Peninsula air travel gets an upgrade

MONTEREY HERALD - April 21, 2005

People accustomed to thinking that it's difficult to fly into or out of Monterey Peninsula Airport soon will need a mental tune-up. That's because local air service will get a major upgrade beginning in June, which should boost convention businesses and benefit local travelers.

United Airlines begins direct service to Denver on June 7, which will provide valuable new opportunities for travelers to and from Monterey to get to the Midwest and cities on the East Coast. The Denver airport provides connecting service to more than 40 cities, including New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Miami.

America West begins flying to and from Las Vegas on June 17. Las Vegas is the No. 1 travel destination for local residents, which makes that addition particularly sweet.

Delta will begin offering two direct daily flights to Salt Lake City on July 31 via its carrier Skywest Airlines. Delta connects to 71 cities from Salt Lake City.

Currently, the airport's nonstop service is limited to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix. That's a problem, because most local travelers are bound for farther-flung places. Consequently, 73 percent of air travelers who live within an hour's drive of Monterey Peninsula take their business to another airport, usually San Jose Airport. The current arrangement hinders the Peninsula's ability to attract conventions, because conventiongoers want to fly directly to their destination -- they don't want to fly somewhere and then battle traffic for two hours.

News that America West Airlines and US Airways are in advanced merger talks to create a national low-cost airline rivaling Southwest Airlines in size, which was reported in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal, adds sizzle to the local development. A merger would allow US Airways to expand westward and provide America West places outside its Western territory to grow and use new airplanes it has on order.

Getting three additional nonstop flights nearly simultaneously is a terrific coup for the airport and its general manager, Tom Greer. Airport and city officials have lobbied for more direct flights to Monterey since 2000, when United Airlines dropped its twice-daily round trips to San Francisco on large jets and switched to smaller, 50-seat jets to that city and Los Angeles. That painful loss makes the prospect of expanded service all the more sweet.

Providing new flights requires a significant new investment for all three airlines, and the service won't last unless people use it. Let your imagination fly and book a flight.