A new commercial airline will begin providing service for the Pierre Regional Airport in June.
Mayor Steve Harding says the US Department of Transportation announced late this afternoon (April 13, 2021) that it has selected Denver Air Connection to fulfill the Essential Air Service contract for Pierre. He says the two-year contract with Denver Air will begin June 1, 2021, and includes 12 weekly flights between Pierre and Denver.
Pierre Airport Manager Cameron Howard says under the new contract, Pierre will share six of the 12 flights a week with the Watertown Airport. He says Denver Air has an interline agreement with current commercial air service provider SkyWest, which operates through United, so if you stay on United flights you shouldn’t need to go through security or recheck bags between Pierre and your final destination.
Howard says the new flight schedule and new ticket prices haven’t been determined yet, but they are expected to be comparable to current ticket prices. He expects one-way tickets to be in the $80-$120 range.
Harding says Pierre has shared flights with Watertown in the past. He says their peak season and Pierre’s peak season are different so there shouldn’t be problems booking seats on the flight you want.
Pierre’s currently USDOT EAS contract with SkyWest Airlines was originally scheduled to conclude in April. The USDOT has ordered SkyWest to continue service to Pierre until Denver Air can begin its contract in June.
Three airlines, Boutique Air, Denver Air Connection and SkyWest, submitted bids for the new contract.
As the contract holder, the USDOT has its own review process to determine if an airline will be selected to serve an EAS community. When awarded an EAS contract, commercial airlines receive a federal subsidy to make air service affordable in remote communities like Pierre.
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