Dec. 2—EAU CLAIRE — A big shiny Boeing 737 parked at the passenger terminal was a sight that Charity Zich didn't anticipate she'd see nine months ago upon learning that Eau Claire's airport would need to find a new airline.
The gleaming orange, white and blue Sun Country Airlines jet that landed around noon Thursday was a welcome sight to Zich, manager of Chippewa Valley Regional Airport.
"I'm so excited our region has the opportunity to connect people with their favorite places and have those transformative experiences," Zich said, paraphrasing a Sun Country slogan.
A gathering of local business and government officials welcomed the inaugural flight from the Minneapolis-based airline, marking the beginning of its regular service to Eau Claire.
Grant Whitney, Sun Country's chief revenue officer, was among the passengers on the jet arriving from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
"We're excited about the opportunities here," he said.
So far the airline has seen a positive response, based on demand from the flying public.
"Our bookings are right where we expected them to be, maybe a little ahead," Whitney said of the new Eau Claire routes.
In addition to regular service to Minneapolis, the airline will have other flights going to warm-weather destinations, which will vary depending on the time of year.
Flights to Fort Myers, Fla., will begin on Dec. 19. On April 21, the warm-weather route will switch from Fort Myers to fellow Florida city, Orlando.
The warm-weather destination will change to Las Vegas during October and November, before the rotation comes back around to Fort Myers, based on the proposal Sun Country used to secure its contract to serve Chippewa Valley Regional Airport.
That proposal serves as the minimum that Sun Country must provide under the Essential Air Service program through the U.S. Department of Transportation. That program will provide Sun Country with a $6.46 million annual government subsidy for its service to Eau Claire. The contract is for two years.
The local airport had to secure a new airline after its previous one, SkyWest Airlines, a regional carrier for United Airlines, announced in March that it would be terminating service to Eau Claire and numerous other airports due to a pilot shortage.
After that announcement, Zich contacted Sun Country to see if the airline would be interested in making a proposal to fill the void in Eau Claire. She acknowledged Thursday that getting the airline, which does serve other mid-size Midwestern cities but had not yet been in the Essential Air Service program, took persistence.
Whitney also said it wouldn't have happened without an indication that Sun Country would be seen as a welcome addition to the area.
"We wanted the community to be part of this," he said.
The large turnout on Thursday at the airport terminal showed him the Eau Claire community is supportive of the new service, Whitney said.
Sun Country's schedule for serving Eau Claire has less frequent flights than the airport's previous carrier, but on a much bigger plane.
The net result based on Sun Country's current schedule is an extra 400 seats available per week when compared to the agreement under previous carrier SkyWest, Zich said.
Boeing 737s can accommodate up to 186 passengers and the airport is expanding its parking to fit the anticipated crowds.
SkyWest's contract had it flying twice daily to Chicago O'Hare International Airport, but the airline scaled that back to one flight daily in July through a waiver allowed by federal officials. Statistics from Chippewa Valley Regional Airport shows the SkyWest flights were still seeing good use though.
Through October, there were 25% fewer SkyWest flights through the Eau Claire airport compared to the same months in 2021, but the total number of passengers was down only about 5% year-to-date.
Though SkyWest was flying less frequently toward the end of its time at Eau Claire, Zich said the percentage of seats booked remained higher than normal in fall. The carrier's final regional flight departing Eau Claire had over 30 passengers on it on Wednesday, she noted.
Based on her experience running the airport for years, Zich said those flying the airline here have been evenly split between leisure and business travelers.
Whether that proportion changes with Sun Country's flights directly to warm destinations often associated with vacations is yet to be seen, she said.
Sun Country, which is known in the industry as an ultra-low-cost airline, said airport users will see lower ticket prices than what they'd historically seen for flights through Eau Claire.
"I suspect our price points will be orders of magnitude below what they were used to," Whitney said.
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