SWO Stillwater OK. review needed
May 28, 2017, 11:57 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 16
SWO Stillwater OK. review needed
I am taking my mom to Oklahoma to visit my Grandmother. Usually we fly into Wichita and come down to Ponca. but the new SWO airport is closer.
we will be flying AA from DFW.
Anyone have any reviews?
We have delt with small airports like Ft Smith but I am concerned about her walking really long distances.
Anyone been at SWO yet?
we will be flying AA from DFW.
Anyone have any reviews?
We have delt with small airports like Ft Smith but I am concerned about her walking really long distances.
Anyone been at SWO yet?
May 29, 2017, 1:28 am
#2
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
The building is 120 feet long. That's smaller than most gate areas.
Don't expect much in the way of facilities inside, but walking shouldn't be an issue.
May 30, 2017, 4:21 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: RNO
Programs: AA/DL/UA
Posts: 10,775
I flew to SWO one time, shortly after AA started service there. I overheard two people saying "I am so glad we can fly direct to Stillwater now!" 
And yes, the airport is extremely small. I highly recommend it.
And yes, the airport is extremely small. I highly recommend it.
Feb 23, 2018, 7:19 am
#6
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Stilllwater OK (SWO)
Programs: AAdvantage ExecPlat, World of Hyatt Globalist, plain "member" of Marriott, IHG, enterprise, etc.
Posts: 1,848
I love my local SWO airport. Ever since it opened, I have refused to deal with OKC and Tulsa (which are decent airports, but between the driving, parking costs, and the bad flight schedules -- i.e. they have tons of 5-6AM flights which are usually the only cheap flights -- I often hated flying out of them).
Points:
With rare exception, the ticket costs are very comparable to OKC/Tulsa based flights -- usually the same, sometimes a little cheaper, sometimes a little more expensive, but very competitive. The rare exception is that SWO flights will be quite expensive the few days around the beginning and end of winter break and Spring break. This spring break, for example, tickets were about 300-500$ more if you flew out of SWO compared to OKC or TUL (and the SWO flights did still sell out last I checked). I wish American eagle could switch in a larger aircraft and just handle more passengers at those times. Operationally, I get that they really can't.
Seats are usually available, but not always -- I recommend not counting on last minute seat availability, especially around OSU's calendar (beginning end of the terms/breaks, and football weekends often will fill-out all seats).
There are no facilities other than some vending machines on site (or honor-bar coffee, which is from Aspen, the worse coffee in town IMO).
The staff has always been very friendly and professional. They work hard at getting the plane to leave on time. I've seen them in action a few times with delayed flights and the gate agent will help you with rebooking missed connections with enthusiasm and a sense of responsibility. At other airports, a lot of gate agents don't seem to give a dang.
The TSA security there is tough though. I swear they swipe every other bag and pat-down every other customer. I guess they have time to do so.
The gate waiting area is in a temporary building, but with enough seats for the single gate.
Boarding the plane is via staircase. Feels real old school to me, but sucks in the rain.
The baggage claim is covered but exposed to the elements. When it's nice out, it's nice, but all too often it is too hot or too cold to wait. I hope this changes soon.
The convenience is all there. Check in with plenty of time an hour before the flight. It is often easier to park there than at Walmart, and parking is free. Drop off/pick up lane is easy. This (and the good customer service) is what makes SWO quite worthwhile.
The flight time to DFW-SWO is exaggerated by 15 minutes or so. The most frustrating thing about my experience flying in/out of SWO is all on the DFW end. The morning flight is usually smooth, but the afternoon/evenings flights in/out of DFW seems to have issues more often than not (waiting for a gate, waiting for a crew to move the gate-bridge, waiting for the flight crew, waiting for fuel, etc.) Also, the Dallas gate agents like to try to board the flight early (calling last group usually 30 minutes pre-departure) but you never leave DFW early. So it seems that the flight from DFW-SWO is always 30 minutes sitting on the plane on the tarmac for a 45 minute flight.
Bad weather days do not treat the late flights well. The AE flights run fairly tight schedules and if there are airport delays at DFW or major delays elsewhere on the route the planes take, the last flight into SWO can get canceled and there aren't a lot of flights for rebooking. It isn't any more a risk than flying with Delta or United from Tulsa and OKC (which bit me in the past quite harshly when regional airline flights were canceled), but the risk is there as it is with any small airport.
Anyways, if you live or are going somewhere closer to SWO than OKC or TUL, I would always take SWO if the flightplan works. Heck, even if I lived closer to OKC and TUL, (i.e. Edmond or Sand Springs) I would consider a little extra driving time to SWO for the extra convenience.
Points:
With rare exception, the ticket costs are very comparable to OKC/Tulsa based flights -- usually the same, sometimes a little cheaper, sometimes a little more expensive, but very competitive. The rare exception is that SWO flights will be quite expensive the few days around the beginning and end of winter break and Spring break. This spring break, for example, tickets were about 300-500$ more if you flew out of SWO compared to OKC or TUL (and the SWO flights did still sell out last I checked). I wish American eagle could switch in a larger aircraft and just handle more passengers at those times. Operationally, I get that they really can't.
Seats are usually available, but not always -- I recommend not counting on last minute seat availability, especially around OSU's calendar (beginning end of the terms/breaks, and football weekends often will fill-out all seats).
There are no facilities other than some vending machines on site (or honor-bar coffee, which is from Aspen, the worse coffee in town IMO).
The staff has always been very friendly and professional. They work hard at getting the plane to leave on time. I've seen them in action a few times with delayed flights and the gate agent will help you with rebooking missed connections with enthusiasm and a sense of responsibility. At other airports, a lot of gate agents don't seem to give a dang.
The TSA security there is tough though. I swear they swipe every other bag and pat-down every other customer. I guess they have time to do so.
The gate waiting area is in a temporary building, but with enough seats for the single gate.
Boarding the plane is via staircase. Feels real old school to me, but sucks in the rain.
The baggage claim is covered but exposed to the elements. When it's nice out, it's nice, but all too often it is too hot or too cold to wait. I hope this changes soon.
The convenience is all there. Check in with plenty of time an hour before the flight. It is often easier to park there than at Walmart, and parking is free. Drop off/pick up lane is easy. This (and the good customer service) is what makes SWO quite worthwhile.
The flight time to DFW-SWO is exaggerated by 15 minutes or so. The most frustrating thing about my experience flying in/out of SWO is all on the DFW end. The morning flight is usually smooth, but the afternoon/evenings flights in/out of DFW seems to have issues more often than not (waiting for a gate, waiting for a crew to move the gate-bridge, waiting for the flight crew, waiting for fuel, etc.) Also, the Dallas gate agents like to try to board the flight early (calling last group usually 30 minutes pre-departure) but you never leave DFW early. So it seems that the flight from DFW-SWO is always 30 minutes sitting on the plane on the tarmac for a 45 minute flight.
Bad weather days do not treat the late flights well. The AE flights run fairly tight schedules and if there are airport delays at DFW or major delays elsewhere on the route the planes take, the last flight into SWO can get canceled and there aren't a lot of flights for rebooking. It isn't any more a risk than flying with Delta or United from Tulsa and OKC (which bit me in the past quite harshly when regional airline flights were canceled), but the risk is there as it is with any small airport.
Anyways, if you live or are going somewhere closer to SWO than OKC or TUL, I would always take SWO if the flightplan works. Heck, even if I lived closer to OKC and TUL, (i.e. Edmond or Sand Springs) I would consider a little extra driving time to SWO for the extra convenience.