When Erika Lucas flies out of Oklahoma City for business, her first flight often lands anywhere but the final destination.
Airlines operating from Will Rogers World Airport offer nonstop flights to about two dozen cities. Just about everyone, from airport officials to travelers themselves, wishes there were more.
"We do a lot of work with entrepreneurs and VCs (venture capital firms) in emerging startup ecosystems," said Lucas, founder of StitchCrew. "Even when I have to go to nearby metro areas, I still have to get from Dallas to wherever else I'm going."
It's the reality of living in Oklahoma, which has a comparatively low population and an economic output that historically lags behind surrounding states. For people like Lucas, travel plans can easily include a stop at one of the airlines' connecting hubs in the opposite direction from where she wants to go.
Oftentimes we end up driving just because by the time we do all of the layovers, it's just faster to drive," Lucas said.
It's also the reality for people trying to visit Oklahoma for business or pleasure. An airport is a city's link to the world and is an important part of its growth. Civic leaders desire that growth, but the state's status as flyover country has long hindered efforts to attract new business and travelers.
More connections desired
Will Rogers World Airport has expanded recently, and officials are drafting plans to lure international flights to Oklahoma City.
Could Will Rogers World Airport become a passenger airline hub, or even a home base of a company's operations? Its size and central location in the United States makes it possible, but traffic into and out of Oklahoma City still lags far behind other comparably sized airports.
An analysis of flight data shows that for every commercial passenger flight landing in Oklahoma, 14 more fly over without stopping.
Airports can be measured by not only their importance to hometown and business travelers, but also to passengers from somewhere else who have to pass through on their way to a final destination.
Like spokes on a wheel, having more flights to cities across the country can make both the airport and its city more attractive while lowering the cost of flying.
Becoming a hub
Oklahoma City-based air service development consultant Levi Anstine said airlines aren't creating a lot of new connecting hubs, but there is a chance for organic growth that can lead to an airline basing more of its operations at a site.
Major, well-established airlines already have bases of operations that serve as a hub for their nationwide network.
"When I look at Oklahoma City, there's ample opportunity to grow in terms of all carriers here, but particularly in the ultra-low cost or low cost carrier space," Anstine said.
Those airlines focus more on point-to-point routing with direct flights designed to service passengers from those two cities. Anstine said that hubs serving as a layover connection often leave aircraft on the ground waiting for passengers to arrive for the next round of departures, which can get expensive.
If an airline picks Oklahoma City to expand its footprint, Anstine suggested that New Haven, Connecticut, would be a good case study for comparison. Last year, ultra-low cost carrier Avelo announced a new operational base in New Haven that would directly service small cities across the country.
"They saw an opportunity in a high fare, highly dense area of the country that the network carriers were largely overflying or ignoring," he said.
If that happens in Oklahoma City, it could drive down the cost of a plane ticket especially if a current route forces you to layover at a larger airport.
Economic impact
Having lots of airline connections to other cities would make recruiting companies here an easier job. Oklahoma's Commerce Secretary Brent Kisling said that when he's out promoting the state, the issue "comes up all the time."
A couple of years ago, the Commerce Department informally asked some of the country's biggest employers why they haven't invested in Oklahoma.
"The number one (answer) that came out of that was the direct flights," Kisling said. "One of the main things that comes up in every one of our discussions with a business looking to locate here is direct service."
To attract more direct flights, the state government saw fit to intervene. This year, lawmakers created the Oklahoma Air Service Development Grant Program that will be used to subsidize the creation of new direct flights. Grants will be funded by state appropriations and donations, although the state legislature did not earmark any money for the program before they passed this year's budget.
The grant money can be used to offer minimum revenue guarantees, marketing, market analysis and startup costs. Its passage comes at a critical time for the airport as airlines recover from the near standstill experienced during the pandemic and a shortage of air crews.
Will Rogers World Airport has lost direct flights to San Francisco, Newark, Detroit and Washington D.C.'s Dulles airport in recent years. Airport director Jeff Mulder said the San Francisco route could reopen next year, however, and other airlines already service the New York market. Recent additions include San Antonio and Austin.
Kisling said you generally want the market to sort itself out.
"But there are times also for an aggressive state to put some state dollars toward an effort like this in order to bump the market a little bit," he said.
Keep reading on The Oklahoman.
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