United Airlines’ new Denver flight, debuting March 2019, could lead to more Sonoma County routes

The United Airlines daily flight starting early next spring between Denver and Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport could be just the beginning of the air travel giant spreading its wings at the regional airfield.

In introducing the nonstop route, scheduled to begin on March 8, United has an eye on how potential success of the daily flight to and from Denver International Airport might support larger planes, added trips or more destinations.

The emphasis for now remains on the trip east to the airline’s nearest transfer site outside of California, to go along with the single daily flight from Santa Rosa to San Francisco, but could open the door to flights to United’s other domestic hubs.

“I never say never and am open-minded about where we go,” Scott Kirby, president of United Airlines, said in a recent interview. “We hope and believe demand will be strong enough to grow, but have to wait to see what demand will be.”

Once the Denver route gets off the ground, United plans to spend nearly a year allowing the startup flight to turn a profit before making the next set of decisions. The airline thinks Denver is a good fit for the North Bay because it is a high-demand final destination for the area, and it can also offer those travelers who prefer to avoid the commute to San Francisco to hop a flight with as much connectivity to other cities across the United States and around the world.

“That’s what’s great about flying into a hub,” said Kirby, who recently completed two years in his job. “Fill the airplane and we can connect you to between 80 and 100 destinations in Denver.”

United’s forecasts show about 10 to 20 percent of people on the flight from Sonoma County will be headed to Denver for work or leisure, while 80 to ?90 percent will take the trip for convenience to make connections to prominent cities like Chicago, Houston, Washington D.C., New York and Boston.

Local airport officials spent about eight years before finally convincing an airline to establish the route between Santa Rosa and Denver. A 6,000-foot main runway extension completed in 2014 made regional jet service a more realistic option. Other improvements, including nearly doubling the parking area to 900 spaces, and plans to expand terminal capacity to add a second passenger security line and additional ticketing counter space bolster the argument.

Much of that will be done just to catch up to the jump in overall passenger volume, which has increased about 114 percent since 2009, said Sonoma County Airport manager Jon Stout.

The upgrades also should help ensure the success of the Denver route, he said, and eventually justify talks with airlines to add even more destinations, including pitching United - the world’s third-largest airline - on direct flights to Chicago.

“This has been a key market for us,” Stout said of Denver. “We do have a lot of demand to get east, which could open up more opportunities for frequency and other carriers. We think the traffic is there and we can then look to other opportunities and hubs.”

American Airlines began nonstop daily service from Sonoma County to Phoenix in February 2017, but Sky Harbor International is smaller and has fewer connections than Denver’s airport. North Bay business leaders hope the new route with another major carrier is just the start.

Peter Rumble, CEO of the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, cited a 2013 study conducted by Sonoma County Airport that pegged $23 million annually and 70 new jobs as direct and indirect economic effects for the area from each new airport route. He also said compiled data gives him confidence the region’s largest employers, including Santa Rosa-based Keysight Technologies, which has an office near Denver, will help make the flight an immediate success.

“This is a huge, huge boon for tourism as well as our local businesses,” said Rumble, whose organization agreed to contribute an estimated $49,000 in in-kind marketing to sweeten the deal for United to add the Denver route. “It’s a key step to begin a virtuous cycle of economic activity through the airport. The ripple impact of a new route is just phenomenal.”

United is also the recipient of $370,000 in other incentives over the next two years, Stout said. That includes more than $270,000 in combined spending and in-kind contributions in the first nine months toward marketing and promotion from the airport, Sonoma County Tourism and Visit Santa Rosa, as well as $95,000 in airport landing and terminal fee waivers into March 2021.

Round-trip basic economy tickets on the 50-seat Bombardier CRJ 200 jet from here to Denver currently list for $321, not including taxes and other charges such as United’s recently raised checked baggage fee of $30, and $40 for a second. The flight from Denver will land daily in Santa Rosa at 11:40 a.m., and take off each day at 12:30 p.m. to go there.

“Those kinds of cities are a real strength for United,” Kirby said of regional locales like Santa Rosa. “It’s a smaller city, but those are the kinds of markets that are in United Airlines’ wheelhouse, where they’re small communities, but they’re small communities with real business in them. As commercial service increases, it grows the pie for everyone.”

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin Fixler at 707-521-5336 or at kevin.fixler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kfixler.