Representatives from Boutique Air on Monday talked about recent problems with their service at Cortez Municipal Airport and hinted about upcoming changes.
Boutique has been Cortez’s primary airline since late 2016, when it replaced Great Lakes Airlines. Its contract is scheduled to be renewed for another two years in September, since it was the only company to complete a bid for service.
During the forum Monday at City Hall, CEO Shawn Simpson said that despite challenges, his company has completed about 98 percent of its flights and has flown more than 23,000 people in and out of Cortez since 2016.
“I think one of the reasons there haven’t been other bidders is because, when you have a pretty good performance, other airlines don’t feel like they can necessarily do a whole lot better,” Simpson said.
He acknowledged service problems such as the unusually high number of flight cancellations in February, which he attributed to a propeller de-icing system that sidelined several planes for repairs. He said Boutique will acquire more airplanes to avoid a shortage next winter.
He also acknowledged that three months ago, only 56 percent of Cortez flights departed on time. Simpson attributed the delays to long waits for fuel in Denver, but said Boutique has increased on-time flights to 75 percent by acquiring its own fuel truck.
Simpson also said Boutique was retreating from last year’s fare increase. The airline ended its low introductory fares to Cortez in August, causing some prices to go above $300, and ticket sales dropped 22 percent before Boutique lowered its prices slightly in September. On Monday, Simpson said Boutique has again lowered its prices, so that the most expensive one-way tickets now cost $199. According to Boutique’s website, this is true of nonrefundable tickets, but most refundable tickets cost $249.
A handful of frequent fliers, city officials and airport staff attended the meeting, which was livestreamed on the city website. During the question-and-answer period, some residents raised concerns.
Cortez resident Jim Herrick said he was “taken aback” when Boutique’s voucher program, which allows customers to purchase 10 discounted tickets at once, tripled in price over the past year. He asked if those costs had been lowered along with individual ticket prices. Simpson said he didn’t know current voucher prices, but said they should cost about $110 per ticket.
Several residents suggested Boutique beef up its advertising. Betty Chavez, a TSA agent at the airport, said she regularly sees customers from outside Montezuma County and believes more would come if the airport were better-known outside Cortez.
Mayor Karen Sheek said she’s surprised by how many people in Cortez don’t know about the airport.
“This is a well-kept secret that we’d prefer not to be secret,” she said.
Simpson hinted at steps his company could take to expand Cortez flights. Boutique has an agreement that allows customers to book itineraries to Cortez through United Airlines, and Simpson said he plans to announce an expanded partnership with United within the next few weeks.
He also said he and city officials have discussed the possibility of adding a few flights to Las Vegas, but airport manager Russ Machen said it likely won’t happen soon.
“There’s a lot of moving pieces,” Machen said. “It involves another community, which has to come into the fold for that to happen.”
But Simpson said Boutique is always looking for ways to add flights. If 10,000 passengers board Cortez planes in a single year, the airport would become eligible for $1 million in federal funding.
Boutique didn’t meet that goal in 2017, but Simpson said increased advertising, lower prices and a few added flights could make it possible.
For its next two-year contract, though, the company plans to continue offering four flights per day – three to Denver and one to Phoenix.
On Tuesday, the Cortez City Council approved a letter containing a summary of the feedback from Monday’s meeting to be sent to the U.S. Department of Transportation, which subsidizes the airport through the Essential Air Service program.
In his presentation to the council, Machen supported Boutique, saying it has brought about $25,000 more revenue to the Cortez airport than Great Lakes did in its last year of operations, along with more reliable service.