The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

Just lost the NYC non-stop route:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/united-airlines-to-discontinue-nonstop-flight-between-tulsa-and-newark/article_a88f67d0-ad3e-5c0d-9ad5-4592f9a0fca0.html

Yet another route being trimmed due to poor performance. What is the issue with our inability to gain and keep non-stop routes? Hopefully when the renovations are done at TUL we can start gaining back some passengers that use NWA or OKC because they are more pleasant to fly out of and offer non-stop routes that Tulsa does not. We are under performing in air service compared to other regions, below is some comparison and TUL is within a larger 3 hour drive population than all of these except for Louisville. You would think we would have better service with AA/US Air bringing some many aircraft here... or you'd think we'd at least have services to all the major AA/US Air hubs.

Tulsa currently offers flights to the following hubs non-stop (14):

- Atlanta
- Charlotte
- Chicago (Midway & O'Hare)
- Dallas (Love & DFW)
- Denver
- Detroit
- Houston (Hobby & Intercontinental)
- Las Vegas
- Minneapolis
- Orlando
- Phoenix
- Salt Lake City
- St. Louis
- Washington DC

In comparison...

Omaha (16):   

- Seattle
- Las Vegas
- Salt Lake City
- Phoenix
- Denver
- Minneapolis
- Dallas
- Houston
- St. Louis
- Chicago
- Detroit
- New York
- Washington DC
- Charlotte
- Atlanta
- Orlando

Des Moines (16):

- Atlanta
- Charlotte
- Washington DC
- Denver
- Dallas
- Detroit
- Newark/NYC (LaGuardia)
- Houston
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Chicago (Midway & O'Hare)
- Minneapolis
- Punta Gorda
- Phoenix
- Tampa
- Orlando

Oklahoma City (16, 17 soon)

- San Francisco
- Los Angeles
- Las Vegas
- Phoenix
- Salt Lake City
- Denver
- Dallas (DFW & Love)
- Houston (Hobby & Intercontinental)
- St. Louis
- Minneapolis
- Chicago (O'Hare & Midway)
- Detroit
- Atlanta
- Charlotte
- Washington DC (Baltimore & Dulles)
- Newark
- Seattle (just announced)

Louisville (16):

- Las Vegas
- Phoenix
- Denver
- Dallas
- Houston
- Minneapolis
- Chicago
- Detroit
- New York
- Philadelphia
- Washington DC & Baltimore
- Charlotte
- Atlanta
- Tampa
- Orlando
- Miami

My only complaint with Tulsa flights is that I have to fly to Ohio occasionally and the airlines want you to go through Houston, Denver or DFW. Even if I book through St Louis or Chicago, it usually means a layover or middle of the day flight. One way or another, you blow a whole day and while it is technically shorter than driving 12 hours, both options have similar impact on time.

I love the idea of flying to New Orleans by way of Atlanta....

I don't understand how they price flights.

TUL/ORD/CLT/MAD: $945
TUL/CLT/MAD: $1467

My guess is that their pricing structure is driving behavior more than convenience is.

MAD?  Madrid Spain?

Pricing is probably influenced by how full each of the planes are.

Not probably.  Airlines have some of the most convoluted and complex pricing structures on earth, and all related to maximizing revenue per passenger.  Which is, generally, related directly to how full a specific flight leg is.

How is that different than what I said?

Just clarifying.  You said "probably".  There is no probably about it.   But while it is directly related, it is really about overall yield management, not just filling seats:

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_23572144/airlines-reveal-ticket-pricing-strategies

I've got about 2.7M miles, mostly on AA, and have played the ticketing game with them for years. 

OK

My condolences.

Yeah.  Used to be great.  Not so much anymore.

It's the price of the direct flights. Cheaper to fly Southwest to LaGuardia.

No train or subway to LaGuardia, you have to take the bus to the subway or pay for a $50 taxi to get into the city. JFK is much easier.

And yes, I would rather buy beer with my $50 than a taxi ride.

A man with the proper sense of priorities!

In other words, about 3 beers in New York.

But it's worth it because you are in NYC.
 
 ;D

Don't fly nearly as much as I used to, especially now that a 5 hour drive is faster than most flights. 

However, our company owner just bought a plane, and now it seems like even a 45 minute drive warrants him flying us.  I'll miss those little bottles of scotch. 

I'd much rather get to NYC in 3 hours and spend more time in the city than in airports and on airplanes.

I used this direct flight a lot for both business and pleasure trips, so this is a real disappointment to me.  The steady erosion of direct flights from TIA is really hurting Tulsa's business growth potential.

Did he buy a big plane and hire a pilot?

You can get those little bottles at the liquor store to take with you.   ;D
Just be in the back seat while and after consuming the beverage.

After the first of the year I am hoping to move to somewhere that has a real airport of some kind. To fly anywhere from the airport closest to me which is North Bend (OTH) you have to fly to PDX and or SEA/TAC and then to SFO, LAX, Denver, or Salt Lake to get to where you are going. I am looking at going to Phoenix in January and to get there depending on how much time I want to spend traveling, I would have to go OTH-PDX-SFO-PHX or for a cheaper fare OTH-PDX-SEA/TAC-SFO-PHX.

OTH lost it's routes to SFO. You can't get to SFO without going to PDX and or SEA/TAC. The other options are drive the day before to Eugene or Portland, stay the night, fly and then return to Eugene or Portland, stay the night, then drive back. Even from Portland or Eugene you will still wind up at SFO, LAX, Denver or Salt Lake. Looking at Travelocity, if I were to fly out of OTH to PHX, it's from 9 hours to 13 hours travel time.

Flying to Phoenix and back, not including meals, is around $1600.00. Driving to Phoenix and back, not including meals, is $900.00. This includes two days of travel on each end of the trip and five days in Phoenix.

AA should operate this flight as a way to get planes back to the maintenance base like their MIA flights.  Or if they want to use smaller planes do an Eagle non stop like they do to XNA (NW Arkansas) and Little Rock from
LGA.  Southwest might be able to fill a 737 but it would have to be priced right and have good times.  The biggest problem with the UA flight was the price and also sitting 4 hours in a tiny plane.  I think Tulsa- NYC can work it just has to be done differently.

Announcement tomorrow