Author: Dan Daly
Source: Rapid City Journal

RAPID CITY - Beginning today, United Airlines will launch its second nonstop flight between Rapid City and Chicago, this one with early-morning departures and late night arrivals, Rapid City Regional Airport officials announced.

United’s affiliate, SkyWest Airlines, flies its 50-passenger Canadair regional jets on the Chicago route.

The new flight departs Chicago at 7:55 p.m. and arrives in Rapid City at 9:15 p.m. The plane overnights in Rapid City and departs each morning at 6:27 a.m., arriving in Chicago at 9:45 a.m.

“We’ve spoken about how Chicago is the gateway to the world, and this flight will give us even more and better connections to the world,” Mason Short, airport executive director, said. “And for departures out of Rapid City, this early-morning departure will get into the second busiest hub in the world, Chicago, before the normal afternoon thunderstorms build up in this area, which has a tendency to delay and cancel flights.”

The existing daily Chicago flight arrives in Rapid City at 1:15 p.m. and departs for Chicago at 1:45 p.m. Both Chicago flights are seasonal, at least for now.

Rapid City Regional Airport’s recent traffic downturn is due mostly to fewer available airline seats on flights by Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines, Short said.

In May, airport figures released Wednesday show that 40,370 airline passengers flew into or out of Raid City last month, a 6.5 percent drop from May 2005. Year-to-date, 160,444 passengers used Rapid City Regional Airport in the first five months of 2006, down 5.5 percent from the same period last year.

United Airlines/United Express, however, has increased its summer schedule into Rapid City through its Denver hub in addition to the new service to Chicago, airport officials noted.

During June, United Express will offer nine flights a day to Denver, including one aboard a 50-passenger regional jet. During July and August, the airline will upgrade two of the smaller turbo prop aircraft to regional jets as well, for a total of three jet flights per day to Denver.

In June 2005, United launched nonstop service to Chicago.

The seasonal flights were successful, Short said. Originally planned for June through August, demand for the Chicago flight was so high that United extended the service through October, he said.

“Having two nonstop flights to Chicago is directly related to the marketing campaign that the (Black Hills Air Service Task Force), state Tourism and Black Hills, Badlands and Lakes has undertaken this year in the Chicago metro market,” Kitty Kinsman of the air service task force said. “It is good to see United responding to our initiative and satisfying the tourism demand of the Black Hills.”

With fuel prices soaring and several airlines in various stages of bankruptcy reorganization, summer travelers should expect to see big changes in air travel this summer.

Passengers will see very full airplanes and higher airfares as the airlines attempt to offset the billons of dollars in losses that they have experienced during the past four years.

Rapid City Regional Airport is currently served by Northwest Airlines, Delta and United with daily nonstop service to Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Denver and Salt Lake City, as well as Allegiant Air, which offers twice weekly service to Las Vegas.