Ask and ye shall receive

jjjjhskr · Post by **jjjjhskr** » Wed May 24, 2006 3:12 pm

or something to that effect

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=46&u_sid=2176400

More flights, bigger jets, potential flights to LAX.

Jeff, you're welcome to add this to the other Eppley thread but it seemed appropriate to start a new one for this....

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Wed May 24, 2006 4:12 pm

How awesome is it that they interviewed someone at an airport named John McClain?

"Yippee ki-ay..."

-Big E

flyOMA · Post by **flyOMA** » Fri May 26, 2006 8:10 pm

There is nothing new and exciting in this article. United has flown 757s into Omaha since 1993 and Northwest has been flying Airbus aircraft here since they were introduced to their fleet. We are just growing out of the disasterous Regional Jet phase this industry has been in for the past 8-10 years. They may be adding MORE 757s to our routes, however, they are adding 1 757 for 3 RJs and calling it a "capacity increase"...Not so. The market is pretty stagnant right now (for most airports), we are very fortunate to be having any kind of growth at all. It just proves that the Omaha market is extremely healthy and still untapped for the most part.

P.S. the LAX service will be offered by the airline with the red tails.

Minneapolis Boy · Post by **Minneapolis Boy** » Tue May 30, 2006 7:56 am

So, any hint as to when this service to LAX may begin?

flyOMA · Post by **flyOMA** » Tue May 30, 2006 3:45 pm

Minneapolis Boy wrote:So, any hint as to when this service to LAX may begin?

This route has actually been in the works for quite some time. It was originally proposed as Northwest toyed with the idea of "focus cities" (similar to Grand Rapids, Indy, etc). During this time, both Frontier and Midwest expressed some interest in pursuing this city pair as well. I have not heard anything from them lately. I think Frontier lost some interest when Southwest entered the Denver market. That sort of put a "squeeze" on their aircraft and capacity in competing markets, so something like OMA-LAX would definetely be backburnered.

I don't have any concrete timeframe as far as startup dates (I will do some digging this week

). But, if I were to guess, I would give it a 75% shot by the end of the year.

Minneapolis Boy · Post by **Minneapolis Boy** » Tue May 30, 2006 4:51 pm

Thanks! It's interesting that you identify NW. In the WH article it states that Midwest, United and SW were asked about providing service.

flyOMA · Post by **flyOMA** » Tue May 30, 2006 8:21 pm

Minneapolis Boy wrote:Thanks! It's interesting that you identify NW. In the WH article it states that Midwest, United and SW were asked about providing service.

United rarely does direct routes outside of thier hub-and-spoke system these days. United used to serve OMA-LAX for years, but that route was a product of the pre-deregulation era.

I would be very surprised if Midwest offers any additional service to Omaha, period. They packed up and ran to KC for a sweeter deal and have been declining service slowly since. Pre 9/11, Midwest flew nonstops from Omaha to Newark, LAX, Orlando, KC, Milwaukee, and Reagan. Now it's just Milwaukee and Reagan.

Southwest, again, is doubtful. If anything, I would expect to see BWI, DEN, and a Florida route before seeing anything to the west coast. Plus, Southwest hasn't added a new route out of here since entering in 1995. All they have done is offer additional flights to existing markets. Southwest is already the #1 carrier in Omaha, if they would offer a few additional routes they essentially could monopolize the market, much like United did prior.