Omaha Eppley Airfield - DISCUSSION

[TransitOriented]

2023 Q1 PDEW
Phoenix 394
Las Vegas 277
Orlando 236
Denver 232

I assume Mesa is lumped in with Phoenix?

[TransitOriented]

KOMA has received Concorde before, so I think a 350 or 748 would be no sweat. Or a 380, for that matter.

Aside, I flew to/from KDEN for the first time last week, and high/hot takeoffs are no joke--the flight to Omaha took forever to get off the ground! KDEN's runways are 12000 and 16000 ft.

Why ICAO?

[Mr.Nuke]

2023 Q1 PDEW
Phoenix 394
Las Vegas 277
Orlando 236
Denver 232

I assume Mesa is lumped in with Phoenix?

Yeah but I can go to a separate table to see the breakdown between multi-airport cities. PHX was 356 AZA was 38.

[TransitOriented]

2023 Q1 PDEW
Phoenix 394
Las Vegas 277
Orlando 236
Denver 232

I assume Mesa is lumped in with Phoenix?

Yeah but I can go to a separate table to see the breakdown between multi-airport cities. PHX was 356 AZA was 38.

Yeah, Allegiant is on their summer break. Thanks.

[damonhynes]

KOMA has received Concorde before, so I think a 350 or 748 would be no sweat. Or a 380, for that matter.

Aside, I flew to/from KDEN for the first time last week, and high/hot takeoffs are no joke--the flight to Omaha took forever to get off the ground! KDEN's runways are 12000 and 16000 ft.

Why ICAO?

Snob factor, basically. :-)

[Bearcat06]

KOMA has received Concorde before, so I think a 350 or 748 would be no sweat. Or a 380, for that matter.

Aside, I flew to/from KDEN for the first time last week, and high/hot takeoffs are no joke--the flight to Omaha took forever to get off the ground! KDEN's runways are 12000 and 16000 ft.

I guess the question would be could they take off, fully loaded with pax and fuel. An A350 fully loaded reportedly requires about 8600 ft to take off. Landing distance would be shorter because of the fuel burned on the way in. I would presume the bigger jets would take a bit more runway and they'd want some extra space in case there was an aborted takeoff. This is the reason I've seen/heard for ATL using the 12,000 ft runways for departures and the 9000 footers for arrivals.

[damonhynes]

KOMA has received Concorde before, so I think a 350 or 748 would be no sweat. Or a 380, for that matter.

Aside, I flew to/from KDEN for the first time last week, and high/hot takeoffs are no joke--the flight to Omaha took forever to get off the ground! KDEN's runways are 12000 and 16000 ft.

I guess the question would be could they take off, fully loaded with pax and fuel. An A350 fully loaded reportedly requires about 8600 ft to take off. Landing distance would be shorter because of the fuel burned on the way in. I would presume the bigger jets would take a bit more runway and they'd want some extra space in case there was an aborted takeoff. This is the reason I've seen/heard for ATL using the 12,000 ft runways for departures and the 9000 footers for arrivals.

That sounds about right for KATL...ahem, Atlanta :-). I guess that the likelihood of scheduled 350 service would be taken into account. That DL 359 only had to get to MSP, for example.

[GenX]

I live on the west end of CB, so I see planes all the time coming and going. The air force has one similar to air force one (but is just all white) that lands and takes off from there periodically. IDK what they are doing, other than maybe practicing touch and go, but here's a reference of A.F.O. for reference. I assume if it could land there, then the runways are already long enough?

It's the Boeing E4B. There are a total of four.

[Ben]

I live on the west end of CB, so I see planes all the time coming and going. The air force has one similar to air force one (but is just all white) that lands and takes off from there periodically. IDK what they are doing, other than maybe practicing touch and go, but here's a reference of A.F.O. for reference. I assume if it could land there, then the runways are already long enough?

The "presidential looking plane" is the E4B Command and Control doomsday plane based out of Offutt, landing there, not Eppley. But yes, Eppley has hosted AF1 several times (when Offutt's runway was closed). They're capable of receiving just about anything (not sure about A380, which requires wider taxiways IIRC). I don't think the gates are setup for some of the largest aircraft though...

[thenewguy]

But I've seen it, landing gear down, descend, then back up? In fact I think it just did one of those runs on thursday or friday?

[DasBoot]

I live on the west end of CB, so I see planes all the time coming and going. The air force has one similar to air force one (but is just all white) that lands and takes off from there periodically. IDK what they are doing, other than maybe practicing touch and go, but here's a reference of A.F.O. for reference. I assume if it could land there, then the runways are already long enough?

The "presidential looking plane" is the E4B Command and Control doomsday plane based out of Offutt, landing there, not Eppley. But yes, Eppley has hosted AF1 several times (when Offutt's runway was closed). They're capable of receiving just about anything (not sure about A380, which requires wider taxiways IIRC). I don't think the gates are setup for some of the largest aircraft though...

I have witnessed E-4B's doing touch and goes at Eppley in the past.

[Bob from Omaha]

OMA's July numbers are out. +12.2% for the month, +13.7% for the year.
Solid growth from American, United, Delta and Southwest. Again, appears that the three legacy airlines are switching to larger jets. Allegiant, Frontier, Alaska & Sun Country...negligible. Nice to have but not a huge impact on overall numbers.

It could be that unless there is something that tosses everything into the dumpster OMA could go over 5MM again

[Mr.Nuke]

OMA's July numbers are out. +12.2% for the month, +13.7% for the year.
Solid growth from American, United, Delta and Southwest. Again, appears that the three legacy airlines are switching to larger jets. Allegiant, Frontier, Alaska & Sun Country...negligible. Nice to have but not a huge impact on overall numbers.

It could be that unless there is something that tosses everything into the dumpster OMA could go over 5MM again

https://www.flyoma.com/wp-content/uploa ... istics.pdf +12.2%, +13.7% YTD

[Bearcat06]

OMA's July numbers are out. +12.2% for the month, +13.7% for the year.
Solid growth from American, United, Delta and Southwest. Again, appears that the three legacy airlines are switching to larger jets. Allegiant, Frontier, Alaska & Sun Country...negligible. Nice to have but not a huge impact on overall numbers.

It could be that unless there is something that tosses everything into the dumpster OMA could go over 5MM again

With the July numbers now released, barring any major downturns, I'm estimating approximately 5,147,947 passengers through Eppley this year.

I know nationally travel had increased a bit this summer and it sounds like domestic air travel has been a bit cheaper compared to 2022, but I can't imagine most airports are showing a 13% increase in passengers over 2022.

[Bearcat06]

OMA's July numbers are out. +12.2% for the month, +13.7% for the year.
Solid growth from American, United, Delta and Southwest. Again, appears that the three legacy airlines are switching to larger jets. Allegiant, Frontier, Alaska & Sun Country...negligible. Nice to have but not a huge impact on overall numbers.

It could be that unless there is something that tosses everything into the dumpster OMA could go over 5MM again

https://www.flyoma.com/wp-content/uploa ... istics.pdf +12.2%, +13.7% YTD

I know UA and AA have been increasing the use of 737s, A319s and A320s into OMA, but Delta still seems to still love running the B717s and CRJ 900s into town. I know they held on to the MadDogs forever and finally phased them out and they were holding off on updating their fleet, but it'd be nice to see them send some bigger jets more frequently. I wonder if they are still holding to their plan of retiring their 717 and 767 fleet by 2025 as previously reported?

[damonhynes]

Once upon a time, I flew DL MD-88s to MSP and A319s to DTW. Conversely, I've flown an RJ from ATL to OMA once. Their ways are mysterious to man, but DL prints money.

[Mr.Nuke]

Sun Country to Minneapolis appears to have been quietly dropped. It last flew on 8/11 and is only bookable twice in the first week in September. They had originally said it was going to be roughly memorial day to labor day. We'll see if they come back next summer or not.

[Bearcat06]

Red Way in LNK is done as of 8/31/23.

[ita]

Red Way in LNK is done as of 8/31/23.

That was quick. Here is an article about the closure. Rightly critical of the whole shebang.

https://onemileatatime.com/news/red-way-ending-flights/

[Mr.Nuke]

Red Way in LNK is done as of 8/31/23.

That was quick. Here is an article about the closure. Rightly critical of the whole shebang.

https://onemileatatime.com/news/red-way-ending-flights/

Not a very good one.

Now, there was probably a reason for that. Reports suggested that the company got a few million dollars in subsidies from the local government to launch this service. I’m not sure if those subsidies were just (stupidly) awarded over a very short period, or if the airline has been losing so much money that this doesn’t make sense even with the subsidies.

How much money and how that worked is fairly well documented...

[nativeomahan]

Summer loves last longer than this façade of an “airline”.

[Bob from Omaha]

How much money and how that worked is fairly well documented...

I'd be curious how much if any is left. Here's the thing about whatever is left. They now are in the unenviable position of not being able to afford to bribe any airline to bring service.

[Mr.Nuke]

How much money and how that worked is fairly well documented...

I'd be curious how much if any is left. Here's the thing about whatever is left. They now are in the unenviable position of not being able to afford to bribe any airline to bring service.

The board member that quit said they burned through 2/3 of it in the LJS article I posted in the Lincoln airport thread. But yeah so now you have just demonstrated you couldn't manage those routes, everyone knows you blew through $2+ million in 2 and a half months and you are going to be dangling ~$1 million to someone to try it all over?

[Bob from Omaha]

How much money and how that worked is fairly well documented...

I'd be curious how much if any is left. Here's the thing about whatever is left. They now are in the unenviable position of not being able to afford to bribe any airline to bring service.

The board member that quit said they burned through 2/3 of it in the LJS article I posted in the Lincoln airport thread. But yeah so now you have just demonstrated you couldn't manage those routes, everyone knows you blew through $2+ million in 2 and a half months and you are going to be dangling ~$1 million to someone to try it all over?

It's called blowing your wad. Put another way, as Nuke alleged all along, they bet on the wrong horse. Allegiant left for Grand Island. So who now? Delta hasn't shown interest. American? To where? A cursory look at their hubs doesn't have any of them jumping out. Southwest? Nah. Breeze or Avelo? Small. Frontier is really flakey. So in all seriousness who do they turn to?
Ok, so they are somewhat married to United. Do they plead for, I don't know, service to another city? Bigger jets? More frequency? At some point you just gotta suck it up and live with what you've got.

[nativeomahan]

Perhaps the airport can rent the new gates out as event space. Maybe they could start with hosting Red Way’s retirement party.

[Ryan Air]

How much money and how that worked is fairly well documented...

I'd be curious how much if any is left. Here's the thing about whatever is left. They now are in the unenviable position of not being able to afford to bribe any airline to bring service.

The board member that quit said they burned through 2/3 of it in the LJS article I posted in the Lincoln airport thread. But yeah so now you have just demonstrated you couldn't manage those routes, everyone knows you blew through $2+ million in 2 and a half months and you are going to be dangling ~$1 million to someone to try it all over?

It's called blowing your wad. Put another way, as Nuke alleged all along, they bet on the wrong horse. Allegiant left for Grand Island. So who now? Delta hasn't shown interest. American? To where? A cursory look at their hubs doesn't have any of them jumping out. Southwest? Nah. Breeze or Avelo? Small. Frontier is really flakey. So in all seriousness who do they turn to?
Ok, so they are somewhat married to United. Do they plead for, I don't know, service to another city? Bigger jets? More frequency? At some point you just gotta suck it up and live with what you've got.

The airline industry is fickle with impossibly thin margins. Treasury management associated with rewards/loyalty programs, expenses, asset management, etc… are under constant assessment and evolution to better enhance cash flow and hopefully a small profit. Airlines HAVE TO take advantage of any demand in their purview and snag a subsidy when it can. Simply put, if money were to be made there, DL, AA, WN etc… would be there making it. There isn’t. The lack of service at LNK has been solved: drive.to OMA and don’t cry about it. It’s an hour. I spend more time on the Kennedy any weekday afternoon catching a flight out of ORD.
Fetch isn’t going to happen - so just stop.

[Renovator2559]

Plenty of construction activity going on, both the canopy and road expansion on Eppley.

[Ryan Air]

Now that’s surprising. Glad it is coming along

[thenewguy]

Plenty of construction activity going on, both the canopy and road expansion on Eppley.

that sure didn't take long!

[Louie]

Compared to the overall overhaul of the airport this canopy project is practically moving at light speed lol

[ita]

Omaha passenger boardings top pre-pandemic levels at Eppley

Steve Liewer
The COVID-19 air-travel doldrums in Omaha may finally be over.

airport-cm04
People make their way to a terminal at Eppley Airfield. “The terminal and the parking garage feel more like they did before the pandemic,” said Steve McCoy of the Omaha Airport Authority. “It’s really an indication that travel is back.”

About 468,000 travelers passed through Eppley Airfield in July, 2,000 (or .4%) more than in the same month in 2019.

That’s the first time traffic has exceeded levels from before the pandemic, said Steve McCoy, chief information and development officer for the Omaha Airport Authority.
...
The resurgence in traffic has happened even though the number of daily flights at Eppley is less than before the pandemic.

McCoy said the airlines have managed that by flying larger planes in and out of Omaha. For example, Southwest Airlines, Eppley’s largest carrier, has replaced some older 737-700 jets, which carry 143 passengers, with newer 737-800 and 737 MAX aircraft, with a capacity of 175.

Overall, he said, the average number of seats per Eppley departure has risen from 108 to 134 since July 2019, a 20% increase.

[Louie]

What was the doldrum from 2012-2016 from?

[TransitOriented]

Compared to the overall overhaul of the airport this canopy project is practically moving at light speed lol

The overall overhaul that is currently in progress is boiler/HVAC/electrical work, no? Are there status updates on that somewhere? If you mean overhaul of the passenger terminal, then that's all set in a plan that is tied to passenger counts. Those won't start for awhile.

[skinzfan23]

I was under the assumption that the terminal construction was supposed to start....didn't think they were waiting for a certain passenger count to begin construction. The article from last year stated that construction could run through 2027, but according to the airport website it states based on passenger volume.

Any idea when the main construction of the terminal is going to start since we should be around 5,000,000 this year?

[ita]

Compared to the overall overhaul of the airport this canopy project is practically moving at light speed lol

The overall overhaul that is currently in progress is boiler/HVAC/electrical work, no? Are there status updates on that somewhere? If you mean overhaul of the passenger terminal, then that's all set in a plan that is tied to passenger counts. Those won't start for awhile.

Just pulled this from the article I posted:

Then last year, the airport wrapped up the expansion of the terminal entrance road and the construction of a new ramp to the South Parking Garage, which was also refurbished.

Earlier this summer, work began on a $65 million project to cover the passenger drop-off area with a glass canopy.

Still ahead: construction next year of a new $92.5 million power plant, and a $600 million terminal expansion that will merge the two concourses into one, move ticket counters upstairs, and nearly double the size of the terminal. The project is now in the design phase.

[TransitOriented]

I'll see you, and raise you

Where can I find higher quality renderings and plans for the new OMA terminal?

What do you mean? There aren't any. Construction documents for bidding for the bulk of the terminal work are going to be released on 8/18 with bids due on 9/1. Around that time if the airport authority wants to start sharing more they might, but they also might not.

[skinzfan23]

I did find this page:
Eppley Main Terminal Renovation - Omaha Airport Authority

Project Status Construction start expected December 2023



Plans call for the expansion of the existing 368,000 square foot terminal to 650,000+ square feet. Work includes moving ticket counters, increasing number of gates, and creating single security entrance. Construction to the access roadway and the parking garage is already underway. As of June 2023, a general contractor has been selected. Construction is anticipated to begin in late 2023, but a firm schedule is unavailable. *Project information, including timeline and contacts, has been obtained through public sources. The content management team continues to pursue additional details; however, the contact(s) listed have yet to disclose or confirm any information. Inquiries should be directed to the contact(s) listed.

I don't remember seeing that date listed a few weeks ago, so maybe this is a current est when they plan to begin. So hopefully in the next few months.

Another piece of info that was updated was that a general contractor was selected as of June 2023.

[thenewguy]

wow...

1. says the project is listed at $600M. I don't think I've seen that anywhere before (if I did, I don't remember it)
2. Will go from 368k square feet to 650k (nearly double)
3. near the bottom of the page, in small print, it says "architectural plans" but when you click on it, it asks for a log in. I'd love to see if there are any updated bits in there

[skinzfan23]

wow...

1. says the project is listed at $600M. I don't think I've seen that anywhere before (if I did, I don't remember it)
2. Will go from 368k square feet to 650k (nearly double)
3. near the bottom of the page, in small print, it says "architectural plans" but when you click on it, it asks for a log in. I'd love to see if there are any updated bits in there

The $600 million amt was reported by Ketv and OWH back earlier this year. At that time it stated costs could go higher due to higher increases in labor and material costs.

[Louie]

Compared to the overall overhaul of the airport this canopy project is practically moving at light speed lol

The overall overhaul that is currently in progress is boiler/HVAC/electrical work, no? Are there status updates on that somewhere? If you mean overhaul of the passenger terminal, then that's all set in a plan that is tied to passenger counts. Those won't start for awhile.

I'm referring to the terminal renovation which has been in planning/talks for years now.