The Biggest Little City in the World is moving three hours closer to Merced, Calif.
Regular flights from Merced Municipal Airport to Reno, Nev. start next Thursday on Scenic Airlines.
The 35-minute flight opens up a new world of travel options to Mercedians, said Airport Manager Lloyd Partin.
"Literally people will have the ability to make connections through Reno and reach any part of the United States before dark," said Partin. "People will leave Merced at 6:30 a.m., fly to Reno and make connections, and be in Los Angeles before 10 a.m."
Travel agent Denise Louis of Five Star Travel said she gets regular requests from customers who want to travel to Reno. Until now, she's told them the fastest and cheapest way to get there is by driving.
Flights from Fresno to Reno can cost up to $360 round-trip, said Louis, and they are usually routed through San Francisco or Sacramento. Direct flights from San Francisco cost around $112 one-way, but San Francisco is a two-hour drive from Merced.
"By the time you're in San Francisco you might as well have driven (to Reno)," said Louis.
Scenic will offer five flights per week with one-way fares ranging from $89 to $129.
The Reno flights will also move the airport closer to boarding 10,000 passengers per year, a number that will increase the airport's annual government funding from $155,000 to $1,000,000, said Partin.
In 2005 Merced Municipal Airport boarded 9,000 passengers, the most the airport has ever seen.
The airport has also upgraded its security to meet federal standards, according Partin. It replaced an outdated walk-through metal detector, added a new 1,000-pound X-ray machine to screen luggage, and attached a new modular building where passengers will wait before boarding planes.
Scenic already flies to North Las Vegas from Merced, but passengers with connecting flights usually have to ride a 12-minute shuttle to Las Vegas' main McCarran International Airport.
Flights directly to Reno-Tahoe International, a hub for connecting flights all over the country, will make long- distance travel faster, said Scenic's Teresa Berry.
"You can get right off our plane with your carry-on and get right onto another plane right away," said Berry. "It opens up the Western states."
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