Last week Tulsa International Airport unveiled a public relations campaign encouraging more travelers to fly out of northeast Oklahoma, and it’s already paying off.
Tulsans will soon have three more destinations to choose from after Allegiant Air announced Tuesday they’re adding nonstop year-round service from TIA to Las Vegas starting in April, and seasonal service to the Tampa Bay area and Los Angeles beginning in May and June, respectively.
“Now they'll have 19 cities they can reach non-stop from Tulsa, so it's less likely that they'll feel the need to go somewhere else,” says Journal Record managing editor Adam Brooks. “It should really affect leisure travelers. Business travelers are willing to pay a little extra money to be more convenient, but families looking to get some place warm, being able to fly direct really makes a difference.”
Jet fuel is cheaper thanks to the falling price of oil, but that’s not necessarily being passed on to the consumer.
“There's still demand for flights at the current prices, so the airlines don't really see a reason to cut,” Brooks says. “They're probably going to do what any business does, and invest in the business and the customer experience.”
The Journal Record’s D. Ray Tuttle reports one thing the airlined are doing is buying bigger planes.
Airlines took delivery of 317 new planes in 2014 and added more than 100,000 average daily seats year over year, said Victoria Day, managing director of corporate and member communications with Airlines for America, a trade group. “While this is a form of capacity growth, it is very efficient growth,” said Helane Becker, managing director at Cowen Research.
Demand is also up in Oklahoma City, and Will Rogers World Airport spokeswoman Karen Carney says 2014 set a record for travelers passing through. WRWA will also get its 22nd non-stop destination in July when Alaska Airlines starts offering service to Seattle.
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