Big changes coming at Pueblo Memorial Airport
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) - Five airlines are bidding for next year's Pueblo Memorial Airport contract.
A new company will take over after Southern Airways finishes its current contract with the airport and on Tuesday, the airport hosted an open house so all five airlines could present their offers to residents.
The city said the new contract bidding process comes after recurring issues with the current airline, Southern Air. According to the city, consistently canceled flights and mechanical problems have led to a decrease in travel from the airport. According to Southern Air's website, current flight routes go to Denver and Chadron, Nebraska from Pueblo.
Pueblo residents said they are hopeful a new contract will lead to city growth.
"We just feel that a city cannot grow if it doesn't have an airport that is going to allow a business to come in here and travel from Pueblo to somewhere else," Diane Johnson, a Pueblo resident said.
The new airlines to bid for the contract are Advanced Air, Boutique Air, Breeze Airways, Denver Air Connections, and SkyWest Airlines.
Advanced Air offers two different contract options: 24 flights a week to Albuquerque, or 17 per week to Albuquerque and 7 per week to Phoenix. They argue you can drive to Denver in the same amount of time you can fly to the major airport. Each flight would hold around 8 or 9 people, with a fixed ticket price of $80 one-way to Albuquerque and $150 one-way to Pheonix. They will also offer bulk ticket pricing, but don't have the final model worked out yet. Advanced Air has a 98% completion rate, which is the rate at which they do not cancel flights for "controllable" reasons.
SkyWest Airlines would offer 12 flights per week to Denver with competitive pricing with Colorado Springs. They would be able to fit 50 per flight, cooperating with United Airlines, so travelers can book a flight out of Pueblo through the airline, use miles for the flights, and get rewards and compensation when a flight gets canceled.
Boutique Air, on the other hand, is prepared to invest in the community. They say they plan to invest $50,000 to $75,000 in marketing for the airport. They will offer 24 to 28 flights per week to Denver, with two morning and two evening arrivals. Seats will go for about $54 one-way to Denver but will go up in price as the plane fills, capping out at $119. They offer a more than 99% controllable completion rate.
Breeze Airways, on the other hand, will offer flights to Las Vegas and Phoenix. They have two offers on the table with 12 flights leaving per week, split between Phoenix and Las Vegas. The second option is 7 flights per week with 4 to Phoenix and 3 to Las Vegas. One-way tickets will cost between $50 and $60. They offer a 99.2% completion rate.
Denver Air was not present at Tuesday's open house.
Tuesday's session also included public comment to the Department of Transportation, which has the final authority in deciding which airline will serve Pueblo.
