SkyWest Starts Service
April 04, 2018
SkyWest Starts Service
The first flight operated by SkyWest Airlines under the United Express brand arrives at the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport during a ceremony on Tuesday.
WEYERS CAVE — At 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, the event Joe Bowman had wished for years to take place finally happened.
That’s when the first jet operated by SkyWest Airlines, flown under the United Express brand, touched down at the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport. It’s something Bowman and other local officials hope continues multiple times a day for years to come.
“When they started talking about SkyWest, I said, ‘That’d be the one to get in here,’ and I believe that they’re the best commuter in the United States,” said the owner of Joe Bowman Auto Plaza Bowman, who’s been a SkyWest passenger for years on Aspen, Colo., flights. “Their on-time record is absolutely phenomenal.”
After years of unreliable commercial service that led many local travelers to use other airports, SVRA has landed a carrier heralded as an industry leader. The St. George, Utah, company is slated to receive a subsidy of up to $2.9 million annually to serve the airport for the next two years.
“We’ve had the demand, but we haven’t had the product,” said Greg Campbell, the airport’s executive director. “Now we have the product.”
SkyWest flew a 50-seat regional jet from Chicago O’Hare International Airport Tuesday (weather delayed its arrival by 75 minutes), then took off for Washington Dulles International Airport at 8:30 p.m. for its first revenue-generating flight.
The plane was scheduled to return at 11:04 p.m. with a load of passengers that was to include James Madison University President Jonathan Alger and his wife, Mary Ann, who were coming home from Texas. A number of local government and business officials had free tickets for the flight to and from Dulles.
The airport held a ceremony for the launch of the service that included the jet taxiing through a watery arch created by two airport firetrucks.
Familiar Promises
The welcome ceremony was the second in less than two years at SVRA.
Orlando, Fla., company Via Airlines was greeted similarly on Nov. 30, 2016, when it began serving the airport, flying to and from Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina and providing multiple one-stop flights to Orlando weekly.
Via had performed well in other markets and was hailed by airport officials as a more reliable carrier than Silver Airways, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., company that had served the market for years. But early success gave way to inconsistency, and the airport was granted a carrier change.
Frank Tamberrino, president and CEO of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce, said SkyWest will have to build trust before some area air travelers fly from SVRA again.
“It’s probably going to take a little while to get over that hump where everybody is comfortable,” he said, “but I know on the front end, there’s a lot of people that are committed — a lot of people in the business community, the educational institutions. I have had conversations at various levels throughout the community, and a lot of people are going to be really behind this one.”
JMU is among those banking on SkyWest.
Nicholas Swartz, associate dean of outreach and engagement, said the university officials he’s aware of have flown out of Dulles or Charlottesville for years. Now that SVRA is expected to offer reliable service at a competitive price, JMU will encourage its people to fly local.
“The amount of money that we potentially are going to be able to save by not having to travel to Dulles, and the time, that’s going to be exponential,” he said.
Melissa Lubin, JMU’s dean of outreach and engagement, agreed.
“We’re really hopeful and committed,” Lubin said, “to using the airport and taking advantage of the convenience it provides us.”
Business Asset
If it performs as advertised, SkyWest could be a catalyst for business and jobs locally.
George Anas, Rockingham County’s economic development director, said the local airport has had difficulty measuring up to Charlottesville and Roanoke. With competitively priced flights to two hubs with international service, that could change.
“This is a game-changer,” he said. “This allows us to get in front of the curve. And as we go out and try to pitch the Shenandoah Valley as a location where you can do your business, this validates everything we’re trying to say.”
Anas said he has visits set this week with businesses that could set up shop in Rockingham, and they’re “thrilled” by the potential ease of access to the community via SVRA.
Carrie Chenery, executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Partnership, said she’ll showcase the new service this week when eight site-selection consultants visit the region.
The service could open up new tourism markets, too. Brian Shull, Harrisonburg’s economic development director, said the Shenandoah Valley Tourism Partnership plans to market the region in the Chicago area this summer.
Greg Campbell (right), executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport, and Gerald Garber, chairman of the Airport Commission, speaks during a reception Tuesday as the first jet operated by SkyWest Airlines arrived at the airport.
- By VIC BRADSHAW Daily News-Record Apr 3, 2018
The first flight operated by SkyWest Airlines under the United Express brand arrives at the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport during a ceremony on Tuesday.
WEYERS CAVE — At 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, the event Joe Bowman had wished for years to take place finally happened.
That’s when the first jet operated by SkyWest Airlines, flown under the United Express brand, touched down at the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport. It’s something Bowman and other local officials hope continues multiple times a day for years to come.
“When they started talking about SkyWest, I said, ‘That’d be the one to get in here,’ and I believe that they’re the best commuter in the United States,” said the owner of Joe Bowman Auto Plaza Bowman, who’s been a SkyWest passenger for years on Aspen, Colo., flights. “Their on-time record is absolutely phenomenal.”
After years of unreliable commercial service that led many local travelers to use other airports, SVRA has landed a carrier heralded as an industry leader. The St. George, Utah, company is slated to receive a subsidy of up to $2.9 million annually to serve the airport for the next two years.
“We’ve had the demand, but we haven’t had the product,” said Greg Campbell, the airport’s executive director. “Now we have the product.”
SkyWest flew a 50-seat regional jet from Chicago O’Hare International Airport Tuesday (weather delayed its arrival by 75 minutes), then took off for Washington Dulles International Airport at 8:30 p.m. for its first revenue-generating flight.
The plane was scheduled to return at 11:04 p.m. with a load of passengers that was to include James Madison University President Jonathan Alger and his wife, Mary Ann, who were coming home from Texas. A number of local government and business officials had free tickets for the flight to and from Dulles.
The airport held a ceremony for the launch of the service that included the jet taxiing through a watery arch created by two airport firetrucks.
Familiar Promises
The welcome ceremony was the second in less than two years at SVRA.
Orlando, Fla., company Via Airlines was greeted similarly on Nov. 30, 2016, when it began serving the airport, flying to and from Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina and providing multiple one-stop flights to Orlando weekly.
Via had performed well in other markets and was hailed by airport officials as a more reliable carrier than Silver Airways, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., company that had served the market for years. But early success gave way to inconsistency, and the airport was granted a carrier change.
Frank Tamberrino, president and CEO of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce, said SkyWest will have to build trust before some area air travelers fly from SVRA again.
“It’s probably going to take a little while to get over that hump where everybody is comfortable,” he said, “but I know on the front end, there’s a lot of people that are committed — a lot of people in the business community, the educational institutions. I have had conversations at various levels throughout the community, and a lot of people are going to be really behind this one.”
JMU is among those banking on SkyWest.
Nicholas Swartz, associate dean of outreach and engagement, said the university officials he’s aware of have flown out of Dulles or Charlottesville for years. Now that SVRA is expected to offer reliable service at a competitive price, JMU will encourage its people to fly local.
“The amount of money that we potentially are going to be able to save by not having to travel to Dulles, and the time, that’s going to be exponential,” he said.
Melissa Lubin, JMU’s dean of outreach and engagement, agreed.
“We’re really hopeful and committed,” Lubin said, “to using the airport and taking advantage of the convenience it provides us.”
Business Asset
If it performs as advertised, SkyWest could be a catalyst for business and jobs locally.
George Anas, Rockingham County’s economic development director, said the local airport has had difficulty measuring up to Charlottesville and Roanoke. With competitively priced flights to two hubs with international service, that could change.
“This is a game-changer,” he said. “This allows us to get in front of the curve. And as we go out and try to pitch the Shenandoah Valley as a location where you can do your business, this validates everything we’re trying to say.”
Anas said he has visits set this week with businesses that could set up shop in Rockingham, and they’re “thrilled” by the potential ease of access to the community via SVRA.
Carrie Chenery, executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Partnership, said she’ll showcase the new service this week when eight site-selection consultants visit the region.
The service could open up new tourism markets, too. Brian Shull, Harrisonburg’s economic development director, said the Shenandoah Valley Tourism Partnership plans to market the region in the Chicago area this summer.
Greg Campbell (right), executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport, and Gerald Garber, chairman of the Airport Commission, speaks during a reception Tuesday as the first jet operated by SkyWest Airlines arrived at the airport.
