Following Decade of Increased Air Service, Glacier AERO Launches New Campaign

Prior to 2007 direct flights from Glacier Park International Airport (GPIA) were limited to Seattle, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City on Alaska and Delta Airlines. In the past decade direct flights to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, Oakland and Portland have been added.

The community is now served by four airlines with United and Allegiant joining Alaska and Delta. Options for air transportation in and out of the Flathead Valley have more than tripled over the last ten years boosting our economy and supporting the second fastest population growth rate in Montana. Not only do these additional flights bring millions of dollars to the local economy (2.3 million non-residents spent $505 million in Flathead County in 2016) supporting locally owned business and restaurants, they also allow us to more easily make connections around the country when we travel for business, visit loved ones or vacation.

Marc Liechti, owner of APEC Architecture and Engineering has seen his business grow in part due to the increased ease with which his clients can reach the area. "Enhancing the ability of real estate developers and buyers to travel to the Flathead Valley more directly benefits our business by allowing our customers to arrive more easily and spend more time here once they arrive.  Additionally, due to the new flight to Chicago I am now able to visit my home country, Switzerland, with just one stop – simplifying international travel."

Much of this increase in capacity and the accompanying decrease in ticket costs can be attributed to a little known mechanism called Minimum Revenue Guarantees (MRG) which is a tool for communities to partner with airlines in sharing the risk of adding flights in new, untested markets. Funds are only transferred to the airline when flights under-perform and do not cover costs. Once the airline has had an opportunity to test a market with minimal risk they then make the productive flights permanent without requiring a guarantee.

In 2007 with a $50,000 local match to a Small Community Air Service Development (SCASD) grant GPIA was able to secure United flights to Denver and Chicago with an MRG. Today GPIA has year-round service to Denver and summer service to Chicago with no MRG required. Next month United will increase capacity on daily flights to Chicago and Denver. In 2012 MRGs secured seasonal flights to LAX on Delta and on Allegiant in 2014, both of which continue today with no guarantee required. Also in 2014 United began flights to LAX with no MRG.

In 2014 Glacier AERO was established as a non-profit to continue partnering with airlines by providing MRGs when SCASD funds were not available. Glacier AERO has had great success securing winter flights from Chicago over the past four years adding 2200-3000 seats each winter and paying in guarantees from $0 for some years and in the least productive year paying $51,000 or $16.94/seat. These flights were coordinated with billboard and bus advertising in Chicago that the Whitefish and Kalispell Convention and Visitors Bureaus created and managed. This symbiotic relationship raised awareness of the Flathead Valley’s winter offerings and then provided a means of transportation to arrive at GPIA easily. This is efficient and also attracts a visitor that is likely to spend more once they arrive in the Valley. The average group stay of those arriving in Montana at GPIA was 7.62 nights (versus 4.73 for overall non-resident visitors) with a total average daily outlay of $220.69 (versus $128.12 for overall non-res visitors). Glacier AERO also partnered with United to test a direct flight to San Francisco, but this flight was not as well-received and was discontinued after one season.

In light of these successes and in order to partner with GPIA to provide a community match for a new SCASD grant application as well as to continue guaranteeing flights like the United Chicago flight, Glacier AERO has launched a new fundraising campaign this summer. In the original 2014 fundraising campaign 42 local business of all types invested in the MRG fund with 15 or more of those companies committing to annual contributions over three years. The organization raised over $220,000 in the first effort and hopes to raise $330,000 in this campaign. Discussions with new airline service providers have already begun and target markets include Dallas/Fort Worth, Southern California airports such as John Wayne and Ontario as well as Phoenix.

Glacier AERO encourages businesses in all industries to consider how improved air service to the Flathead has positively impacted their business when deciding at what level to invest in the effort. Courtenay Sprunger, Principal of Big Sky Public Relations shared "As a public relations firm in a rural market, engaging in the latest industry training generally means flying to large metro markets. The good news is that we’re enjoying lower airfare costs than we were five years ago. That, along with our improved access to hubs like Chicago and Denver via direct flights means that more of our dollars are actually invested in training time, not travel time."

Air service has direct impact on economic development in all communities. Kim Morisaki, Business Development Director at Montana West Economic Development believes that it is important for every industry, not just tourism-related businesses. "Convenient and competitively priced air service is essential for any community that supports business growth and attraction of entrepreneurs. As we endeavor to attract a skilled workforce for expanding businesses, connections to national airports around the country are an important factor for many considering returning to or making the Flathead Valley their home. Companies with clients nationally are well-served when we increase both the number of airlines serving our market and the number of planes landing at GPIA. More airlines providing more options to our residents and businesses benefit the entire community."

More information about Glacier AERO can be found at http://www.glacier-aero.com. Contact Kimberly Morisaki at 406-257-7711 x 3 or [email protected] for information on how to support Glacier AERO.