Omaha Lincoln Airport

[Bob from Omaha]

Saw this a while ago in the Lincoln paper. We've talked about it here before but the story includes some interesting additional info.

Never built airport between Omaha and Lincoln

I remember the idea of a "Big Dome, Plane and Train Commission"

[Omaha Cowboy]

That’s an interesting article. And I vaguely remember this regional airport idea from years back..

One thing I did gleam from this article, is the increased connectivity between Omaha and Lincoln and the increasing commuter presence on I-80 between the 2 cities..

This continues to lead me to believe that soon (maybe as early as later this year) the US Census with combine the Omaha and Lincoln MSA’s onto one CSA. I believe it’s inevitable.. Which, as we know, can be a game changer for both cities in several different ways...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

[Bob from Omaha]

The idea of a regional airport between Omaha & Lincoln, in my opinion, made more sense then than now. Had the airport been built imagine what the area between the two would look like today, especially if in addition to the airport other complementary amenities would have been built. Yes, it would have meant a longer drive to the airport for both cities but think about KCI, Denver, my own Detroit, etc. Those airports aren't anywhere near the population that is most likely to use them. I wonder how they came up with the $500 million figure back then for the cost of the new airport.

Fast forward to now. Eppley draws from western Iowa and southeast South Dakota as well as eastern Nebraska. I-80 and i-29 are easy connectors to Eppley. In addition, having Eppley near downtown is still a draw.

I just don't see it happening in our time.

[SunMan]

It won't happen. Last year, Omaha had 4,611,906 passengers while Lincoln had 310,713. That means 94% of the passengers between the two cities used Eppley Airfield. This year, Omaha's numbers are up 9.7% while last year's were up 6.0%. Lincoln is down 4.9% this year and down 4.2% last year. The disparity is getting even wider. Omaha would never have an interest in pulling up stakes and sharing an airport 30 miles from downtown when it serves the overwhelming majority of passengers.

[Erik]

Having the regional airport adjacent to our downtown is an incredible boon.

I know many will disagree with me, but the best case scenario is/was Epply maintaining it's presence as the major airport.

[damonhynes]

It won't happen. Last year, Omaha had 4,611,906 passengers while Lincoln had 310,713. That means 94% of the passengers between the two cities used Eppley Airfield. This year, Omaha's numbers are up 9.7% while last year's were up 6.0%. Lincoln is down 4.9% this year and down 4.2% last year. The disparity is getting even wider. Omaha would never have an interest in pulling up stakes and sharing an airport 30 miles from downtown when it serves the overwhelming majority of passengers.

Yep--AA, UA and DL will be happy to fly you, but you're going to pay a pretty penny. Might as well join the 97%, or have a verrry liberal expense account (and a lot of time on your hands to make connections).

[PotatoeEatsFish]

I remember seeing renderings of it somewhere. It was a really cool looking proposal but it really wasn't needed.

Still wish we would've made that giant lake, thanks Ashland.