Bulletin E-Edition:
With new air service, a link to East Coast
By Zack Hall / The Bulletin
Published: October 14. 2009 4:00AM PSTUnited Airlines’ daily, year-round service from Redmond to Denver isn’t just good news for Central Oregon snowboarders looking to tame the Rocky Mountains.
Adding another link to the East Coast to this region has been a top priority for many in the tourism and business communities.
Denver International Airport is a major hub airport with nonstop flights to more than 130 domestic and international cities. And last week’s confirmation by Chicago-based United that it would offer the daily United Express service through the winter and beyond was met with enthusiasm by officials who count on expanding air service as fuel for economic growth. The service had been scheduled to be summer only.
“We really see Denver not as the destination but really as just the one-stop service that opens up the entire East Coast,” said Alana Audette, the president and CEO of the Central Oregon Visitors Association. “All of the major metro areas east of Denver have nonstop service to Denver.
“So now that people can fly to Denver and then one stop with jet service into Redmond/Bend, it is tremendously important to us being able to grow that market.”
Tourism is estimated to have a $571 million annual economic impact on the region, according to COVA research, and air service plays a vital role in funneling in much of that business.
Denver International, the nation’s sixth-busiest airport, is one of seven daily destinations from Redmond Airport, joining Eugene (Horizon Air, effective in November), Los Angeles (Horizon), Portland (Horizon and United), Seattle (Horizon), Salt Lake City (Delta Air Lines) and San Francisco (United).
Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air flies twice weekly to Las Vegas and the Phoenix area.
Flying a 50-seat regional jet operated by SkyWest Airlines, travelers can fly from Redmond to Denver at 11 a.m. and return from Denver at 5 p.m. daily.
But, most importantly, Denver represents the eastern-most airport a traveler can reach nonstop from Redmond.
“It’s a big airport and it gets you lots of different places eastward-bound, southeast, northeast and even on to international destinations,” said Roger Lee, the executive director of Economic Development for Central Oregon. “It’s one of the things that we lacked in this area for a long time. About four years (when Delta Air Lines began offering service to Salt Lake City) is all we’ve had eastern service in this region. Before that, we had to fly west in order to fly east,” he added.
“You look at a (satellite) picture of the U.S. at night, and you can see the lights are on the East Coast. And that just represents a lot of business activity, financial activity and so forth. It’s like opening up a trade route from our area to those places.”
Speculating on how much the new flight will affect Central Oregon’s ability to attract conventions and other group business is still premature, said Lara Wettig, the director of marketing at The Riverhouse Hotel & Convention Center.
But the addition is welcome news nonetheless, she said.
“It’s always good when we have nonstop flights into a major metropolitan city, particularly opening up the East Coast,” Wettig said. “It just makes it much easier to get to Central Oregon. But it’s too soon to tell what impact it will have on our group business.”
At a time when many airlines are cutting back, Redmond has actually grabbed more seats with the addition of the Denver flight and United’s decision earlier this year to fly a 50-seat regional jet into San Francisco rather than a smaller propeller plane.
“Being able to open up the Denver service at a time when everything else is being cut back, I think, speaks volumes about Central Oregon and our potential for coming out of this recession and the airlines being able to see the long-term viability of Central Oregon,” Audette said.
So what’s next?
Audette would like to see expanded service into the Phoenix area. Currently, Allegiant Air connects Redmond to Phoenix/Mesa on Fridays and Mondays.
“We see that as an opportunity to not only have another connection eastbound but also open that Southwest market to bring folks up here,” Audette said.
Minneapolis or Dallas would also be attractive additions, Lee said.
But, more importantly, Central Oregon should not expand its service too quickly, he said.
“We are excited to see that the Denver service has been profitable enough and has enough use to justify it going year-long,” Lee said. “But at the same time, we don’t want to see the Delta connection to Salt Lake City go down to where it is not performing well and trading one service for another.
“I think it is probably a prudent step, given the economy, to not get too carried away and start to go recruit the next destination.”
Zack Hall can be reached at 541-617-7868 or at zhall@bendbulletin.com.
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