Huron airport might tempt Aberdeen fliers

July 16--People who live south of Redfield, in the area equidistant between Aberdeen and Huron, might have to make a difficult travel choice.

The Huron Regional Airport is advertising a $74.50 one-way fare from Huron to Minneapolis aboard Great Lakes Airlines. That rate is available on some seats on the Great Lakes flights.

The lowest rate aboard SkyWest Airlines from Aberdeen to Minneapolis is $212 round trip.

Larry Cooper, the manager of the Huron airport, hopes the rate proves attractive to people south of Aberdeen.

"Even the people in Aberdeen," he said.

Aberdeen Regional Airport Manager Mike Wilson said the Great Lakes fare sounds like a good deal.

"But the thing to remember is those are on the Beech 1900s that don't have bathrooms, and the flight takes a little bit longer."

The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger aircraft. SkyWest Airlines serves Aberdeen with CRJ-200 regional jets that hold 50 people.

Wilson points out that driving from Aberdeen to Huron takes about an hour and a half.

"I don't think it's really worth the drive down there and then also having to fly on a smaller aircraft."

The Beechcraft is a turboprop, Wilson said.

"It's not as comfortable as flying on the jets here," he said.

The Huron airport does offer something that the Aberdeen airport doesn't provide -- a flight west. The Great Lakes flight from Huron to Denver makes a stop in Pierre. A look at prices Friday found the lowest round-trip rate from Huron to Denver is $306.

Cooper said Huron used to see quite a few Aberdeen people taking advantage of the Denver flight. Many government agencies, he noted, have regional offices in Denver. But government travel budgets have dropped substantially in recent years, Cooper said.

From Pierre, Great Lakes planes fly east to Minneapolis and west to Denver. From Watertown, Great Lakes travels only to Minneapolis.

Great Lakes Airlines, based in Cheyenne, Wyo., used to provide air service to Aberdeen.

In addition to Watertown, Pierre and Huron in South Dakota, Great Lakes serves virtually every city in North Dakota that has only one carrier and most of the one-carrier cities in Minnesota, Cooper said.

"When Delta pulled out of all these cities, they basically handed Great Lakes all of these communities," Cooper said. "Great Lakes is the only carrier in the region anymore that even bids this kind of stuff. So if you want air service and you're a small community, you're pretty much going to be looking at Great Lakes as your carrier because there's nobody else out there that wants to do it."

Copyright 2012 - American News, Aberdeen, S.D.