Lincoln Airport (LNK)

[Coyote]

Matt Rhule unveils plane destination

[Coyote]

Lincoln Airport announces direct flights to seven popular destinations

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The Lincoln Airport is now offering a new service called “Red Way” that provides seven new direct-flight destinations from Lincoln, they will begin hitting the skies as soon as June 8.

A partnership between the Lincoln Airport, GlobalX Air Tours, and Global Crossing Airlines means people can now catch a direct flight to Orlando (MCO), Las Vegas (LAS), Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), Nashville (BNA), Austin (AUS), Atlanta (ATL), and Minneapolis (MSP) all from the Lincoln Airport.o Direct flights to a handful of destinations means people living in the Capital City may have less connecting trips but local leaders hope it will also be a boon to Lincoln’s economy to be so easily connected to the country. “I am so ecstatically thrilled for this moment. We’ve all waited a long time. And we’re all very excited. It’s a great day to be in Lincoln,” Tammy Ward, the District 4 representative for Lincoln City Council said.

The chartered flights were made possible by $3 million in ARPA funding, where both the city council and the county board each funded $1.5 million. City Councilman Bennie Shobe said these flights have the potential to benefit business too. “Time is money. And while you can fly from here to Chicago to another destination, it adds to the time and costs money, just being able to make that connection and get to know our community quicker is better for everyone.” A whole lineup of people came together to reveal the destinations including Governor Jim Pillen, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, and Husker coaches and athletes. Prices range from $50 to $449 for a one-way ticket and flights out to the seven destinations will leave twice a week.

“It’s a big deal its a key to growing Nebraska, and Lincoln and meeting our needs. It’s up to us now to fill all of the seats,” Governor Pillen said. More than tourism to other places, local officials hope this will also encourage people in those destinations to visit Lincoln. “This expansion of the Lincoln Airport air service is phenomenal for our city, our community, the university, our quality of life and the economy. This is great news today,” Mayor Gaylor Baird said.

To find more about prices and travel dates visit https://www.goflyred.com/.

[Coyote]

Huskers help Lincoln airport announce new jet service to top destinations

[TransitOriented]

I hope they fill those planes

[ricko]

I consider Lincoln’s airport close enough to be Omaha’s secondary airport. I’d drive there if going to Austin or Nashville to avoid a layover.

[Mr.Nuke]

More importantly it shows creativity. The director of the Lincoln Airport and HUB said they weren't getting anywhere trying to attract more traditional service.

Creative is one way to put it. A Hail Mary may be another.

I give him credit for this and even if it doesn't work out at least he isn't just sitting back and saying "We don't actively try to attract service but if an airline wants to come here we won't stop them" That's the OMA way of doing business.

Give OMA $3 million in ARPA funds and I'm sure they too could come up with some willy wonka like ideas.

I consider Lincoln’s airport close enough to be Omaha’s secondary airport. I’d drive there if going to Austin or Nashville to avoid a layover.

The thing is in a lot of these destinations even including these two that are on the more obscure end is that Allegiant is also going to serve OMA-AUS twice a week this summer. Southwest serves BNA once a week seasonally. Not to mention DFW, LAS, ATL that get served multiple times daily and in some cased multiple airlines from OMA. Your odds of driving to Lincoln to avoid a connection are pretty low. Not to mention that based on 20+ years of passenger data there doesn't seem to be an overwhelming level of passenger demand between OMA/LNK to AUS or BNA to begin with.

[Trips1]

Yes, I would drive to Grand Island for a direct flight. In the last 15 months I have had 3 cancelled, 5 delayed and 4 on time flights.

From Gretna it is 34 minutes and 37 miles to Lincolns Airport. It is 38 minutes and 25 miles to Eppley.
Lincoln Garage Parking: $9.50/day
Omaha Garage Parking: $22.00/day

[OmahaRedWing]

Yes, I would drive to Grand Island for a direct flight. In the last 15 months I have had 3 cancelled, 5 delayed and 4 on time flights.

From Gretna it is 34 minutes and 37 miles to Lincolns Airport. It is 38 minutes and 25 miles to Eppley.
Lincoln Garage Parking: $9.50/day
Omaha Garage Parking: $22.00/day

The Omaha garage has a decent rate on the top floor.

[TransitOriented]

Yes, I would drive to Grand Island for a direct flight. In the last 15 months I have had 3 cancelled, 5 delayed and 4 on time flights.

From Gretna it is 34 minutes and 37 miles to Lincolns Airport. It is 38 minutes and 25 miles to Eppley.
Lincoln Garage Parking: $9.50/day
Omaha Garage Parking: $22.00/day

The Omaha garage has a decent rate on the top floor.

Omaha surface lots are like $6

[OmahaRedWing]

Yes, I would drive to Grand Island for a direct flight. In the last 15 months I have had 3 cancelled, 5 delayed and 4 on time flights.

From Gretna it is 34 minutes and 37 miles to Lincolns Airport. It is 38 minutes and 25 miles to Eppley.
Lincoln Garage Parking: $9.50/day
Omaha Garage Parking: $22.00/day

The Omaha garage has a decent rate on the top floor.

Omaha surface lots are like $6

Very true and the shuttles are usually pretty quick.

[nativeomahan]

I saw this on Facebook today.

[Mr.Nuke]

Their inaugural flight from Lincoln just left about 40 minutes late.

Another LJS today that is a lot more realistic.

There's plenty of optimism, but also a fair share of uncertainty.

"It could be wildly successful," said David Haring, the airport's executive director. "It could also be maybe a little bit less successful than we're hoping it is so we have to rethink what we're doing."

If the revenue exceeds the $6,650-per-hour formula, then there would be no need to dip into the ARPA funding.

What Haring will be mindful of is if the airport is losing money on each flight and being forced to use the ARPA funding too quickly.

"If we see this is just drawing money way faster than it should be — where we don't see how this is going to work — that may be a reason to stop it.

https://journalstar.com/news/local/ther ... -top-story

[Bob from Omaha]

Yeah, because inaugural flights always take off on time. H e l l, if a flight takes off late it's a sign that the airline is in financial trouble. I guess all flights from this "airline" will take off and land late, right? But we don't know why it took off late, do we?

It was never proclaimed that this was a slam dunk. On the other hand, it is a creative idea.

Oh, and read the whole story in the LJS. June bookings are good, July better, August better than July.

[Mr.Nuke]

Oh, and read the whole story in the LJS. June bookings are good, July better, August better than July.

I can read, I can also read in between the lines. 10,000 seats sold through their operating schedule in November while double the last article is still not good when they're going to be operating at ~4.200 seats per week by the end of the month. "Bookings are good, better, and better" also doesn't really tell me anything of value just like that last article saying 5,000 tickets were sold without telling you the time frame.


$6,650 per hour with low loads (and potentially low fares too based on dummy bookings) is going to start burning through ARPA funds fairly fast. The tone of that article, while still optimistic, is quite a bit different than the previous LJS stories on this venture.

edit: fixed a typo in bold

[Bob from Omaha]

Yep.

[Mr.Nuke]

the last article is still not good when they're going to be operating at ~4.200 seats per month by the end of the month.

This should've read 4,200 seats per week by the end of the month making the math obviously even worse.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

The Lincoln mayor and Orlando mayors spoke at a press conference in Orlando once the flight landed.

Just the airport nerd in my but I’d want to take this flight in part because it flies into the new MCO terminal c, which is primarily used for international flights.

[Mr.Nuke]

The Lincoln mayor and Orlando mayors spoke at a press conference in Orlando once the flight landed.

Just the airport nerd in my but I’d want to take this flight in part because it flies into the new MCO terminal c, which is primarily used for international flights.

I'd do it sooner rather than later.

[Mr.Nuke]

The Austin and Minneapolis flights are apparently under performing.

https://journalstar.com/news/local/busi ... 1c759.html

[Mr.Nuke]

Another sign of the times. Buy one get one free the next 2 days starting tomorrow.

[almighty_tuna]

Not bad prices. I searched two tix to Vegas (only two hrs from Zion National Park) for mid-August and two tix to Orlando in mid-Sept, both came out in the low-mid 300s.

[Bob from Omaha]

Nice spin

Or it could be a tie in to Amazon Prime Days like a lot of other retailers do. Doesn't include taxes or other fees or products. It's two days only. Most startups aren't category killers out of the gate. In fact, a majority fail. Most need to tweak their products and processes. I maintain that this effort is creative out of the box thinking. Will FlyBigRed succeed or fail? I don't know but what I don't do is wish for it to fail or cheer when I perceive failure. They responded quickly when I commented that the flight status page on their web site didn't include the new flights. It now does.

[Mr.Nuke]

Nice spin

Eh?

Or it could be a tie in to Amazon Prime Days like a lot of other retailers do.

Sure it obviously is, but I don't see any other airlines offering buy one get one free tickets either.

Doesn't include taxes

Which is irrelevant, because that is literally going to a government taxing entity.

or other fees or products.

And that is partially what they're banking on for ancillary revenue.

It's two days only.

Booking yes, operating no...

Most startups aren't category killers out of the gate. In fact, a majority fail. Most need to tweak their products and processes. I maintain that this effort is creative out of the box thinking. Will FlyBigRed succeed or fail? I don't know but what I don't do is wish for it to fail or cheer when I perceive failure. They responded quickly when I commented that the flight status page on their web site didn't include the new flights. It now does.

Most startups don't start up in the middle of nowhere in a low travel market. Beside that, everything in this quote is fine, but the fact that an airline is offering buy one get one free tickets isn't a good sign.

-----
As far as I can tell they've used the same plane so far so we should see overall yield data when the airport releases passenger statistics this month for June.

[Bob from Omaha]

"Sure it obviously is, but I don't see any other airlines offering buy one get one free tickets either. "
They do it all the time. $29, $39, $49, etc. fares. In many cases it's more than the BOGO equation.

"Which is irrelevant, because that is literally going to a government taxing entity."
Nonetheless, the consumer is to pay them.

"And that is partially what they're banking on for ancillary revenue. "
Ok. Yep. The very model of a ULCC, not that this airline is a ULCC but don't all airlines save Southwest and possibly a couple of others do this?

"Most startups don't start up in the middle of nowhere in a low travel market. Beside that, everything in this quote is fine, but the fact that an airline is offering buy one get one free tickets isn't a good sign."
Again with this "...middle of nowhere..." business. They aren't establishing a hub or even a semitraditional airline. It's more akin to Allegiant though not exactly. Take a look at some of the cities Allegiant serves. Not exactly top of mind when thinking of metropolitan areas.

"....not a good sign..." What, a sale? A two day sale? That it works or doesn't work in a way doesn't matter. If it creates interest on the part of some who may not have heard or given it much thought, that would be a good advertising plan. If it gets butts in the seats who have a good experience, that would be good for building the business longer term. How long does it take for a traditional airline to turn a profit? Years if at all. The alternative is simply pricing seats and waiting for the phone to ring. Buying ads in the newspaper? Nah. In the end they have cash to try different sale methods and ideas. Why not keep thinking outside the box?

AccessAir had 14,000 enplanements and lost $30 million. That's way over $2,000 per enplanement. Woof
Vanguard Airlines went bankrupt $80 million in debt.
Now, neither of those cities are as small as Lincoln and neither is as "low travel market" as Lincoln, but this enterprise isn't going to bet nearly the money that they did. I still think it's a worthwhile try. What is the alternative?

[Mr.Nuke]

They do it all the time. $29, $39, $49, etc. fares. In many cases it's more than the BOGO equation.

Airlines sometimes will do that, it i also is a sign that things probably aren't going great otherwise you'd be selling tickets at your normal fares. The other part of it in this case is that Redway is already doing that as well. I can get $19 to $34 ticket each way to Minneapolis right now pre 50% discount.

Again with this "...middle of nowhere..." business. They aren't establishing a hub or even a semitraditional airline. It's more akin to Allegiant though not exactly. Take a look at some of the cities Allegiant serves. Not exactly top of mind when thinking of metropolitan areas.

They effectively are. The plane Always originates in or is returning to Lincoln. That is a hub. Allegiant also went bankrupt within 2 years of starting commercial service essentially by doing the same thing these guys are out of Fresno, so probably not the best example to bring up (or maybe it is...).

"....not a good sign..." What, a sale? A two day sale?

Yes "free" tickets albeit for two days when your average fares are dirt cheap is not a great sign.

How long does it take for a traditional airline to turn a profit? Years if at all.

It shouldn't take years, especially in this case where these guys were already effectively an airline coming into it with existing planes. It certainly does take time to develop routes though. That is what the subsidy is there for. The question is will these guys be anywhere else to profiting before the subsidy runs out.

it's a worthwhile try. What is the alternative?

We'd need to know what if any offers were on the table or they attempted to pursue. Could they have lured a legacy carrier back with a couple of routes i.e. Delta? Would Allegiant come back for $3 million with a couple of routes? Those were the potential alternatives, both seemingly inherently less risky. I don't know if either of those options presented themself or not.

[Bob from Omaha]

My definition of a hub is one where banks of planes arrive, passengers deplane and move to another and continue to their final destination. But that's just me.

In addition, this "airline" doesn't have cost of aircraft acquisition. Nor maintenance. Staffing expense is also much less and no union issues.

Inherently less risky? Direct competition with destinations also available from Omaha, probably with more frequency from Omaha? Probably priced less from Omaha? I'm at a loss to see how that scenario is less risky.

This method gives them the freedom to add or drop routes at will. Delta? What, change from Atlanta to Salt Lake City?

I still like this for creativity and definitely out of the box thinking. The alternatives are legacy carriers going to hubs where folks have to connect. The way I see it point to point is more desirable. LNK already has service to ORD, DEN & HOU for connections.

[Mr.Nuke]

My definition of a hub is one where banks of planes arrive, passengers deplane and move to another and continue to their final destination. But that's just me.

Call it this virtual airline's center of operations, crew base, etc. then... It is semantics though, again every single leg of their operation originates or terminates in Lincoln. A destination that for the tens of years I have data for lacks historical demand.

In addition, this "airline" doesn't have cost of aircraft acquisition. Nor maintenance. Staffing expense is also much less and no union issues.

They have nothing to worry about re: maintenance on a single plane operation 17 year-old plane that has flown with two prior airlines? They certainly don't have to worry about operation costs given Lincoln is essentially guaranteeing they're covered for the time being, but if anything goes wrong mechanically their schedule is going to go to |expletive| quickly even assuming they can substitute another Global X aircraft in.

Inherently less risky? Direct competition with destinations also available from Omaha, probably with more frequency from Omaha? Probably priced less from Omaha? I'm at a loss to see how that scenario is less risky.

They're already directly competing with Eppley on a lot of these routes. Yes say a Delta resumption to ATL and MSP (two Redway destinations) would be inherently less risky as it would allow connecting passengers and provides a price check against United.

This method gives them the freedom to add or drop routes at will. Delta? What, change from Atlanta to Salt Lake City?

Delta would be bound by the terms of the agreed upon minimum route guarantee.

I still like this for creativity and definitely out of the box thinking. The alternatives are legacy carriers going to hubs where folks have to connect. The way I see it point to point is more desirable. LNK already has service to ORD, DEN & HOU for connections.

Yes but you would have another choice on how to get to where you want to go and more importantly hopefully pricing competition.

[Bob from Omaha]

Ok, well, this is what they went with. It appears clear that they either didn't try or tried and failed to get DL or anyone else to establish some sort of service. So they got creative. If it works, good. If not, at least they tried. For now Lincolnites and some Omahans get to go to some lesser served destinations for a good price.
OMA? I still wonder what plan they have as far as wooing new destinations, service, frequencies, airlines. Yeah, I know. PDEW, PDEW. PDEW. Can't ignore historical demand.

Whatever. I don't have a dog in this hunt. Absent LNK closing and some sort of quick transport to OMA, LNK is always going to be the little brother begging for attention. If they can keep being creative maybe they'll survive. The airpark industrial park pays most if not all their overhead anyway. I say keep it up. One thing they have that OMA doesn't is property tax revenues.

[Bob from Omaha]

By the way, I was noodling around with Google Earth today and looking at the Lincoln Airport. (Yep. Slow news day)
Anyway, I measured the jetway of the northernmost gate. Just short of 300 feet. So basically if you draw the lucky ticket you get to hike just short of a football field from the terminal to the plane. Worse, if you get the golden ticket returning from your trip and you're tired you get to shlep a football field to start the bag claim fun.

[Mr.Nuke]

Red Way will start flying to Tampa and Phoenix twice weekly in December. We'll see what that means for Minneapolis, Dallas, and Atlanta that are currently being flown on those days.

[damonhynes]

Red Way will start flying to Tampa and Phoenix twice weekly in December. We'll see what that means for Minneapolis, Dallas, and Atlanta that are currently being flown on those days.

Ah, I see you're on Airliners.net :-)

[Mr.Nuke]

Red Way will start flying to Tampa and Phoenix twice weekly in December. We'll see what that means for Minneapolis, Dallas, and Atlanta that are currently being flown on those days.

Ah, I see you're on Airliners.net :-)

I am, but I actually saw it elsewhere first (that same twitter link that was posted over there).

Flights to Austin, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Dallas and Nashville will run through Nov. 29 and then be paused for the season.

The article also mentions a potentially "jaw-dropping" destination that could be announced later this week.

https://journalstar.com/news/local/red- ... 4667f.html

[Bob from Omaha]

"Jaw dropping"

My first reaction was Mexico but maybe Hawaii?

If it's a charter dressed up as scheduled service I wonder if that's a workaround for CBP for international flights?
Mexico would drop a lot of jaws

[Mr.Nuke]

"Jaw dropping"

My first reaction was Mexico but maybe Hawaii?

If it's a charter dressed up as scheduled service I wonder if that's a workaround for CBP for international flights?
Mexico would drop a lot of jaws

My first reaction was Hawaii. I'd be surprised if they got CBP on board for Mexico. Lincoln isn't even a customs landing rights airport for private passengers.

Charter or Scheduled shouldn't matter there, the plane and passengers still need to be processed.

[Bob from Omaha]

"Jaw dropping"

My first reaction was Mexico but maybe Hawaii?

If it's a charter dressed up as scheduled service I wonder if that's a workaround for CBP for international flights?
Mexico would drop a lot of jaws

My first reaction was Hawaii. I'd be surprised if they got CBP on board for Mexico. Lincoln isn't even a customs landing rights airport for private passengers.

Charter or Scheduled shouldn't matter there, the plane and passengers still need to be processed.

My problem with Hawaii is that I doubt they could sell enough to justify weekly service. Maybe. Anyway, others could be New York, USVI(?), I don't know.

[Mr.Nuke]

My problem with Hawaii is that I doubt they could sell enough to justify weekly service.

Upon further reflection too the bigger problem is the A320 they're using doesn't have the range to get there either.

Maybe. Anyway, others could be New York, USVI(?), I don't know.

Yeah I wouldn't call New York jaw dropping though. It will be interesting to see what they come up with. They've basically got two completely open days right now (assuming they want to keep one down day).

[Bob from Omaha]

Wait! I've got it! Tulsa and the new $2B theme park! Call Minard! Slam dunk! That'll drop your jaw.

Seriously, at this point nothing would surprise me. They have a plane & a pile of cash & no board or shareholders to answer to. Yeah I know. The airport board but I mean a corporate board. Sky's the limit.

I agree about Hawaii. A distance issue.

[zedmib]

For the Hawaii flight, 3800 miles, you would need an A330 NEO or similar, possibly a 737 Max 7 or A321 neo. I doubt if there would be enough demand to fill the A330 but the airport has enough runway for it.

[nativeomahan]

Lincoln will lose its new flights to Austin, Minneapolis and Atlantic, almost as soon as they began.
https://journalstar.com/news/local/busi ... 8ea1d.html

[Linkin5]

Red Way canceling flights to Austin, Minneapolis, and Atlanta next month

The airline announced Wednesday that it would end flights to and from Austin on August 6. Flights to and from Minneapolis and Atlanta will end on August 8.

Red Way officials said the airline was not prepared for the demand of these flights, and they’ve since become unsustainable.

https://www.klkntv.com/red-way-cancelli ... ext-month/