YOUR AD HERE »

Summer service from Dallas touches down at Yampa Valley Regional Airport

Tom Ross
Passengers from Dallas, Texas, disembark from an American Eagle jet at Yampa Valley Regional Airport the afternoon of June 2, representing the first operation of Steamboat's new summer service from that Texas city. In addition to flights from Denver on SkyWest operating as United Express, this summer. United will also fly to the Yampa Valley from Houston.
courtesy photo

— The new summer airline service from Dallas to Yampa Valley Regional Airport in Hayden got underway June 2 with the arrival of a 65-passenger American Eagle CR700 jet.

The daily flights are expected to provide about 5,330 roundtrip seats this summer, serving the Steamboat Springs summer resort market and regional travelers with flights continuing through Aug. 22.

United Airlines will continue service from Houston this summer — but with a reduced flight schedule compared to the past two summers — operating July 1 through Aug. 14.



YVRA Director Kevin Booth said the addition of a second city and a second airline from Texas, in addition to boosting summer visitation, should give local travelers more options for connecting to cities beyond the two hubs in Dallas and Houston. The American flights are scheduled to leave YVRA at 12:27 p.m. and arrive in Dallas at 3:45 p.m.

The plan to begin service from Dallas was a response to the news that United would curtail the number of days it serves the Yampa Valley and Steamboat Springs, and the thought was that Dallas might replace Houston.



However, members of the Local Marketing District — which manages the use of public dollars to underwrite minimum revenue guarantees needed to secure the flights — approached Steamboat Springs City Council with a plan to put an additional $203,725 at risk this summer in order to secure both flights.

LMD Board President Bob Milne said in February the two Texas flights would provide a boost in available seats, particularly during the month of June.

“It’s serving a lot of needs. United has cut the summer flights from Houston from 75 operations to 45 operations and won’t have any flights in June,” Milne said. “And with Republic (airlines flying as United Express) leaving Denver and SkyWest planning to run just one (daily) Denver roundtrip in June, the Dallas flights will provide more options coming in and out of the valley in early summer.”

Early reports reflect the switch from Republic Airlines turboprops to SkyWest jets flying as United Express on the Denver route has already resulted in more reliable service.

To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205, email tross@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @ThomasSRoss1


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.