DECEMBER 6, 2023:
As expected, pheasant hunting season in South Dakota continued to kept the Pierre Regional Airport busy last month (November 2023).
City Commissioner Jamie Huizenga says between commercial and private flights, over 1700 people flew out of Pierre in November.
In 2022, the Pierre Regional Airport had more than 16,000 enplanements.
Thursday (Nov. 30, 2023), Denver Air Connection made its inaugural flight from Pierre to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Huizenga says having another destination option when flying out of Pierre again is exciting.
Denver Air now provides 10 round trip flights each week between Pierre and the Denver International Airport and 2 weekly round trip flights between Pierre and Minneapolis.
Denver Air also holds the EAS contract for the Watertown Regional Airport. From there, people can fly to either Denver or Chicago.
NOVEMBER 30, 2023:
After several years of unreliable service from a few different companies at the Pierre Regional Airport, things are looking up as the town begins being a two-hub airport starting today (Nov. 30, 2023).
The years of unreliability were followed by a year or so of steady service from SkyWest, flying as United Express. When it came time to re-bid Pierre’s Essential Air Service contract, the US Department of Transportation opted to switch to a regional air carrier, Denver Air Connection, rather than the national airline. The switch prompted letters from local and state officials as well as South Dakota’s Congressional delegation asking USDOT to reconsider their choice. The request was denied and for a short time, SkyWest continued flying from Pierre at it’s own expense while Denver Air began flying the federal EAS supported routes. It didn’t take long before SkyWest discontinued it’s service to Pierre.
Now, Denver Air Connection is providing 10 round trip flights each week between Pierre and the Denver International Airport and two round trip flights from Pierre to Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Denver Air Connection Business Development Director Jon Coleman says the company is excited to begin the twice weekly service to Minneapolis. He says they hope to see expanded connections in the coming months, which would mean Denver Air “will be providing the people of the Pierre area quite possibly the largest amount of travel choices available from a regional carrier.”
Pierre City Commissioner Jamie Huizenga says it’s nice to give travelers another option.
Denver Air Connection has served as Pierre’s Essential Air Service carrier since July 2021.
Denver Air also holds the EAS contract for the Watertown Regional Airport. From there, people can fly to either Denver or Chicago.
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NOVEMBER 10, 2023:
Denver Air Connection will begin providing two, weekly round trip flights from the Pierre Regional Airport to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport at the end of this month (Nov. 30, 2023)…. and it looks like travelers will encounter some construction there for the next two years.
The Metropolitan Airports Commission and Delta Airlines– the airport’s dominant carrier– announced a planned $242 million overhaul will modernize the main terminal concourses and gate areas. The project announced yesterday (Nov. 9, 2023) is expected to be complete by late 2025. The plan calls for a unified design for the concourses and about 75 Delta gates with new flooring, wall finishes and brighter LED lighting.
Technology upgrades will improve flight and gate information screens. More power outlets will be added at gate seating. Most of the work will occur at night and officials say little disruption is expected for flight activity.
Denver Air Connection currently provides 12 round trip flights each week between Pierre and the Denver International Airport. Once the Minneapolis flights begin, Pierre will have 10 round trip flights to Denver and 2 round trip flights to Minneapolis each week.
Denver Air also holds the EAS contract for the Watertown Regional Airport. From there, people can fly to either Denver or Chicago.
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SEPTEMBER 6, 2023:
August (2023) enplanement numbers show another busy month at the Pierre Regional Airport.
City commissioner Jamie Huizenga says 1257 people flew out last month.
As a federal Essential Air Service airport, if Pierre goes over the 10,000 boardings number, it’s eligible for $1-million from the US Department of Transportation.
Denver Air Connection currently provides 12 round trip flights each week between Pierre and the Denver International Airport. That will go down to 10 weekly round trip flights to Denver starting Nov. 30, 2023, when they replace two Denver routes with two weekly round trip flights to Minneapolis.
2023 enplanements from the Pierre Regional Airport:
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January– 944
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February– 972
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March– 1137
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April– 1045
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May– 1378
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June– 1433
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July– 1440
- August– 1257
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JULY 12, 2023:
Direct flights from Pierre to Minneapolis will begin November 30, 2023, but technology willing, people should be able to start scheduling them today (July 12, 2023).
Commissioner Jamie Huizenga gave an update at last night’s Pierre City Commission meeting.
Again, that word from last night’s city commission meeting so “tomorrow” refers to July 12, which is today.
Denver Air Connection Business Development Director Jon Coleman says they are working on an interline agreement with Delta with the goal of having luggage transferred between DAC and Delta flights at Minneapolis. Without the agreement, travelers will need to pick up checked bags at baggage claim, then re-check them with Delta.
DAC currently provide 12 round trip flights each week between Pierre and the Denver International Airport. That will go down to 10 weekly round trip flights to Denver starting Nov. 30, 2023, when they replace two Denver routes with two weekly round trip flights to Minneapolis.
Denver Air Connection has served as Pierre’s Essential Air Service carrier since July 2021.
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JUNE 28, 2023:
Direct flights from Pierre to Minneapolis will begin November 30, 2023.
Denver Air Connection Business Development Director Jon Coleman says their current Essential Air Service contract for Pierre includes 12 round trip flights per week. He says adding Minneapolis flights does take away some of the options to Denver.
Coleman says when reviewing Pierre’s flight schedule, they wanted to get through the airport’s busiest time of year before making a change.
Though Coleman couldn’t provide specifics, he did imply that DAC is working to build relationships with Delta with the goal of providing seamless connections between DAC and Delta flights.
Pierre Airport Commissioner Jamie Huizenga says setting a flight schedule isn’t easy.
Ticketing for Minneapolis flights will open late next week (July 3-7, 2023). Anyone who has an existing ticket and will be impacted by the adjustment will be contacted by their ticketing agent.
Regardless of schedule, to receive its annual $1 million federal subsidy, the Pierre Regional Airport must have 10,000 enplanements a year. If the airport falls short of that, the $1 million used to make capital improvements at the airport is jeopardized.
Denver Air Connection has served as Pierre’s Essential Air Service carrier since July 2021.
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JUNE 27, 2023:
Denver Air Connection and the City of Pierre proudly announce weekly nonstop flights between Pierre, SD and Minneapolis, MN.
Denver Air Connection (DAC) will begin offering flights between Pierre and Minneapolis on Nov. 30, 2023 with late afternoon departures and early evening arrivals on both Thursdays and Sundays.
Ticketing for Minneapolis flights will open late next week.
Direct flights between Pierre and Denver will continue with daily flights Sunday through Monday.
“We were very deliberate about this schedule change,” said Pierre Mayor Steve Harding. “We don’t want to disrupt travel plans that have already been made, and we know there are many already in play for the hunting season.”
Jon Coleman, DAC Business Development Director, says that very few booked tickets will be impacted by this change.
“Anyone who has an existing ticket and will be impacted by the adjustment will be contacted by their ticketing agent.”
Airport Commissioner Jamie Huizenga said that setting a schedule isn’t easy.
“This scheduling business is somewhat of an art form. We’re making some informed assumptions about demand to both hubs, as well as days people prefer to fly,” said Huizenga. “As the picture starts to become clearer, we may find that we need to tweak our plan.”
Part of the challenge with the two-hub service is connectivity in Minneapolis.
“If people just want to get to Minneapolis, this service will work well for them,” said Coleman. “Connecting flights in Minneapolis are more of a challenge because Minneapolis is a Delta hub, and we don’t have an agreement with Delta.”
Though Coleman did imply that DAC is working to build relationships with Delta with the goal of providing seamless connections between DAC and Delta flights.
Regardless of schedule, to receive its annual $1 million federal subsidy, the Pierre Regional Airport must have 10,000 enplanements a year. If the airport falls short of that, the $1 million used to make capital improvements at the airport is jeopardized.
“We’re very excited to offer two-hub service,” said Mayor Harding. “And it’s very important for the service to be successful; Denver Air, our consultant, as well as City staff looked at a lot of data and put in many hours to develop this plan.”
Denver Air Connection has served as Pierre’s Essential Air Service (EAS) airline since July 2021 providing 12 weekly round-trip nonstop flights to Denver. In the most recent EAS bid cycle, DAC submitted the option for a portion of the flights to be allocated to Minneapolis.
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APRIL 14, 2023:
The US Department of Transportation has approved a new, two year Essential Air Service contract allowing Denver Air Connection (DAC) to provide flights from Pierre to Minneapolis and from Pierre to Denver International Airport.
Pierre Mayor Steve Harding says they need to work through the logistics for travelers to Minneapolis.
Pierre had requested a split of four weekly round trip flights to Minneapolis and eight weekly round trip flights to Denver. But, Harding says, they don’t yet know how the breakdown will go. He says although the new two-year contract begins June 1, 2023, they don’t expect flights to Minneapolis to begin that day.
Harding says city officials have made contact with Denver Air to start sorting through the options and the logistics, but it will take some time to determine the schedule.
In 2022, the Pierre Regional Airport had more than 16,000 commercial enplanements.
USDOT EAS contracts subsidize air carriers to ensure rural communities, like Pierre, have access to commercial air service. The USDOT leads the contracting process by calling for proposals from airlines interested in the contracts and ultimately selecting the winning proposal.
Written version:
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has approved allowing Denver Air Connection to provide two-hub service between Pierre and Denver and Pierre and Minneapolis.
“We’re very excited about the USDOT’s decision,” said Pierre Mayor Steve Harding. “For the 15 years that I’ve been on the City Commission, the public has been asking for air service to Minneapolis. We’re happy we can now deliver the option.”
DAC flights operate under an Essential Air Service (EAS) contract held between the USDOT and DAC. Although the new two-year contract begins June 1 this year, Mayor Harding says that he doesn’t anticipate any flight schedule change in the next two months.
“We don’t yet know how many weekly flights we’ll have between Pierre and Denver or Pierre and Minneapolis. The USDOT gave us flexibility to divide up our twelve weekly round trip flights as we see fit to make them as beneficial as possible for our traveling public.”
Harding also stated that he doesn’t expect any flights to Minneapolis to begin on June 1.
“We’ve already made contact with Denver Air this morning to start sorting through the options and the logistics, but it will take some time to determine a schedule,” said Mayor Harding. “There are people who already have tickets booked past June 1. We certainly don’t want to pull the rug out from under them.”
The City will make public announcements about flight schedule changes as details are determined.
USDOT EAS contracts subsidize air carriers to ensure rural communities, like Pierre, have access to commercial air service. The USDOT leads the contracting process by calling for proposals from airlines interested in the contracts and ultimately selecting the winning proposal.
In 2022, the Pierre Regional Airport had more than 16,000 commercial enplanements.
JANUARY 23, 2023:
While the City of Pierre is recommending a split of its commercial air service routes between Denver and Minneapolis, the Watertown Airport Board is recommending their routes stay the same for the next two-year federal Essential Air Service contract.
Denver Air provides the commercial air service for both Pierre and Watertown. They were the only company to submit a bid to serve either towns under the federal program that provides subsidies for airlines to serve smaller communities.
Denver Air Connection provides flights from Watertown to Denver and from Watertown to Chicago. In their bid to the US Department of Transportation, Denver Air also included an option to fly from Watertown to Minneapolis-St. Paul instead of Chicago.
But Watertown Public Works Director Heath VonEye says Chicago remains the preferred option.
Last year, about 60% of all passengers who flew out of Watertown went to Denver, while 40% went to Chicago.
The Pierre City Commission is recommending the US DOT approve 8 weekly round trip flights to Denver and 4 weekly round trip flights to Minneapolis.
Ultimately, because the EAS contract is with the US DOT, they have the final say on which route or routes are chosen.
(News partner KWAT contributed to this story.)
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