Saturday, October 22, 2016

New flights begin: Boutique Air starts Alamosa service



ALAMOSA — For the first time in a decade, a new airline took off from San Luis Valley Regional Airport Thursday.

San Francisco-based Boutique Air started service with flights to Denver and Albuquerque, N.M.

“Our focus on customer service and reliability has resulted in strong demand for our service in a variety of communities and we look forward to creating the same success story here,” CEO Shawn Simpson said in a statement.

The schedule features three daily, round-trip flights to Denver and one daily, round-trip flight to Albuquerque.

Fares to both locations are $49, which the airline bills as an introductory rate.

Boutique operates a fleet of Pilatus PC-12 aircraft and Beechcraft King Air 350 aircraft.

The planes feature reclining leather seats, power outlets, a pressurized cabin and a top flying speed of 300 mph.

Although Boutique Air began as a private charter, over the past two years it has initiated commercial service at smaller airports, including 14 whom, like Alamosa, carry a federal subsidy through the Essential Air Services program.

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Boutique the Alamosa contract in August with an annual subsidy of just under $2.6 million.

Great Lakes Aviation had held the contract for 10 years before poor service led local government and business officials to push for a new airline to take over the route.

For more information on Boutique’s service to Alamosa, visit boutiqueair.com.

Source:   http://www.chieftain.com

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