OAG Travel News

In the recent round of domestic U.S. flight cuts, air service to leisure destinations has suffered disproportionately to non-leisure destinations.  Popular vacation sites including Las Vegas, Orlando and other Florida resorts are experiencing double-digit declines in flights this winter compared to last winter.

I spent this past weekend in beautiful Aspen, Colorado.  While there, I thought about the effect of air service to Colorado’s ski destinations for this upcoming winter season.  In addition to Denver International Airport, seven regional airports provide the easiest access to Colorado’s 26 ski resorts.  In my research, I found that for the seven airports reviewed here, the average number of daily flights for this winter is flat compared to last winter.  In these increasingly challenging economic times, no loss in air service is seen as a win.

Aspen
Of all Colorado’s mountain airports, Aspen ranks as the busiest.  With an average of over 20 daily flight departures, passengers can reach six destinations nonstop from Aspen – Atlanta (Delta), Chicago (United), Los Angeles (United), Salt Lake City (Delta) and San Francisco (United).

Aspen did lose service some service this winter – US Airways will no longer provide service to Phoenix.  With its departure from the Aspen-Phoenix market, US Airways closed its station in Aspen.  This lost service, along with reductions in flights to Salt Lake City and Chicago, was replaced when Denver-based Frontier Airlines added four daily nonstop flights to Denver.

Between 13 and 15 of Aspen’s 22 daily flights are to nearby Denver, a short 30-minute flight.  Of course, the majority of these passengers are connecting on to other destinations in the U.S. and across the world to enjoy the numerous ski resorts in the Aspen area, including Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk.

Telluride
Telluride, located in southwestern Colorado, is the smallest of the state’s mountain airports with an average of three flights per day to two cities – Denver on Great Lakes and Phoenix on US Airways.  Although both carriers reduced the number of flights to Telluride this winter, the limited air service is not a reflection of Telluride mountain.  You’re sure to enjoy less crowded slopes than at some of the state’s larger ski resorts.

Vail
Vail might be the most well-known ski town in Colorado.  In terms of air service, Vail ranks second behind Aspen in terms of number of flights with an average of 14 daily flight departures.  But Vail ranks first in terms of number of nonstop destinations.  In addition to service from Denver on both United and Frontier, passengers can fly nonstop to Vail from Atlanta (Delta), Chicago (American), Dallas (American), Houston (Continental), Minneapolis (Northwest), New York (Delta and Continental) and Salt Lake City (Delta).  Like Aspen, nearly half of Vail’s air service is to Denver.  And Vail did lose one destination this winter – US Airways will no longer provide nonstop service between Vail and Charlotte.

Gunnison
Gunnison provides the most convenient access to Crested Butte mountain.  Last winter, Gunnison only had service to Denver (United) and Dallas (American).  This winter, three new nonstop destinations have been added – Atlanta (Delta), Chicago (American) and Salt Lake City (Delta).  In fact, Gunnison’s average daily flight departures have nearly doubled this from three last winter to five this winter.

Steamboat Springs (Hayden)
Steamboat Springs is the northern-most ski area in Colorado.  With 13 daily flight departures, Steamboat’s Hayden Regional Airport ranks third behind Aspen and Vail in terms of daily flight departures.  And, like Vail, passengers can reach eight destinations from Steamboat Springs – Atlanta (Delta), Chicago (American), Denver (Frontier and United), Houston (Continental), Minneapolis (Northwest), New York (Continental and Delta) and Salt Lake City (Delta).

Southwestern Colorado
In addition to Telluride, southwestern Colorado is home to two more airports.  Of the three airports in this region, Montrose enjoys service to the most destinations.  With nonstop service to eight cities – more than Aspen – travelers can reach Atlanta (Delta), Chicago (American), Dallas (American), Denver (United), Houston (Continental), Los Angeles (United), New York (Continental) and Salt Lake City (Delta).

Durango, just 100 miles south of Montrose, enjoys the highest number of daily flights of any airport in southwestern Colorado.  And although new service by Frontier to Denver has increased Durango’s overall daily flight departures from 11 to 13, Durango has one less nonstop destination this winter.  Delta has closed its station with the cancellation of service to Salt Lake City, leaving only service to Denver (Frontier and United) as well as to Phoenix (US Airways).

Final Thoughts
One key reason why these smaller regional airports are not losing as much as air service is due to the fact that many ski resorts attract higher paying travelers than cities such as Las Vegas and Orlando.  Airlines are able to generate higher fares from these “premium” passengers.  And, judging from the fact that flight levels remain consistent with last year, these markets remain relatively profitable for the airlines.  Another unique factor of air service to Colorado’s mountain airports this winter is the entrance of low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines into the market.  Frontier’s subsidiary, Lynx Aviation, operates the ideal fleet of aircraft to reach these high altitude destinations.  Frontier has added service from Denver to Aspen, Steamboat Springs (Hayden) and Durango.

I should mention that Colorado’s “high country” destinations are beautiful all year round.  Whether it be exploring the wildflowers in the summer or the spectacular changing of the colors in the fall, a visit to the Rocky Mountains is well worth the trip.

Source: Official Airline Guide (OAG) Schedule Tapes for flight departures for December 2008 through March 2009 compared December 2007 through March 2008; not all service reviewed is daily.

Note: February data adjusted to account for 2008 leap year.

OAG contributor Laura Jackson was just two weeks old when she took her first flight on Piedmont Airlines.  In junior high school, she developed a business plan for her own airline.  Today she manages strategy and policy issues at one of the world's busiest airports and provides original content and aviation industry analysis for OAG.