New direct Regina to Denver flight seeing early success

WATCH: The Regina Airport Authority met with business and tourism groups, as well as a rep from Skywest Airlines, which is providing flights to Denver.

The Regina Airport Authority met with business and tourism groups Thursday along with representatives from SkyWest Airlines, which has brought direct flights from the Queen City to Denver.

The group gathered at The Hotel Saskatchewan for a meeting that mostly centered around the new service to Denver launched in May.

Denver’s international airport is the sixth busiest in the world and business leaders say there is already a major north-south business corridor that will only expand with this new direct flight from Regina to the major U.S. hub.

Tourism leaders say it will benefit Saskatchewan’s travel industry, especially when it comes to guided hunting and fishing expeditions.

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Since SkyWest Airlines began providing daily service to Denver in May, the airline has been pleased with the number of passengers it’s seen so far, adding that advance bookings for the summer months are strong.

“A big piece is just having a partnership with the community and with the airport and looking for that local support to have passengers utilize the service and to take advantage of the connecting opportunities that we present to them,” Daniel Belmont, SkyWest Airlines’ director of marketing development said.

Looking to the future, business and tourism groups say they would like a second daily flight from Regina to Denver and also a direct flight to Chicago.