United Airlines adds flights to Aspen for ski season, Delta Air Lines cuts Aspen flights

United Airlines has increased its number of flights to the ski town of Aspen in Colorado, the United States, for the forthcoming ski season.In order to take advantage of the increasing number of visitors to Aspen, one of most affluent and popular ski destinations in the United States, United Airlines has added a third, daily, direct flight from Chicago to Aspen.

United Airlines, based in Chicago, the United States,has also raised the number of its non-stop service between San Francisco and Aspen to daily flights from 4 times a week. This expanded service is apart from the 11 daily flights that United Airlines – the dominant airline in Aspen – operates from Denver and Los Angeles.

At the same time, Delta Air Lines, which flies to Aspen on aircraft operated by SkyWest, announced that it is cutting its service from Salt Lake City to 8 flights a week from 13 flights a week. This, Delta explained, was a result of the carrier downsizing its hub at Salt Lake City.

Delta Air Lines said in a statement that it will, as it did in the winter of 2008, operate one flight daily between Aspen and Atlanta; and 8 flights a week between Aspen and Salt Lake City.

Meanwhile, Frontier Airlines said it will operate 4 daily flights between Denver and Aspen – like the airline did in the winter of 2008.

In a press release, Frontier Airlines – which is now owned by Republic Airways and has a code-share pact with Midwest Airlines – said it will fly 4 times a day between Aspen and Denver. This number is the same as was in the winter of 2008.

The website aspendailynews.com quoted Bill Tomcich, chief of Stay Aspen Snowmass, a central reservations agency, as remarking that one of the many advantages of Aspen Airport is its nearness to downtown Aspen and Snowmass Village.

While airports in many other ski towns require ground transfers costing around $27 to get to slopeside lodging, most lodges in Snowmass and Aspen offer free shuttles, Tomcich said, adding that rental cars, which have become expensive, are not a necessity for those flying directly to Aspen.

Yet another advantage of the air service to Aspen, according to Tomcich, is that the service comes from the Eagle County Airport – the airport that many skiers visiting Snowmass and Aspen use as a gateway.

On September 8, 2009, the first flight landed on an extended runway at Eagle County Airport, enabling long-haul flights to avoid a weight limit and also take off with more passengers for far-away cities, Tomcich said.

Northwest Airlines recently added a non-stop service from Detroit to Eagle County Airport, even though the carrier cut a few of its mid-week flights from Minneapolis to Eagle County Airport.