Lincoln Airport (LNK)

Padre · Post by **Padre** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 8:43 pm

iamjacobm wrote: Fri Dec 07, 2018 9:44 am They got a $750,000 grant and are trying to lure American to come back for a DFW direct.

I have no idea how busy the current gate situation is, but they are trending the wrong way in terms of passenger numbers this year again.

American flies to DFW from Grand Island, I can’t imagine they’d switch.

bigredmed1 · Post by **bigredmed1** » Tue Dec 11, 2018 1:12 pm

damonhynes wrote: Wed Dec 13, 2017 9:05 pm
Bob from Omaha wrote:
There are those that suggest a new airport between Omaha and Lincoln.
How are they going to cram Osborne International Airport, Lake Daub *and* Memorial Stadium II, all with Interstate access, between Omaha and Lincoln?

With a high rise. Mem stadium will be on the ground floor (along with mandatory retail) The rest of the Airport (save runways) will be on the floors above the stadium, Lake Daub will be to the west, with floating parking available for Mem stadium during husker games along and Platte river access from the Salt Creek for "airboat-gating". Osborne International's runways will be on the Omaha side of the Lake and will get interstate access from both the east and west through buiding a turn off at the Shrine to go south to the Shrine and the Cloisters and then north to the airport.

See, easy /s

damonhynes · Post by **damonhynes** » Tue Dec 11, 2018 9:26 pm

bigredmed1 wrote: Tue Dec 11, 2018 1:12 pm
damonhynes wrote: Wed Dec 13, 2017 9:05 pm
Bob from Omaha wrote:
There are those that suggest a new airport between Omaha and Lincoln.
How are they going to cram Osborne International Airport, Lake Daub *and* Memorial Stadium II, all with Interstate access, between Omaha and Lincoln?
With a high rise. Mem stadium will be on the ground floor (along with mandatory retail) The rest of the Airport (save runways) will be on the floors above the stadium, Lake Daub will be to the west, with floating parking available for Mem stadium during husker games along and Platte river access from the Salt Creek for "airboat-gating". Osborne International's runways will be on the Omaha side of the Lake and will get interstate access from both the east and west through buiding a turn off at the Shrine to go south to the Shrine and the Cloisters and then north to the airport.

See, easy /s

:-) !

ita · Post by **ita** » Tue Feb 19, 2019 2:54 pm

Lincoln Airport had a pretty good 8% increase in passengers for January. They similarly saw a sizable increase in United as Eppley did.

https://journalstar.com/business/local/ ... 62cb1.html

ita · Post by **ita** » Thu Jul 18, 2019 10:44 am

For anyone interest in how well Lincoln Airport is doing, after a year of a slight decrease in passengers, 2019 is looking great. After June, the airport is up 16%! Really good for Lincoln, supposedly without having added additional routes.

https://journalstar.com/business/local/ ... 4ca45.html

damonhynes · Post by **damonhynes** » Thu Jul 18, 2019 11:26 am

ita wrote: Thu Jul 18, 2019 10:44 am For anyone interest in how well Lincoln Airport is doing, after a year of a slight decrease in passengers, 2019 is looking great. After June, the airport is up 16%! Really good for Lincoln, supposedly without having added additional routes.

https://journalstar.com/business/local/ ... 4ca45.html

Good on 'em! Maybe LNK will gete some mainline. I can't see AA doing DFW, since they do GRI, OMA and MHK as it is.

ita · Post by **ita** » Thu Aug 15, 2019 11:48 am

Another stellar month for the Lincoln Airport. June had 10% growth vs 2018, and year to date they are still at 15%. Journal Star is doing a good job following this year's success for the airport. I wonder what is the genesis of the spike in passengers, especially since they haven't added routes.

https://journalstar.com/business/local/ ... dcf10.html

ita · Post by **ita** » Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:07 am

Lincoln Airport approves budget that includes property tax for first time since 1986

Matt Olberding
The Lincoln Airport Authority on Thursday cemented its plans to start levying a property tax to pay for a major expansion and renovation of its passenger terminal.

The board approved a nearly $63 million fiscal year 2022 budget, which is nearly 60% larger than last year. That's due to $41.2 million in capital projects, the bulk of which will be spent on the terminal.

The airport expects to spend about $33.6 million over the next 12 months on the project, which will add about 35,000 square feet to the existing 58,000-square-foot building, consolidate its two security checkpoints into one and add airline gates.

The project overall is expected to cost roughly $55 million and take up to two years to complete. The rest of the cost will be in the 2023 budget.

Lincoln showing Omaha the way again, first with Lied Tower now this terminal expansion/renovation.

Louie · Post by **Louie** » Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:28 am

Looks like it's going from 4 to 7 gates if I'm seeing it right.

SunMan · Post by **SunMan** » Sat Jun 26, 2021 8:08 am

Showing Omaha the way regarding their airport is a gross overstatement. Lincoln Airport is more similar to Grand Island's airport. In fact, Central Nebraska Regional Airport has more passengers this year than Lincoln Municipal.

Post by **nebugeater** » Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:33 am

Looks like Lincoln has lost Delta service. Or at least suspended for the long term.

https://www.1011now.com/2021/12/08/delt ... bqBIdfAC-c

Bob from Omaha · Post by **Bob from Omaha** » Thu Dec 09, 2021 8:24 am

Delta just can't decide what to do with Lincoln. Over the years they've had MSP, ATL & SLC. Puzzling why they pulled out. Numbers weren't bad. I suppose that they just figure they can make more money on other routes. I thought I read a while ago that LNK-ATL was coming back this year or next. Guess not. I assume they'll go after AA. Maybe to Dallas? Anyone else would be a minor player but given the circumstances I guess they'll take anything they can get.
LNK is in a very hard position. Too close to OMA yet far enough from Kearney & Grand Island. I saw a comment on the Lincoln paper that said they have more TSA agents than passengers. Harsh

Post by **nebugeater** » Thu Dec 09, 2021 1:03 pm

Bob from Omaha wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 8:24 am Delta just can't decide what to do with Lincoln. Over the years they've had MSP, ATL & SLC. Puzzling why they pulled out. Numbers weren't bad. I suppose that they just figure they can make more money on other routes. I thought I read a while ago that LNK-ATL was coming back this year or next. Guess not. I assume they'll go after AA. Maybe to Dallas? Anyone else would be a minor player but given the circumstances I guess they'll take anything they can get.
LNK is in a very hard position. Too close to OMA yet far enough from Kearney & Grand Island. I saw a comment on the Lincoln paper that said they have more TSA agents than passengers. Harsh

The article says that Delta had somewhere to the plus side of 4300 passengers for the month of October. That is only 139 per day. Not that great of number.

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Thu Dec 09, 2021 1:59 pm

nebugeater wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 1:03 pm The article says that Delta had somewhere to the plus side of 4300 passengers for the month of October. That is only 139 per day. Not that great of number.

I'll preface this by saying I'm doubting the following metrics and or advance bookings look great as they're obviously pulling out. However, the 4300 passengers is relatively meaningless without knowing how many available seats were flown.

I won't have that data for October until February. Assuming they were doing twice a day service to MSP as they are right now and every flight operated every day, that would be about a 69% load factor. Not great, but not terrible. Contextually something like that tells me a lot more than 4300... The other probably more important factor is that we don't know what the yield was, or more simply put. how much those 4300 people paid on average?

Bob from Omaha · Post by **Bob from Omaha** » Thu Dec 09, 2021 6:36 pm

Ok Nuke my old friend.

This one's an easy one. According to the story they are "indefinitely suspending service". There may not be an answer to this but is that different from they are dropping service? Is it covid related or yield related. And yes, we'll wait for the data release in February. I know nothing is forever but to the unwashed masses it seems that they dropped service.

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Thu Dec 09, 2021 10:01 pm

double post.

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Fri Dec 10, 2021 6:07 pm

Bob from Omaha wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 6:36 pm This one's an easy one. According to the story they are "indefinitely suspending service". There may not be an answer to this but is that different from they are dropping service?

It could go either way. Taken at its face value an “indefinite suspension” is not a cancellation, but a suspension of an unknown length. Boeing “indefinitely suspended” production of the 737 Max in January of 2020 due to the backlog in production and awaiting a regulatory fix for their issues. Delta dropped Lincoln in July of 2020 and came back with the MSP flights in May of this year. With that said, I think there are some signs that point this may be them flat out dropping service, and the “them” is kind of interesting based on the LJS article… https://journalstar.com/business/local/ ... ea860.html

Bob from Omaha wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 6:36 pm Is it covid related or yield related. And yes, we'll wait for the data release in February. I know nothing is forever but to the unwashed masses it seems that they dropped service.

The airport seemed kind of blindsided and implied loads are okay which could point to yields….

“Since Delta returned to the market in May, we have experienced passenger utilization at rates that were as high, and higher in some cases, than those that were seen pre-pandemic. While we did note recent reductions in use, those were fully expected as LNK has always had a certain seasonality and fall generally yields reductions in all markets.”

https://www.1011now.com/2021/12/08/delt ... n-airport/
The LJS states the following

SkyWest said in a statement that the discontinuation of flights is "due to a lack of sustainable long-term demand." The airline said it will contact people who booked flights from Lincoln after Jan. 10 to make alternate arrangements

So I mean it is probably a combination of both, there is a lower demand right now due to covid leading to lower load-factors and potentially an impact on yield; if your load factors are dropping one response would be to sell tickets cheaper to try and attract more people. But there is something really interesting in that quote that makes me strongly suspect something bigger for Lincoln is at play here.

The fact that Skywest is talking and strongly implying that this is their decision and not Delta is pretty telling here. I didn’t realize this until now, but this flight is likely some sort of at-risk flight for Skywest. In a 100% at-risk arrangement the regional carrier, Skywest here, bears all of the operating costs and gets more control over most of the revenue the flights generate and scheduling. Basically, again pretty literal here, Skywest is the one assuming the majority of the risk here as opposed to Delta.

A capacity purchase agreement Skywest is still assuming some risk, but Delta is guaranteeing to cover some of the costs and a certain number of seats on the flight. A third is a pro-rate model where there is a formula that pro-rates the revenue between a regional carrier and the legacy airline i.e. in this case if a Lincoln passenger connected to anywhere through MSP on these flights skywest would get a portion of that fare based on the prorated formula. These three models are opposed to a traditional regional contract where Delta would say hey Skywest we want you to fly this flight at this time and we’ll pay your operating costs regardless of how many passengers are on the flight i.e. no-risk for Skywest as they'd be paid regardless of how well the flight did from a revenue standpoint.

What is telling here is two-fold. One, Delta was basically saying we don’t want to assume of the risk of serving Lincoln, go ahead Skywest and try if you want. We’ll let you use our name, our booking power, and connect passengers to our network if you want through MSP. Skywest has now decided the risk isn’t worth it. What is even more telling here is Delta isn’t stepping into backfill. They could offer Skywest a more traditional regional arrangement or offer an at-risk opportunity to another regional airline like Endeavor if Delta really wanted to serve Lincoln. They did not do that… So I'd say sings point to this pullout being for awhile if not permanent.

Bob from Omaha wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 8:24 am I assume they'll go after AA. Maybe to Dallas? Anyone else would be a minor player but given the circumstances I guess they'll take anything they can get.

The above linked LJS article mentions Lincoln has had a $750,000 federal grant since 2018 to entice AA to serve DFW. The fact AA hasn’t bit is telling. They’re already getting subsidized to serve Grand Island and have a decent operation at Omaha, but if there is three quarters of a million for them to fly and they’re not, I really don't know where Lincoln goes from here near term. The LJS mentions they hope to have new service somewhere within a couple of months, but that seems wildly optimistic to me.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Thu May 26, 2022 2:36 pm

Lincoln Airport announces new flight destination

The Lincoln Airport is finally getting its long-desired flight to Texas. The Airport Authority on Thursday approved a contract with United Airlines, which plans to start new daily service to Houston around Sept. 1. Airport Executive Director David Haring said United still has to sign off on the deal, something he expects to happen next week.

Bob from Omaha · Post by **Bob from Omaha** » Thu May 26, 2022 4:15 pm

I wonder how much it's costing to get the flight.

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Thu May 26, 2022 8:40 pm

Bob from Omaha wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 4:15 pm I wonder how much it's costing to get the flight.

It is costing all of "us" $750,000.
https://www.eomahaforums.com/viewtopic. ... 05#p342105

And it looks like per the linked article in the initial post, United and or Commutair is inline for an additional $500,000+

In 2018, the airport received a $750,000 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration aimed at getting American Airlines to start service to Dallas.

But the airline never showed much interest, and last year, the airport convinced the FAA to amend the grant to allow Lincoln to pursue flights to any hub airport in Texas.

Haring said United will utilize the grant, which provides a revenue guarantee to make up any losses it incurs in starting up the flight and includes $250,000 each in local match funds from the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The airport also will provide other perks, such as free marketing and waiving gate and landing fees for the first year of the service.

The timing probably makes sense from United's end to pull the trigger and take the subsidy given they've got a monopoly at Lincoln right now with Delta pulling out; and over-nighting an aircraft at Lincoln isn't a huge deal. In fact it may be a benefit with Commutair operating the flight and opening the new maintenance facility for them at LNK. We'll see how this does in a couple of years when the subsidy expires.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Thu Jul 28, 2022 6:59 pm

With incentive money in hand,
Lincoln Airport could soon land new airline partner

Local airport officials hope travelers will soon be packing their bags for leisure destinations flying out of Lincoln. The Lincoln Airport Authority on Wednesday formally ratified an interlocal agreement that gives it $3 million in federal stimulus funds to use as an incentive to recruit new air service, and it's looking like the funds could be put to use sooner rather than later. Airport Executive Director David Haring said he's in negotiations with at least one airline and is "optimistic" an agreement could be signed as early as next month.

Haring declined to provide any details, such as the name of the airline, the potential new routes or how much incentive money would be pledged. He told the Journal Star earlier this year that the airport would likely focus its efforts on landing a leisure carrier to provide service aimed at vacation travelers. The airport previously had leisure service from Allegiant Airlines from 2006-2008. It also reportedly had interest in 2019 from Sun Country Airlines, a Minneapolis-based leisure carrier, but couldn't come to a deal because it had no incentive money to offer.

Under the terms of the interlocal agreement, which has already been approved by both the City Council and Lancaster County Board, the airport will have the discretion to negotiate use of the money, but it will have to be approved by the County Board with input from the city.

The money is intended to be used as a revenue guarantee to help offset startup costs and potential early losses for airlines offering new service. As part of the agreement, the airport has to commit the funds, which come from American Rescue Plan Act money given to the city and county during the coronavirus pandemic, no later than Sept. 30, 2024, and must expend it no later than Sept. 30, 2026. Haring said that a clause ensures the money can be repurposed if the airport doesn't use all of it for incentives to lure a new carrier. The airport currently has daily service to Chicago and Denver on United Airlines, which will be adding a daily flight to Houston in September. The airport is using a $750,000 federal grant to provide incentive money to United for the Houston flight, but the airline will not be receiving any of the $3 million in ARPA funds.

Bob from Omaha · Post by **Bob from Omaha** » Thu Jul 28, 2022 8:59 pm

The word is "Could", not "To"

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Mon Aug 01, 2022 10:07 am

Given that they landed Houston with $750,000 (although it took several years and ended up being a different airline to a different airport than they had wanted) I think with $3 million they land something... The bigger question to me is how much can they actually get? Their only other destinations above 15 people daily each way (a very low bar) are at Atlanta and Minneapolis both of which Delta had been serving at the time. That would probably be my first call if I were in charge down there to see if you can bribe them back. If not, I'm not sure where you go from there.

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Wed Nov 09, 2022 10:46 am

We'll see what happens with this now, because I'm still somewhat convinced that ballot measure that passed yesterday was essentially about this pot of money.

BIGO88 · Post by **BIGO88** » Mon Jan 16, 2023 11:27 am

Looks like the Lincoln airport received some money for a cargo hub.

https://www.aircargonews.net/cargo-airp ... cargo-hub/

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Mon Jan 16, 2023 5:46 pm

Well, it sure has the runway for pretty much any existing plane.

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Wed Mar 29, 2023 9:58 am

The airport is teasing an announcement soon so it appears they've landed someone. Potential destinations appear to be Las Vegas and Orlando.

Padre · Post by **Padre** » Wed Mar 29, 2023 7:28 pm

Allegiant?

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Wed Mar 29, 2023 7:52 pm

Padre wrote: Wed Mar 29, 2023 7:28 pmAllegiant?

Allegiant doesn't fly to MCO. It is likely going to be Breeze with Avelo also a possibility.

Bob from Omaha · Post by **Bob from Omaha** » Wed Mar 29, 2023 8:20 pm

Frontier?

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Wed Mar 29, 2023 8:25 pm

Bob from Omaha wrote: Wed Mar 29, 2023 8:20 pmFrontier?

I think they're less likely as they theoretically wouldn't want to compete against their Omaha station. A giant pot of money might change that though.

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Thu Mar 30, 2023 12:55 pm

MCO, LAS, DFW, BNA, AUS, ATL, and MSP on Red Way which is essentially GlobalX
https://www.1011now.com/2023/03/30/live ... tinations/

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Thu Mar 30, 2023 1:17 pm

LIVE: Lincoln airport announces new jet service to top destinations

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Red Way, the Lincoln Airport, GlobalX Air Tours, LLC, and Global Crossing Airlines, Inc. just announced an air service to multiple destinations that will depart directly from Lincoln.

Flights will be operated directly from LNK and offered by GlobalX Air Tours, a DOT – Part 380 public charter operator. The fleet of Airbus A320 or A321 aircrafts will include amenities such as food and beverages for purchase. Customers will also be able to choose between basic economy or premium options that include perks such as spacious leg room, and additional baggage.

Initial destinations include Orlando (MCo), Las Vegas (LAS), Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), Nashville (BNA), Austin (AUS), Atlanta (ATL), and Minneapolis (MSP).

Bob from Omaha · Post by **Bob from Omaha** » Thu Mar 30, 2023 1:27 pm

Looks like 2x weekly to each city.

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Thu Mar 30, 2023 2:13 pm

Bob from Omaha wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2023 1:27 pm Looks like 2x weekly to each city.

We are about to see how long $3 million can last when trying to start a hub at an airport that hasn't been able to sustain legacy service from multiple airlines.

Bob from Omaha · Post by **Bob from Omaha** » Thu Mar 30, 2023 2:22 pm

Mr.Nuke wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2023 2:13 pm
Bob from Omaha wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2023 1:27 pm Looks like 2x weekly to each city.
We are about to see how long $3 million can last when trying to start a hub at an airport that hasn't been able to sustain legacy service from multiple airlines.

It's not a hub. It's actually a pretty good idea. Service to leisure destinations, a couple of times a week, on large jets not 50 seaters. I think it's good. I obviously don't know all the details but it might be something that could be easily tweaked. Drop a destination that is marginal, add to another one.

Much better than attempting to simply add a little service to another hub. Nice out-of-the-box thinking.

Bob from Omaha · Post by **Bob from Omaha** » Thu Mar 30, 2023 2:38 pm

A bit more info:

https://paxex.aero/red-way-lincoln-nebraska-golbal-crossing-public-charter/

Mr.Nuke · Post by **Mr.Nuke** » Thu Mar 30, 2023 2:39 pm

Bob from Omaha wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2023 2:22 pm It's not a hub. It's actually a pretty good idea. Service to leisure destinations, a couple of times a week, on large jets not 50 seaters. I think it's good. I obviously don't know all the details but it might be something that could be easily tweaked. Drop a destination that is marginal, add to another one.

Much better than attempting to simply add a little service to another hub. Nice out-of-the-box thinking.

It is essentially a hub when all of your flights originate in or go to Lincoln.

Bob from Omaha wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2023 2:38 pm A bit more info:
https://paxex.aero/red-way-lincoln-nebraska-golbal-crossing-public-charter/

And what is the title of said article? "Red Way launches with Lincoln, Nebraska hub"

Bob from Omaha · Post by **Bob from Omaha** » Thu Mar 30, 2023 3:12 pm

Ok. Ok. It's a hub. You got me to say it. It's a hub.

More importantly it shows creativity. The director of the Lincoln Airport and HUB said they weren't getting anywhere trying to attract more traditional service. I give him credit for this and even if it doesn't work out at least he isn't just sitting back and saying "We don't actively try to attract service but if an airline wants to come here we won't stop them" That's the OMA way of doing business.
#LNKHUB

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Thu Mar 30, 2023 7:10 pm

Lincoln airport announces new jet service to seven destinations
On Thursday, Red Way, the Lincoln Airport, GlobalX Air Tours, LLC, and Global Crossing Airlines, Inc. announced an air service to multiple destinations that will depart directly from Lincoln.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - On Thursday, Red Way, the Lincoln Airport, GlobalX Air Tours, LLC, and Global Crossing Airlines, Inc. announced an air service to multiple destinations that will depart directly from Lincoln.

Flights will be operated directly from LNK and offered by GlobalX Air Tours. The fleet of Airbus A320 or A321 aircrafts will include amenities such as food and beverages for purchase. Customers will also be able to choose between basic economy or premium options that include perks such as spacious leg room, and additional baggage. Initial destinations include Orlando (MCO), Las Vegas (LAS), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Nashville (BNA), Austin (AUS), Atlanta (ATL), and Minneapolis (MSP).

“Red Way and the Lincoln Airport believe in the power of community, and in supporting local. Bringing an operator to LNK who is dedicated to providing service for our community will enable us to create new jobs and opportunities while making air travel easy and convenient for the people of Nebraska,” David Haring, executive director of the Lincoln Airport Authority said.

Global Crossing Airlines Chairman & CEO, Ed Wegel, said, “Lincoln and the surrounding areas foster an energy and sense of community that we knew would be critical to what we wish to achieve. We want to uplift the community, while helping to fuel the local economy. The size and continued growth of Lincoln is impressive and supportive of a robust air service network. The community deserves the convenience of more options directly from their local airport. We are thrilled to be able to work with LNK and Red Way to provide that.”