On Sept. 15,, Denver International Airport (DEN) welcomed new airline partner, PenAir, as it launched nonstop service from Denver to Dodge City and Liberal, Kansas. PenAir will provide 12 weekly flights to and from each destination as part of the Essential Air Service program (EAS), which helps bring air service to small communities.
“We are extremely pleased to have PenAir join DEN as our newest airline partner,” said airport CEO Kim Day. “These connections mean more convenience for passengers but also may lead to increased commercial activity and economic ties.”
PenAir will expand their footprint in November to three additional EAS markets in Nebraska. Starting Nov. 1, PenAir will offer nonstop service to Kearney and North Platte, Nebraska and starting Nov. 2 to Scottsbluff, Nebraska.
“The communities of Dodge City and Liberal have been extremely supportive of PenAir since our announcement of service in June. Both communities and PenAir have been working jointly at providing awareness of our new service,” says Dave Hall, the company’s COO. “PenAir realizes the need for dependable air service to Denver from these Kansas communities and we plan to provide that service.”
The Essential Air Service (EAS) program is a federal program that provides subsidies to airlines willing to service select communities in the contiguous 48 states that either maintain 10 or more enplanements per service day or are more than 210 miles from the nearest medium or large airport. The program also supports air service in Alaska.
EAS brings some 170,000 travelers through DEN each year from 20 small, surrounding communities in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. Because of Denver’s location, DEN has the largest EAS program in the country, outside of Alaska. About 42% of EAS passengers who travel to Denver deplane here for business or pleasure, and the remaining 58% connect to other locations. Overall, DEN’s EAS passengers can connect to more than 170 nonstop destinations across the world.
PenAir will be the fifth operator to provide this critical service at DEN, joining Aerodynamics Inc. (marketed as Great Lakes Jet Express), Boutique Air, Great Lakes and SkyWest (marketed as United Express) as DEN’s EAS providers.
