Eagle County airport adds another winter-season flight

When Jana Morgan heard on Friday that United Airlines would begin weekly winter flights from Washington Dulles International Airport to the Eagle County Regional Airport, she had a one-word reply: “Wow!”

Morgan, the co-owner of Vail’s Sweet Basil restaurant, noted that Vail welcomes a lot of guests from the Eastern United States. A direct flight from the nation’s capital to Eagle County is “really going to be outstanding,” she said.

With flights arriving and leaving on Saturdays, it will make guests’ trips “a lot easier,” Morgan said, adding that she expects the new route to increase Vail’s overall business.

Vail Chamber & Business Association Director Alison Wadey is originally from the Washington, D.C. area, and said the new flight will be a boon to the valley. And, she added, it will provide a convenient way for her to visit family.

“It’s a great market for us,” Wadey said. Friends from that area love coming to Vail, she said, adding that the Dulles airport is also a “huge hub” for international visitors.

Support Local Journalism

Donate

The announcement of the new flight came Friday, with the additional news that Eagle County joins United’s “7-Hub Club,” meaning the airport hosts direct flights from seven of United’s major hubs around the country: Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco and Washington.

In a release, Eagle County Aviation Director David Reid said the airport is “thrilled” to welcome the new flight, adding that “Joining United’s ‘7-Hub Club’ is a major milestone for (Eagle County).”

Eagle County Deputy Aviation Director Josh Miller noted that Eagle County is only the 23rd airport in the nation to join the club.

The United flight is the second new flight announced this week, joining a Delta Airlines holiday-season flight from Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Delta in April announced a winter flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.

The United flight comes with a minimum revenue guarantee, meaning that the community is providing a financial backstop to the route’s success.

Those guarantees are common for new routes and are a way to ensure airlines don’t lose money on those routes. If revenues fall short of predetermined levels, the community makes up the difference and pays the airline.

In the case of this route, part of that guarantee is being covered through funds generated in part through revenue provided by Core Transit — a portion of the county’s transit sales tax is dedicated to air travel — as well as the EGE Air Alliance, the local nonprofit dedicated to building air service. The Alliance has long provided money for those guarantees, in large part through funding by local governments.

The Core Transit funding is relatively new, since its sales tax was approved by voters in 2022.

Miller said airport officials have to take a mostly hands-off position when it comes to revenue guarantees. While airports can provide advertising and facility leasing assistance, they aren’t allowed to offer direct payments to airlines. But, he added, airport officials can offer suggestions to local groups negotiating revenue guarantees. There have been times when airport officials have recommended not offering guarantees for a new route, Miller said.

Miller added that the Core Transit board must approve providing the Alliance with revenue guarantee funds and that those guarantees are only temporary.

“Our goal is that (guarantees aren’t needed) in two to three years … we have high hopes for this one,” he said.

For more information, go to FlyEGE.com.