NoCo travelers to have new flight options in November

CHEYENNE — Business and leisure travelers from Northern Colorado, western Nebraska and southern Wyoming will have another choice of air connections starting Nov. 4 when SkyWest Airlines, a division of SkyWest Inc.(Nasdaq: SKYW), launches direct service from Cheyenne to Dallas-Fort Worth.

SkyWest, through its agreement with American Eagle, will fly once daily, seven days each week, to DFW. Tickets are on sale now for the first flight at AA.com, the American Airlines site. Round-trip rates are currently $189.

American Eagle will leave DFW at 9:05 a.m. (CDT) daily, arrive in Cheyenne at the new airport terminal at 10:05 a.m. (MDT), then head back to DFW leaving at 10:35 a.m. for arrival in Dallas at 1:35 p.m.

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“These new flights make it easier than ever for Cheyenne travelers to access one of American Airlines’ largest hubs,” said Greg Atkin, SkyWest Airlines managing director for market development.

Cheyenne has been without daily air service to anywhere since 2012, when American Eagle shut down several market connections during its financial restructuring. Great Lakes Airlines, with its headquarters in Cheyenne, operated a nine-passenger, once-weekly flight between Cheyenne and Denver, but that was discontinued in March, leaving the community without any regular air service.

The new American Eagle flights will be on Bombardier CRJ200 jets carrying up to 50 passengers, said Nathan Banton, general manager of aviation at the airport.

Restored air service resulted from efforts of the Cheyenne Regional Air Focus Team, chaired by Wendy Volk, a Cheyenne Realtor.

Volk said that weekly service to Denver was not useful for the business traveler and that now having daily service to Dallas will permit travelers to make use of the American hub at Dallas to connect with airports around the nation and world.

“I booked my family for a trip (to Chicago). It’s a 90 minute flight to Dallas,” she said, describing how the time of day of the flights makes it useful for travelers to make destinations in a reasonable amount of time.

“Eventually, we’d like to see larger planes and two flights a day, so a business traveler could make the trip to Dallas, conduct business and return the same day,” she said.

Darren Rudloff, executive director of the Visit Cheyenne organization, said the new service is appealing because of the small size of the airport.

“There’s free parking, and it’s easy to get in and out through security,” Rudloff said.

Rudloff said the air focus team looked at a number of options but decided to pursue connectivity with DFW because of the ability to connect with so many locations.

The service will coincide with the official opening of the new air terminal, said Banton. The new $18 million terminal’s expected opening is Nov. 4.

Volk said the service will benefit the region’s economy because of the spending of travelers. “Travelers spent $346 million in Laramie County last year and supported 2,970 local jobs. The new terminal and service from SkyWest positions our community to increase those numbers. Our thanks to community leaders who realize the importance of commercial air service and pledged their support,” Volk said.