Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily Archive
Eagle County Regional Airport will double the number of destinations travelers can visit this summer. This past summer, the airport offered nonstop flights to Denver and Dallas, and in the summer of 2024, it will serve two new destinations: Chicago and Houston.
Eagle County Regional Airport Aviation Director David Reed shared the news at Wednesday’s meeting of the Eagle Valley Transportation Authority.
Reid said the EGE Air Alliance board is working with United Airlines and has entered into a minimum revenue guarantee with the airline to test two new routes over the summer. (During the winter, flights from Eagle County Regional Airport currently serve 13 destinations, including Chicago and Houston.)
A minimum revenue guarantee is a financial subsidy provided by airports to airlines to try new flight routes. Reed said the minimum revenue guarantee is “standard practice” and is used by airports and airlines across the country.
“It’s designed to give us a leg up, probably a year or two, until we can get the flights up and running and the route can stand on its own. After that, the MRG should be phased out,” Reid said. “So this is not an ongoing subsidy, but just an initial aid for this line,” he said.
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Funding for the guaranteed minimum income is already included in the Department of Transportation’s budget, totaling $800,000 annually. The maximum amount United will be offered for flights to Chicago this summer is $413,432, or about $7,900 per flight. The maximum amount United will be offered for flights to Houston this summer is $287,423, or $6,500 per flight.
But Mr. Reed said, “We don’t write a check for that, we just give it to the airline.”
Instead, this funding will be used to recoup certain financial losses in the event of losses on these lines at the end of the season. Mr Reid said the airline would receive “very little” compensation if the route was successful.
United’s nonstop flights to Chicago will run from June 7 to September 1, totaling 26 round trips over the summer. The plane will be a 737, carrying approximately 125 to 130 passengers.
There will be 22 round-trip flights on United’s direct route to Houston from June 7th to August 18th. The plane will also be a 737.
Both Chicago and Houston flights arrive on Friday and Saturday nights and depart on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
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“The key to that is to leave on a summer morning. For us, the heat and altitude during the day can affect engine performance, so when it gets really hot, passengers and luggage Sometimes you have to tow it,” Reed said.
Scheduling departure flights to depart early in the morning “reduces the risk of performance issues,” Reed said.
United Airlines will add daily flights to Denver during the summer, increasing the total number of daily flights to Denver during the summer to four flights.
According to Reed, the new summer flights will be published online on Saturday, February 17th.
