Although Moab and Vernal received the federal money under the same agreement, they each hold separate contracts with Mesa Air. Vernal's contract was announced Friday during a special Uintah County Commission meeting that was attended by representatives from the local oil companies.

Uintah County Commissioner Mike McKee said that the Vernal airport will have to make some improvements in order to comply with federal safety regulations for fire and emergency safety plans before it can provide a base for the new airline.

As Mesa Air began selling tickets for its service to Cedar City, residents welcomed the low fares. "It's a little more than they originally proposed, but it's still considerably cheaper than what the fares are now," said Steve Farmer, manager of Cedar City Regional Airport.

Mesa will offer two flights to Salt Lake City on Monday through Friday, one flight on Sunday but no Saturday service. The airline will fly daily to and from Las Vegas.

Mesa will offer an introductory one-way fare of $49 on tickets purchased by April 8 for travel between May 7 — the first day of scheduled service — and May 31. That rate will be good for flights to Salt Lake City or Las Vegas.

Mesa's cheapest round-trip ticket to Salt Lake City will be $158, $20 less than SkyWest's best advertised price, Farmer said. SkyWest has served Cedar City for the past 31 years. Mesa's lowest round-trip price from Cedar City to Las Vegas will be $128.

Business travelers will enjoy the greatest savings with Mesa. The airline's cheapest round-trip walk-up ticket to Salt Lake City will sell for $198, while SkyWest's lowest price is $276, Farmer said.

Mesa's best advertised price for a Las Vegas walk-up ticket will be $168.

The regional airlines operates 182 aircraft with departures to more than 165 cities in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and Mexico. The carrier offers flights independently as well as through contractual agreements with America West, Delta Air Lines, U.S. Airways and United Airlines.

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Contributing: Associated Press.