Faulkner: Chicago flight use could mean growth in 2017
Strong passenger numbers for United Airlines’ direct Great Falls to Chicago flight very well could mean expanded service to Chicago by the airline next summer, Great Falls Airport Director John Faulkner said Wednesday.
United provided non-stop flights between Chicago and Great Falls this summer on Saturdays and Sundays, with the service starting on June 11 and ending on Aug. 14.
“Those flights averaged about 87 percent occupancy over the summer, which was better than expected,” Faulkner said. “Anything above 80 percent is considered successful.”
In addition, United officials were excited that passenger use of that flight seemed to be growing in mid-August when the flight was ended for the summer, Faulkner said. Often passenger numbers on such summer flights taper off in August as families stop vacationing and prepare for their children’s schools to start.
“Maybe Chicago-area schools didn’t start until after Labor Day,” Faulkner said. “I spent some time at Glacier National Park in late August, and it continued to be packed.”
Faulkner said he has been in discussions with United about its plans for the Chicago to Great Falls flight in the summer of 2017 and is hopeful the airline will both extend the summer season a little longer and add a key mid-week flight.
“They realize we’ve done about as well as we can in filling the weekend flights and realize a mid-week flight would help grow the passenger numbers,” he said.
This summer’s Saturday and Sunday flights targeted the leisure market, which can travel on weekends and might stay a week or longer at a destination, Faulkner said. Business travelers frequently do leave on Sunday to be in position for Monday meetings, but would appreciate the ability to return on a non-stop, mid-week flight.
Faulkner said he expects United officials to announce their decision in the next six to eight weeks, which would allow both the Great Falls airport and the airline to begin promoting next summer’s flights by Thanksgiving.
The success of the Chicago Cubs, who have the best record in Major League baseball as they seek their first championship since 1908, has aided the Chicago flights, Faulkner said. He said he’s heard of several community members who’ve flown to Chicago for games at Wrigley Field. The Airport Authority teamed with the Little Chicago Club and United for a radio station’s promotion giving lucky fans a trip to Chicago to watch the Cubs, he said.
Chicago is a city whose loyalties are divided between the North Side, which backs the Cubs, and the South Side, which supports the White Sox. Faulkner said the airport will try to draw some White Sox fans from Chicago to Great Falls next summer to watch the young Voyagers, a minor league affiliate. The Airport Authority could place ads on the White Sox social media pages, he said.
Faulkner also said:
• The United flight to Chicago is particularly beneficial to the Great Falls airport, because Chicago is United’s largest hub, providing great connections to the East Coast. It appears that about 40 percent of the flight’s passengers were from or going to Chicago, while the rest made connections to other eastern cities. It appears markets like Philadelphia, Cleveland and the Carolinas, not usually huge destination points from Great Falls, “were stimulated by the new service.
• Passenger numbers for United’s daily flights from Great Falls to Denver did not decrease when the Great Falls to Chicago flight and may have even increased, possibly because some Great Falls passengers who flew direct to Chicago on weekend flights flew back through Denver on mid-week connections. But they’re flights serving different markets and not in direct competition, he said.
Airport converts to LED lights
In other news, Faulkner said the Great Falls airport recently completed a 12-month, $80,000 project to convert most of the lighting inside and outside the terminal, in the parking lot and on the tarmac from traditional bulb lights to energy-efficient LED lighting. The new lights use about one-third of the energy, appear to light more brightly and are more durable. That’s especially important for the outside lights, he said. Traditional lights with filaments broke in strong winds, lasting only about two years, but the new LED lights are guaranteed for six years.
Contractors are mid-way through the airport’s $10 million runway project and will begin paving in about two weeks, Faulkner said. The project involves rehabilitating Runway 17/35, a crosswinds alternative runway. It’s getting new coated pavement and an electrical system and an improved parallel taxiway.