Comments about ‘Provo Municipal Airport welcomes first commercial flight’

So Provo gets an RON flight. That way more people will see the actual aircraft on the ground than if it just landed and then took off again 20 minutes later.

Is that envy I hear coming from Logan?

The flight crews are in for a rude awakening. A city with no night life. Hopefully they put them up in SLC or Park City.

We have to start somewhere, and the population of Utah County warrants an airport.

Like the I15 freeway, this will grow and grow and become commercially viable for a number of smaller regional airlines.

Seems like flights in and out of Orange or LA Counties would be pretty popular.

I'm glad that Provo is now letting commercial planes to land there. Those who travel to Provo out of state doesn't have to go to Salt Lake and then take a bus to Provo. They can take just a airline to Provo and they will be there.

I agree on the Orange county flights. They would be a HUGE hit coming out of Provo. If this Denver flight is successful I think that one will be the next step.

Disneyland needs to hook up with an airline and offer a great package. They will be booked constantly.

In my opinion here are the cities that Provo needs direct flights to from either Frontier or other carriers:

San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose
LA/Orange County
Las Vegas
Phoenix
Denver
Seattle
Portland
Boise
Chicago

These are in order of preference (mine) and also I think in order of demand that I think is needed by the residents of Utah County. What are yours?

Good job Provo!

BYU Football and visiting opponents have been flying chartered commercial passenger carriers in and out of PVU for several years, however, this is the first scheduled commercial jet aircraft in and out of Provo.

Trans Western Airlines, based in Logan, operated scheduled service to and from Provo in the late 1970s on twin-prop Beechcraft 99s and Piper Chieftains with regional service to SLC and Moab, Monticello, Blanding. I remember flying the 9-minute flight to Salt Lake on a $1 connection fare to my Western Airlines flight to Los Angeles. Trans Western was bought by Horizon Airlines in 1983.

However, the likelihood of expanded service or even a long-duration of this service is suspect, in the current economy. Most business folks are chasing Delta's SkyMiles and would avoid a Denver connection at all costs especially in winter. They will want to choose from the dozens of nonstop destinations offered out of the Delta hub. Then the leisure traveler is price-driven, so there would have to be significant savings for them not to drive up to Salt Lake. The public also has an aversion to flying east to go west, so this new service would be directionally limited. Then the Frontier business model also tells them that they are diluting their current capacity out of Salt Lake which such nearby service.

If it is to succeed, BYU, the MTC, and many more local employers will have to mandate usage of the new service. I doubt Frontier will stay in the market much longer than 6 months without significant loads and revenue yield, even with the lower cost of a return-overnight aircraft.

Random airfare search:
Atlanta to Provo roundtrip July 12-19 = $430 vs.
Atlanta to SLC on Frontier same dates = $374, or on Delta $378.

Provo to Indianapolis roundtrip July 14-21 = $598 vs.
SLC to Indianapolis on Frontier = $498, or on Delta $440, or on US Airways $410.

Another source indicates that Frontier has 1-year commitment to Provo due to the SCASD grant. Frontier can garner up to $650,000 in cash and in-kind contributions for parking their aircraft overnight in Provo versus a Denver gate.