“Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” Those were the words used by the crew of the Apollo 13 moon flight to report a disastrous problem back to the Houston base in 1970.
That was 40 years ago. Today in Eagle County, we can honestly say, “Houston, we have an opportunity”. Specifically, we have an opportunity to further ignite the valley’s economy by adding a non-stop summer flight between Houston and the Eagle County Regional Airport.
How? The EGE Air Alliance, a private-public partnership whose mission is to expand flights to and from the Vail Valley, wants to add a new United Airlines flight to Houston starting this summer. And we need support from the community to make this a reality.
New flights like this to the Eagle County Regional Airport don’t just happen. The continued growth of the airport and our flight service on a year-round basis is the responsibility of the entire community. Thus, the opportunity.
Why Houston? Easy: Houston is a key Vail Valley homeowner market as well as a top source of visitors for both Vail and Beaver Creek. In addition, we also know that Houston is a United Airlines hub, with numerous connections (nine daily) to Mexico City and multiple other domestic feeder markets for our valley.
The EGE Air Alliance is the group responsible for helping make this happen. For background purposes, the EGE Air Alliance is a 501c6 not-for-profit entity dedicated to creating a vibrant flight service program at the Eagle County Regional Airport. The EGE Air Alliance includes a growing membership of local municipalities and private business stakeholders.
As rural airports, including Eagle County Regional Airport, continue to struggle with air service – and as we increasingly depend on air service for our destination guests, second homeowners and community – we are at a crossroads. The EGE Air Alliance is leading the charge to increase air service to support our community and our airport, directly supporting our tourism economy and our second homeowner base.
As Senator Mark Udall stated, “Colorado’s regional airports form important links for businesses and travelers throughout the state. Improving Colorado’s transportation network is one of the most important things we can do to support our local communities and local businesses.”
The airport in many ways is the economic driver of our tourism industry, and the tourism industry is the economic driver of small business success in Eagle County. Unfortunately, over the past five years we have lost 27% of the available seats into the Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE). For EGE in the winter of 2007-08 (the peak year for enplanements) there were 273,000 available inbound seats. This winter there are 212,000 inbound seats, with a 34,000 decrease from last winter.
Despite the decrease in available seats, EGE has held up in some challenging times. The airline business environment has changed, resulting in fewer airlines and fewer aircraft due to consolidation of major legacy carriers. The recession and higher fuel prices also have major impacts on air travel to EGE.
The Eagle County Regional Airport needs a path forward and it’s incumbent upon us – the private sector working closely with the public sector – to create a vibrant air service program. Success requires businesses throughout the valley to participate in the EGE Air Alliance.
Please join the EGE Air Alliance for a community meeting, open to all interested parties, to learn more about the role of the business community and how to participate in helping increase flight service to the Eagle County Regional Airport.
We are meeting on Tuesday, January 15 at 3:30pm at the Vail Board of Realtors office in Edwards and hope to see you there. As noted, Houston and increased air service present our community with an opportunity. Let’s make the most of it.
How can your business participate? If you benefit from second homeowner visitation, increased destination tourism, increased international visitation or from increased flight service into the Eagle County Regional Airport (and you do benefit, regardless of industry) please join us on January 15 to learn more.