From the Telluride Daily Planet, April 8, 2012:
By Noya Kahovi - Staff Reporter
The Telluride Montrose Regional Air Organization announced the schedule for summer air service from Dallas and Houston to Montrose this week.
United Airlines will fly between Houston and Montrose on Wednesdays and Saturdays, June 9 through Oct. 6. American Airlines will offer daily flights between Dallas and Montrose from June 9 to Sept. 4. These flights are aimed at drawing more visitors to the region.
TMRAO has been struggling with increasing fuel prices and subsequent growing demand for minimum revenue guarantees from airlines. Last year, the organization approached local governments and businesses for money in a last minute effort to cover a gap in funding to maintain winter service. But, after raising $400,000, U.S. Airways cancelled its Phoenix to Telluride service. The airline had limited inventory of airplanes that could land in the Telluride Regional Airport, the highest commercial airport in the country, and they moved those to the east coast; thus cancelling the successful service.
The cancellation was announced towards the end of September, too late for TMRAO to secure an alternative service in a tight market, and so the organization had leftovers from the money raised to cover the gap in winter funding.
“Last year, we thought we wouldn’t have enough funds to go after any summer service,” said Scott Stewart, TMRAO’s executive director. “Back when we were soliciting support, we were going for winter, the more lucrative season. We were trying to beef up winter service to what we had last winter. We didn’t think we’d be able to do summer at all.”
TMRAO used the leftover money to secure the summer flights. “We weren’t able to reallocate the funds for winter air service, so we went back to the governments in January and gave them some options as to what to do with them.”
An option to put the money into winter marketing was nixed because officials thought it was too late in the season for a campaign. Instead, Stewart said, they wanted to see continuation into summer service.
Even when taking into consideration the newly funded summer service, flights into the region are still showing a decrease.
“Despite our success in maintaining the Dallas and Houston flights, we have seen a decrease in United flights from Denver this summer,” Stewart said in a press release. “We are in a very challenging airline service environment where many small communities are losing air service. Fortunately, we have an organized support program in TMRAO and a supportive community that is proactively working to retain air service to the Montrose Airport. The economic impacts and opportunities commercial air service provides a community is critical to a healthy community.”
Telluride Regional Airport is in TMRAO’s sight as well, with two projects in development. The organization recently started looking into leasing an aircraft that would be dedicated to increasing frequency of Great Lakes flights to TEX. TMRAO is also still eyeing a low-cost air carrier to fly into Montrose and Telluride airports. A deal with such a carrier would significantly lower airfare, but negotiations are still in their initial stages for both projects.
“These things go according to the airlines’ schedule,” Stewart said.
For more information on this or Telluride area real estate, please contact us at 970.728.3111, info@telluriderealestatecorp.com or http://www.telluriderealestatecorp.com/.
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