PROVO — The Provo Municipal Airport marked its first month of commercial flights Friday with its first completely booked flight to Denver.
The number of passengers taking the daily Frontier flight to Denver has been averaging in the 50s and 60s, and bookings are rising.
“We've been showing steady increases of 5 to 10 percent weekly," airport manager Steve Gleason said.
The daily flight to Denver can hold 99 passengers, and Gleason said it's important to keep the flights filling up, not only to keep the Provo flights successful, but to add additional flights in the future.
"(Frontier) likes to look at a load factor somewhere between 70 percent and 80 percent from what I understand, but a lot of that depends on what their pricing is and what their price point is," Gleason said.
Frontier offers three fare options based on flexibilities and amenities. A check on the airline’s website shows a $215 round-trip ticket from Provo to Denver, leaving Tuesday July 26 and returning July 29. The price could be higher or lower depending on travel date, availability of flights and fare option chosen.
Gleason said from the operations side of the airport, the flights have been going smoothly, with one exception — the weather in the Midwest.
"A lot of thunderstorms have been blowing through in the Des Moines area that has delayed the aircraft into Denver, which (has) then backed it up and delayed it into Provo. So we've had a couple of delays on our return flights, but not many delays going out."
Gleason said for the most part, people flying out of Provo come from Utah County and areas south. However, he has seen some passengers driving down from Salt Lake County because they like the small airport feel without the long lines and with the easy parking.
E-mail: rjeppesen@desnews.com