An early morning flight beginning Thursday from Salina nonstop to Denver, marks another major improvement in air service for the airport of choice for north-central Kansas.
The United Airlines service, Flight 5147, flown by SkyWest Airlines, departs at 6:10 a.m. from Salina Regional Airport, taking passengers to Denver International — arriving at 6:50 a.m. mountain time, where they can connect to other flights or enjoy a Rocky Mountain weekend.
The difference is that this flight, and future ones, will no longer require stops in Hays, either coming or going.
Then over lunch hour, 12:35 p.m, Flight 5194 will depart nonstop to Chicago O’Hare Airport, landing at 2:39. A mid-afternoon arrival offers better connecting flight times or an afternoon exploring Chicago.
Together, the two hubs (Denver and Chicago) offer connections to 99 cities across the country and the world, said Gary Foss, managing partner of the ArkStar Group, air service consultant to Salina.
The new schedule helps to meld the two flights, allowing travelers the option of using both hubs for the same fare; providing the option of flying out through one and returning through another.
“The nonstop flight to the west (Denver) makes flying east easier, as a customer can fly out using the Chicago O’Hare departure and can return to Salina connecting from Denver without stopping in Hays,” Foss said.
Thursday’s other significant change signals the beginning of daily flights (7 days per week) to Denver and Chicago, eliminating a Saturday gap in the previous schedule.
The flying public is already responding to the changes as more than 43 passengers are booked to board the CRJ-200 regional jets Thursday. More than double that are booked on Friday and Saturday flights.
“The bookings are very strong under the new schedule,” Foss said, “and they’re increasing sharply. Bookings are up significantly every day of the week. That’s very encouraging.” As projected months ago by ArkStar advisers, the market is responding.
“Advance bookings validate the fact that the schedule change will result in continued double passenger growth,” said Tim Rogers, executive director of the Salina Airport Authority.“The new schedule enables Salina and area travelers to take full advantage of nonstop flights to Chicago and Denver to make connections for travel throughout the United States and beyond,” he said.
Adding to the time and driving distance advantage for folks in north-central Kansas are competitive air fares.
“There is little reason to drive to another airport,” Foss said. “Air fares from Salina are very competitive with those out of Wichita and Kansas City.”
As always, parking at the Salina Airport is free.