December 2022 gap for the months was just over 48,000. We'll also see if this holds or potentially narrows further going forward.

joleo · Post by **joleo** » Wed Feb 22, 2023 4:59 pm

Mr.Nuke wrote: Wed Feb 22, 2023 2:51 pm
Garrett wrote: Wed Feb 22, 2023 7:36 am Decided to look back at January 2020 numbers. Only down about 24k now from those highs!

https://www.flyoma.com/wp-content/uploa ... istics.pdf
Yep and that is pretty big jump. The December 2019 to December 2022 gap for the months was just over 48,000. We'll also see if this holds or potentially narrows further going forward.

Des Moines is up 28% for January so it isn't just Omaha.
https://www.flydsm.com/filesimages/ABOU ... istics.pdf

If Eppley could just get back United to Newark, that's the biggest hole right now out of all the city's serviced. A big market with lots of international connections that can't be accessed without a double connection.

United did add lots of flights around Berkshire this year with big planes including OMA-EWR. Flights added to SFO, DEN, ORD and IAH.

Alaska also added a second SEA flight and OMA-SFO for a few days as well.

Delta added flights for Berkshire including OMA-BOS.

American added and upsized planes too.

If you want to leave Omaha that weekend, lots of extra seats and some good prices on all those extra flights!! The first weekend of May.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Wed Feb 22, 2023 10:55 pm

Thanks for the heads up about flights that weekend, looking to go on a quick weekend trip and that might work

Iowafan8 · Post by **Iowafan8** » Fri Feb 24, 2023 10:08 am

If only we could have something like this here in Omaha.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/delta-sky ... e=facebook

TransitOriented · Post by **TransitOriented** » Fri Feb 24, 2023 10:13 am

I would accept a United Club Fly with beer/wine. I doubt in our lifetimes we would get a full service airline branded lounge at Eppley. We would get either one of those express lounges or a credit card lounge.

It will be interesting to see the numbers coming up. Flights are much more expensive this year compared to last year, IMO.

Bearcat06 · Post by **Bearcat06** » Tue Feb 28, 2023 10:38 am

Eppley to receive another $10 million from the federal infrastructure law. Money to go towards the terminal modernization project including "adding more gates, consolidating security and baggage handling systems" and 7 lanes of traffic for arrivals/departures.

https://ketv.com/article/omaha-eppley-a ... m/43097525

Bearcat06 · Post by **Bearcat06** » Thu Mar 02, 2023 4:24 pm

Interesting tidbit from this week's Grow Omaha report.

Not sure if LB 477 will make it anywhere, but apparently Justin Wayne would like $100 million for a second phase of the streetcar project which would have it head towards the airport.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Thu Mar 02, 2023 5:19 pm

Air travel expected to be at an all-time high during the spring season

If you're planning on flying over the spring season, you may want to grab your plane ticket sooner rather than later. Even with recent issues- like the Southwest Airlines cancellations- Airlines for America (A4A) expect passenger numbers to be at an all-time high. “Travel for the first quarter of 2023 is at least pre-pandemic rates if not higher,” said Laura Dennis, travel advisor for Destinations Travel Center. In a report released by Airlines for America, 158.4 million passengers are expected to travel over the spring season.

That's two-million more passengers than before the pandemic in 2019. However, according to A4A data, the number of scheduled flights per day has decreased, meaning there are fewer seats available. If you wait too long, ticket prices won't be cheap. “There is a high demand for travel right now, and people are willing to spend the money to take a vacation even though rates are exorbitantly high,” Dennis explained. Dennis added that demand for flights is usually high around this time and tapers off during the winter months- but demand has not slowed.

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Sat Mar 04, 2023 9:08 am

By comparison, passenger traffic at PVR was up 46.5% in January 2023 vs. January 2022. Comparable year over year figures for GDL were 31.7%, Los Cabos 39.2%, and Tijuana 20.1%. Domestic travel at those combined aeropuertos increased 28.4% with international travel up 38.8%. Airport traffic at PVR in the first 10 months of 2022 exceeded all of 2021 numbers. 2022 numbers represented the busiest year in the aeropuerto’s history.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:09 am

Calls grow to expand alternative transportation options around Eppley Airfield
Neighbors of the airport say they want input in the $600 million renovation coming 2023

Joe Higgins is the president of the Levi Carter Sherman Neighborhood Association, which represents the homes on the Nebraska side of Carter Lake and closest to Eppley Airfield. "I want what's best for Omaha. I love this city," Higgins said. He's calling on Eppley Airfield to include bike and pedestrian upgrades in its $600 million construction plan. The terminal modernization project is set to begin this year. As the deadline for final plans draws closer, Higgins and residents in his neighborhood want input. For years, he worked at the airport, but he says it's just not safe to walk there. "There's no sidewalks... There's no crosswalk infrastructure. Zero," Higgins said. "There's no parking structure for bikes. No bike racks." Higgins says he doesn't have anything against cars.

"I love cars. But I think we need to plan for more than just cars if we want to advance," he said. There is a metro bus route that goes to Eppley with stops downtown and in North Omaha. But with a $600 million remodel set to begin on Eppley's main terminal this year, Higgins says some of it needs to expand public transportation. "I think we need connectivity," he said. "And I think we need better citizen input on our planning." He suggests streamlining the public transportation system to better connect Eppley, the Henry Doorly Zoo and the Old Market.

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:25 am

But with a $600 million remodel set to begin on Eppley's main terminal this year, Higgins says some of it needs to expand public transportation. "I think we need connectivity," he said. "And I think we need better citizen input on our planning." He suggests streamlining the public transportation system to better connect Eppley, the Henry Doorly Zoo and the Old Market.

Obvious streetcar undertones here for OM/HDZ, but he's not wrong. For $600M one would think Omaha would be able to incorporate a timely and convenient way to get travelers from Eppley to downtown w/o hailing a cab/uber/lyft/. Though, I am calling shenanigans on bike racks. There's absolutely no way I'm biking to Eppley with luggage in tow.

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:46 am

Coyote wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:09 am Higgins said. He's calling on Eppley Airfield to include bike and pedestrian upgrades in its $600 million construction plan. The terminal Higgins and residents in his neighborhood want input.

What Higgins and his neighbors seemingly want is a handout...

almighty_tuna wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:25 am Though, I am calling shenanigans on bike racks. There's absolutely no way I'm biking to Eppley with luggage in tow.

Nor is anyone walking there either.

Garrett · Post by **Garrett** » Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:56 am

Mr.Nuke wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:46 am
Coyote wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:09 am Higgins said. He's calling on Eppley Airfield to include bike and pedestrian upgrades in its $600 million construction plan. The terminal Higgins and residents in his neighborhood want input.
What Higgins and his neighbors seemingly want is a handout...

I would hardly call a few pedestrian and bike improvements a handout.

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Mon Mar 06, 2023 11:12 am

Garrett wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:56 am
Mr.Nuke wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:46 am
Coyote wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:09 am Higgins said. He's calling on Eppley Airfield to include bike and pedestrian upgrades in its $600 million construction plan. The terminal Higgins and residents in his neighborhood want input.
What Higgins and his neighbors seemingly want is a handout...
I would hardly call a few pedestrian and bike improvements a handout.

We'll have to agree to disagree then, because trying to tack your neighborhood's wishlist onto a $600 million project that doesn't need bike or pedestrian options is pretty much by definition a handout.

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Mon Mar 06, 2023 12:22 pm

Mr.Nuke wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:46 am
Coyote wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:09 am Higgins said. He's calling on Eppley Airfield to include bike and pedestrian upgrades in its $600 million construction plan. The terminal Higgins and residents in his neighborhood want input.
What Higgins and his neighbors seemingly want is a handout...
almighty_tuna wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:25 am Though, I am calling shenanigans on bike racks. There's absolutely no way I'm biking to Eppley with luggage in tow.
Nor is anyone walking there either.

I think the point is for employees, not people flying in and out, to have safe sidewalks and bike lanes.
Eppley is an urban airport, that proudly proclaims how close it is to Omaha’s urban core. It isn’t like KCI or DEN.

TitosBuritoBarn · Post by **TitosBuritoBarn** » Mon Mar 06, 2023 12:39 pm

nativeomahan wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 12:22 pm
Mr.Nuke wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:46 am
Coyote wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:09 am Higgins said. He's calling on Eppley Airfield to include bike and pedestrian upgrades in its $600 million construction plan. The terminal Higgins and residents in his neighborhood want input.
What Higgins and his neighbors seemingly want is a handout...
almighty_tuna wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:25 am Though, I am calling shenanigans on bike racks. There's absolutely no way I'm biking to Eppley with luggage in tow.
Nor is anyone walking there either.
I think the point is for employees, not people flying in and out, to have safe sidewalks and bike lanes.
Eppley is an urban airport, that proudly proclaims how close it is to Omaha’s urban core. It isn’t like KCI or DEN.

Exactly. He's suggesting that people in his neighborhood work at the airport and would like to walk or bike to work. I think that's perfectly acceptable.