Here’s what the Eagle County airport is eyeing next as it looks to land more airlines and flights
This year, the airport added summer flights to Chicago, Houston, winter flights to San Diego, Seattle, plus a locals rebate
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily
The Eagle County Regional Airport has a deceptively simple long-term goal: to increase flight service. But getting there is complicated.
Chris Romer, president and CEO of the Vail Valley Partnership, presented on behalf of the EGE Air Alliance to the Core Transit board during its regular meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 14.
More service, more passengers
The airport has expanded its service this year, and passenger numbers are increasing.
Enplanements — or the number of passengers on flights — have grown following the 2020 pandemic reduction. Heading into fall 2024, enplanements are up over 20% year to date. “We have a good track record of growing service, (and) we expect that to continue into 2025 with the new flights we’ve got,” Romer said.
Looking at enplanements broken down by month, 2024 outpaces 2022 and 2023 in every month measured so far, from January to June.
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This summer, the airport added flights to Chicago and Houston on the weekends. This winter, the airport will add Alaska Airlines service for the first time, an update more than six years in the making.
The airline will run service to Seattle and San Diego three times a week each, on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from Dec. 21 through March 23.
“It will be our first ever low-cost carrier,” Romer said.
How the airport adds flights and airlines
Convincing airlines to add routes to the Eagle County Regional Airport is a lengthy process, involving extensive negotiations, sometimes a site visit, and almost always a minimum revenue guarantee, or subsidy provided by the airport to the airline to supplement unfilled seats on flights.
“Outside of Denver, every single one of these markets started on a minimum revenue guarantee program,” Romer said. “It is the model for regional airports.”
Right now, the only Eagle County Regional Airport routes on the minimum revenue guarantees are the new ones added this summer and for the upcoming winter.
The minimum revenue guarantee for the new Alaska Airlines flights is $2.5 million over four years. A Small Community Air Service Development Program grant will cover $1 million of that amount. The EGE Air Alliance asked for, and received, $1.2 million from Core Transit’s 2025 budget to support the flights.
In 2024, the minimum revenue guarantee for the Chicago summer service was $413,000, and for Houston, it was $287,000, totaling just over $700,000 together. The minimum revenue guarantee is meant to supplement under-filled flights and is connected to a percentage of seats filled, or load factor. For these two flights, if the load factor exceeds 60%, there is a possibility of reducing the minimum revenue guarantee.
In June, Chicago flights had a 51% load factor, while Houston flights were 44%. In July, Chicago and Houston flights both had load factors of 63%. The August numbers have not come in yet but are estimated to be right around 60%.
The 20-year view at the Eagle County Regional Airport
The Federal Aviation Administration asks every airport to review its infrastructure and create a master plan every five to seven years. The Eagle County Regional Airport’s most recent plan takes a 20-year view and includes terminal upgrades, more jet bridges and parking lot upgrades.
There is one thing that will never change about the Eagle County Regional Airport: “We’ve got one runway, and that’s the way it’s going to stay,” said David Reid, the airport’s director of aviation, during the meeting. “There is no way to add another runway with the space requirements we need for that … We will upgrade the airfield in other ways.”
The airport has been working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection on the possibility of an international terminal. Two years ago, the airport received approval to design the terminal, and it is now fully designed.
The airport is currently working on finding funding for the international terminal — it will cost around $20 million to construct the facility — by pursuing grants, bill money, and potentially private partnerships.
“We could have dirt moving by next spring if everything comes together,” Reid said.
What airlines and routes is the airport eyeing next?
Romer said the EGE Air Alliance has been looking at gaps on the flight map to see where more service is needed.
“Central Florida is a big gap. We have a lot of visitors coming from central Florida, Orlando or Tampa,” Romer said.
Fort Lauderdale, Charlotte, Minneapolis and Boston are also on the list.
Romer also said he hopes a certain low-cost carrier — Southwest Airlines, though he did not disclose the name in the meeting — would soon be enticed to come to Eagle County, as it already flies to Steamboat Springs, Montrose and Denver.
The airport team has been in talks with the airline about coming to the Eagle County Regional Airport for years. “It’s an aircraft availability issue,” Romer said. “We are on their radar, and they are on ours.”
Prioritizing local needs
Deciding the airport’s next moves involves balancing the priorities of locals and tourists.
Right now, flights go to Dallas and Denver all year, and Romer said the goal is to make the Chicago flight also a year-round option. “Year-round service for the local community is a huge priority,” Romer said.
This summer, the EGE Air Alliance introduced a locals’ flight rebate program, providing $100 for Eagle County residents taking flights on the new routes to Chicago and Houston. To receive the rebate, locals simply need to fill out a form on the Vail Valley Partnership’s website and they receive a check for $100. “That’s been really popular, really well-utilized, and gets people in to support not only those new flights but to experience the Eagle County Regional Airport,” Romer said. “I actually appreciate signing all those checks for community members and friends and neighbors.”
This winter, the locals’ rebate will continue for those flying on the Alaska Airlines flights.
Find out more information about the airport and upcoming flights on its new website, FlyEGE.com (formerly FlyVail.com).
