New Year's Eve Bash - Explore Big Sky

egionaL
bozeman airport to open
direct flight from New York
Board votes to change name
from gallatin field airport
BOZEMAN, MT
By emiLy StifLer
big sky weekly managing editor
A coalition including Gallatin Field
Airport, the ski resorts in Big Sky
and other regional businesses recently
received a bid from an airline
for the proposed non-stop flight
between New York and Bozeman.
They wouldn’t say which airline
submitted the bid.
With $1.6 million on hand to
fund the flight route for its first
two years, the group is optimistic,
says Scott Humphrey, the airport’s
deputy director.
Negotiations with the airline,
which start mid-December, should
take four to six weeks, Humphrey
said. Days of service and the
amount of revenue guaranteed to
the airline are yet to be determined.
The more flights per week, the
more revenue the service will bring
in.
“It’s going to come down to frequency,”
Humphrey said. “It’s balancing
[how much funding] the collation
can put forth to the airline,
versus the airline’s cost to operate
the service and the revenue they’re
going to require for each flight.”
“Here’s the goal: To sell the June
2012 seats, we want this flight for
sale, in the system, by February
2012,” said Meg O’Leary, Big Sky’s
Director of Sales and Marketing
and a member of the coalition.
If the coalition and the airline can
come to terms on that timeframe,
NEW YORK, NY
Humphrey says, they could have
the service by June 2012.
Funding has come from a Department
of Transportation grant and
private contributions. Gallatin
Field Airport already has flights to
Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles,
Salt Lake City and Seattle.
The Gallatin Airport Authority
board also voted in December to
change the facility name to Bozeman
Yellowstone International
Airport at Gallatin Field.
This tongue twister will help align
the airport with the constituent
that travels here, Humphrey said.
The new name will associate the
facility with Bozeman, its largest
population center, and with Yellowstone
Park, the largest draw for
travelers coming from out of state.
“It’s really to compete with Jackson
Hole, Cody, Billings and Salt Lake
City,” he said.
About 65 percent of travelers that
fly into Gallatin Field come from
out of state, and the airport is trying
to position itself as the premier
gateway to Yellowstone, Humphrey
added, pointing out it’s situated 90
minutes from two year-round park
entrances.
These changes follow on the heels
of a two-year $40 million airport
expansion completed this past July.
The new terminal added about
125,000 square feet to the existing
building, making the airport the
largest in Montana.
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Come visit the new
Jack Creek Grille and Bar
L O C A T E D A T M O O N L I G H T L O D G E
D I N I N G R O O M
Lunch 11am-3pm, Dinner 5-10pm
Dinner reservations recommended
(406) 995-7777
B A R
Open 11am-close
Beer, Wine, Specialty Drinks
Appetizer & Bar Menu
december 16, 2011 11