“What we’re really trying to do is create the most convenient travel experience we can for our passengers,” Gall said.
American Airlines is the sole air carrier serving Flagstaff, with up to eight daily flights to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
Brian Gall, Flagstaff airport director, said a pilot shortage has forced airlines to park hundreds of aircraft and reduce flights, especially among regional carriers serving smaller airports.
Regional Airline Association CEO Faye Malarkey Black said last November that more than 500 regional aircraft have been parked because of pilot shortages, and that has reduced air service to 324 communities nationwide.
“As the industry starts to correct from staffing shortages…we’re well positioned to take advantage to have some new partnerships with air carriers,” Gall said.
Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, celebrating its 75th anniversary, has been upgrading its facilities, promoting the city’s Fly Flagstaff First marketing campaign to lure passengers, and meeting with airline officials to entice carriers to launch service here.
Airport officials attended the Jump Start Conference in Milwaukee this summer, which Gall characterized as “speed-dating for airlines and airports.” Flagstaff requested meetings with 12 airlines and three accepted the invitation — Southwest, Allegiant and American.
“They were all interested in expanded service in Flagstaff but due to various market conditions… none of them were ready to make that leap right now,” Gall said.
Flagstaff’s 8,800-foot runway could accommodate Southwest’s 737 aircraft, which carry 140 passengers, close to double the capacity of the American Eagle regional jets, flown by Sky West for American Airlines.
Larger aircraft could require improvements to the terminal for airline counter space, larger waiting areas and increased capacity for security checkpoints, Gall said.
Already this year, the airport has added 413 parking spaces and implemented a paid parking system that costs $6 to $8 per day with the first hour free in the economy lot. The weekly rate is $36.
Other recent projects include runway maintenance and repairs to the terminal roof, painting and new flooring.
“What we’re really trying to do is create the most convenient travel experience we can for our passengers,” Gall said.
Flagstaff Airport’s advantages include parking lots close to the terminal, short lines at ticket counters and security checkpoints, and a quick flight to Sky Harbor in close to 30 minutes or a 2.5-hour flight to Dallas.
Kevin Wilkinson and his wife, Marcia Castellani, say flying to and from Flagstaff to their home in Michigan is much more convenient than traveling through Sky Harbor. They have been vacationing in Northern Arizona since 2013 and have tried both airports.
Last year, Sky Harbor accommodated 44 million passengers. Flagstaff served 158,828 passengers in 2022, down 12.7% from the previous year. The loss of United contributed to the decline.
This year, Flagstaff has served 100,480 passengers through August, down 4.8% for the same period in 2022, according to figures from the Arizona Office of Tourism.
A passenger demand study from 2015 shows 78% of travelers in Flagstaff’s market area go to Phoenix for air travel, 20% fly out of Flagstaff and 2% travel to Las Vegas for flights. The market area for that study stretches along Interstate 40 from Seligman to Holbrook, south to the Verde Valley and north to Grand Canyon and parts of the Navajo Reservation.
Flagstaff is working on a new passenger demand study. It’s unlikely to show any big shift in travelers’ choices of originating airports.
Doing the math on flying from Flagstaff or Phoenix shows it’s cheaper to fly out of Sky Harbor. But that savings is less significant when one adds the cost of taking a shuttle or driving to Sky Harbor and paying for parking.
Groome Transportation operates about 11 shuttle-van runs per day between Flagstaff and Sky Harbor. The fee is $56 each way and it takes 2.5 to 3 hours because of construction and traffic on Interstate 17, according to Mary Katherine Jackson, Groome operations manager.
Covered parking at Sky Harbor costs $16 per day, and gas to drive roundtrip from Flagstaff to Phoenix adds $45 depending on the vehicle and gas prices.
As an example, a Dec. 12 flight on American from Flagstaff to St. Louis with a plane change at Sky Harbor was priced at $535 in late October. The return trip was Dec. 15.
Taking a shuttle or driving to Sky Harbor to catch that same flight from Phoenix to St. Louis was priced at $328, a savings of $207. But the savings is $95 when adding the $112 round-trip shuttle fee. It’s about $98 cheaper driving roundtrip from Flagstaff to Phoenix and paying for four days of parking at Sky Harbor.
Flying from Flagstaff to St. Louis through Phoenix takes about 6 hours and 12 minutes. Taking the shuttle to Sky Harbor and flying to St. Louis would take roughly 7 hours and 45 minutes.
“Our benefit is convenience,” Gall said. “It’s hard to put a number on a lot of the additional soft costs that go with a trip to Phoenix.”
And, of course, there’s also the sustainability factor of putting so many individual cars on I-17 from Flagstaff to Phoenix for travelers flying out of Sky Harbor, said Heidi Hansen, Flagstaff economic vitality director. FBN
By Peter Corbett, FBN
Photo by Austin Corbett: Flagstaff airport remains poised to serve more airlines and larger planes as the air travel industry strives to solve the pilot shortage.
