Oklahoma City - Will Rogers World Airport Review

After spending six days doing wonderful stuff like kayaking with my son in Los Angeles, it was time to fly to Oklahoma City and visit with my youngest daughter and my brother. I was looking forward to seeing them both, but not looking forward to the city at all. Approaching the Will Rogers World Airport was amusing... You see, this is a very tiny airport. As large as Oklahoma City is, I really kind of expected a bit bigger airport. Still, after their recent multi-million dollar renovations, OKC is a pretty little thing.

When we landed my wheelchair was not at the gate as usual so I asked the folks at the gate how far it was to the baggage claim. It was so close I just wheeled my walker there myself. There seemed to be just one hallway, and it is not that long. My brother met me at the elevator and off we went. He was parked practically outside the door. No problems coming into this airport at all.

Leaving via OKC- Will Rogers a few weeks later was when I got really impressed. I had my brother drop me off a few hours early figuring I could spend some time writing before I needed to board my flight. I was heading back up to Omaha to see my oldest daughter. I started this USA trip with her, and would end it with her. Of course, airlines being what they are, I first had to fly down to DFW in Dallas and then connect back up to Omaha. But I digress... it turned out that the wireless connection at OKC is not free. Oh no. They charge you $7.95 per day through Boingo. I went ahead and coughed up the credit card. I will say the connection is lightening fast and a breeze.

At check-in I was trying to use one of those machines for e-check-in and I did not have my glasses handy so was squinting and hemming and hawing at the screen. I had trouble with it at LAX also due to them assigning me an emergency exit seat with me being handicapped. Trying to change that seat was irritating. A very nice young employee of American Airlines here at OKC-Will Rogers saw my problems and quickly came to help unasked. Lucky for me! See, he also told me that if I upgraded for the first leg of the flight, my bags would go free all the way through to my Omaha flight. Sweeeeet! That bit saved me quite a bit as I had 2 large suitcases with me by this time. I tend to accumulate a whole lot of touristy crap goodness on my travels.

Security is right next to the check-in desks, so there is not a whole lot of things to do outside that area. There was one kiosk we saw selling Oklahoma souvenirs though. Getting through security is always a bit of an ordeal for me as they always (Always!) pull me aside for a more extensive search. They even scan my walker and do some kind of wipe and chemical check on it. I must say that this batch of TSA folks was much nicer than at other US airports though. The line was not long at all, and they were all just very friendly.

Finding my departing gate was a breeze because, as I mentioned earlier, OKC- Will Rogers consists of pretty much one long hallway with all the businesses, restaurants, and terminals lining the sides.

They have some very nice shops to fill up on any souvenirs you may have missed on your visit to Oklahoma City. I especially liked all the Cow-tipping stuff. Too funny, that! There are a few bars and eateries here, all sparkly clean and inviting. One added plus is that they do have a large smoking lounge. Many airports in the US do not, so this was a big plus for them.

As small as it is, I have to give OKC- Will Rogers World Airport two thumbs up. The only downside was having to pay for the Internet. Everything else was just extremely efficient, the place is gorgeous, and everything is just very easy and stress-free here.