APRIL 16, 2024:
Denver Air Connection and the Pierre Regional Airport gave flights to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport a try, but that’s coming to an end June 9, 2024.
At last night’s (April 16, 2024) city commission meeting, Denver Air Connection Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy Jon Coleman says current usage of the flights isn’t enough to warrant continuing the route.
Denver Air began flying the Minneapolis-St. Paul route Nov. 30, 2023. Since then, Coleman says overall enplanements have gone down when compared to 2023, not up.
Other than switching the Minneapolis flights back to Denver, Coleman says the days and times they fly to and from Pierre will stay basically the same.
Coleman reiterated how disappointed he and city officials are that adding the Minneapolis flights didn’t work out.
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. City Commissioner Jamie Huizenga serves the commission liaison to the airport and says they don’t want to put that funding at risk.
Denver Air Connection currently provides 10 round trip flights each week between Pierre and the Denver International Airport and 2 weekly round trip flights between Pierre and Minneapolis. The MSP flights will return to Denver flights after June 9, 2024.
Denver Air also holds the EAS contract for the Watertown Regional Airport. From there, people can fly to either Denver or Chicago.
2024 enplanements from Pierre Regional Airport:
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January– 971. 883 Denver/88 MSP
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February– 910. 827 Denver/83 MSP
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March– 1002. 929 Denver/73 MSP
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JANUARY 25, 2024:
The new ticketing and baggage transfer agreement Denver Air Connection has with Delta Air Lines at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport begins Tuesday (Jan. 30, 2024).
Pierre Mayor Steve Harding says the Pierre Regional Airport’s commercial air service provider has been working on the deal for a while.
Harding1 (….agreement passes through) 39 sec
Denver Air now has ticketing and baggage transfer agreements with three major carriers– United, American and Delta.
Harding encourages people to give the direct flights from Pierre to Minneapolis a try.
Harding2 (….for the community) 15 sec
As a federal Essential Air Service airport, if Pierre goes over the 10,000 boardings number during the current year, it’s eligible for $1-million from the US Department of Transportation.
Customers are able to purchase itineraries on Delta by visiting denverairconnection.com/expedia starting January 30, 2024.
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JANUARY 17, 2024:
Denver Air Connection has negotiated a new ticketing and baggage transfer agreement with Delta Air Lines.
This agreement allows passengers leaving from Pierre to book travel coordinated between Denver Air Connection and Delta Air Lines in a single reservation, with a single ticket and one credit card transaction. When traveling, passengers will be able to check their baggage through to their final destination – eliminating the need to exit security, claim and recheck bags, and re-clear security when trips are purchased as two separate agreements. Customers will be able to purchase itineraries by visiting denverairconnection.com/expedia starting on January 30, 2024.
Denver Air Connection already has an interline agreement in place for those flying from Pierre to Denver and beyond, as long as they are traveling on a United flight.
“We are excited to add Denver Air Connection to our global list of interline partners,” said Steve Jensen, Manager – Interline & Industry Affairs for Delta Air Lines.
“Our new agreement with Delta underscores our commitment to our Essential Air Service communities in the Midwest,” said Jon Coleman, Senior Vice President – Corporate Strategy for Denver Air Connection. “We expect this new agreement will give us more flexibility to better serve these communities going forward,” he added.
The new agreement is particularly meaningful for the communities of Ironwood, MI and Thief River Falls, MN which have nonstop flights to Minneapolis/St. Paul, where Delta operates a hub and serves as the largest global carrier. Customers in Pierre, SD will also gain new connection opportunities with the recently added twice weekly flights to Minneapolis.
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