REGINA - Regina International Airport has officially welcomed back United Airlines direct flights to Denver.
After an decade-long hiatus of the route, United officially returned to Regina with a United Express flight landing from Denver International Airport on the night of May 15, followed the next day by the morning return flight to Denver.
For the morning flight, the Regina airport held a gate party to celebrate the return of United, complete with a celebration cake. The United aircraft was given a full water-cannon salute from fire crews at the airport.
The return of daily non-stop service to Denver is something Regina businesses and civic leaders had long lobbied for.
But the timing of the return has been complicated by the Donald Trump tariff situation from south of the border, with Canadians reacting with the “elbows up” campaign to boycott flights to the United States.
Despite that, the flight to Denver was almost full on Friday with just one unsold seat. Regina airport CEO James Bogusz said the near-full flight “beats all of my expectations”.
The flight is already getting a thumbs-up from passengers. The inaugural flight to Denver included a number of Americans, who said this route will cut down on the amount of time and connections needed to fly to Regina.
Caleb Ursell, a passenger on the flight to Denver, said it will save him seven hours on the way back to Texas.
“I'm headed over to San Antonio, Texas. So I'm up here about four or five times a year for work. And normally it's about 13 hours to get up here. And it's kind of just kind of right down to about six. So it's very nice.”
The route is being backed by a $3 million revenue guarantee from the provincial government to support. But Bogusz said the flight will need to stand on its own without government support, and urged people to take advantage of it.
“We need to be supporting our new airline entrance, that's how they're going to stay in our community,” said Bogusz. "We have a revenue guarantee that's been supported by the province of Saskatchewan, the Regina airport and a number of business partners to help this flight make sure it's profitable in its first time. But we have to be here supporting this commercially,” said Bogusz.
Bogusz pointed to the extensive lobbying from local Regina residents and business leaders to get the route restored.
“My message is we've delivered what's been asked for," Bogusz said. "We have to look long term at the U.S. and looking long term is providing support.”
Manny Prieto, United Airlines managing director for airport operations for the Americas and Caribbean, said the airline was “super excited” about the route. He believes the route will be successful because of the access to Denver and connections there.
“As you know, Denver is one of our leading hubs for United Airlines, and we can connect you not just throughout Colorado of course, but throughout the world. We are increasing our flights from Denver to the Caribbean, through the European market, and to Asia, so there's a lot of opportunities for this.”
United is considered the largest airline in the world in terms of fleet size, and offers connections through its massive route network as well as through Star Alliance.
As for why United chose to fly to Regina, he pointed to “all the opportunities here for business, effort, leisure, both. I think it's an underserved market.”
The plane itself is operated by SkyWest Airlines under contract to United. It is a Bombardier CRJ200, a small 50-seat one-cabin aircraft which flies under the banner of United Express.
“I believe that as the market grows, you'll probably see some additional possibility for larger aircraft into the market, but it's the right size for a new venture like this, and eventually, hopefully, we can get something larger,” Prieto said.
As for the tariff situation and the current political atmosphere between the United States and Canada, Prieto was optimistic.
“I think everything will pass, there will be some compromises in the near future,” said Prieto, who said “we believe there's a lot of opportunities still going south, and we'd love to have the Canadians come and visit, absolutely, something that we encourage.”
Mark Burton, Councillor for Ward 4, said he was excited to see the return of United Airlines to Regina.
“Having flown through Denver many times, I can tell you that that airport is one of the largest, one of the newest, one of the most efficient to fly through airports,” said Burton.
“It's the sixth most interconnected airport on the continent, and it means that people can get to and from Regina faster and easier and not have to make multiple stops. So from a business point of view, it means people can get to Regina and people from Regina can get elsewhere in a hurry and not have to make multiple stops to get there. So it's really a great day for Regina that we can see this return of United Airlines.”
When asked if he would use the flight himself, Burton replied “absolutely.”
“I've used it many times before, and it's a great airport to transit through. The layout is very effective and means that planes can leave and depart on time or regularly. And actually, when you get in, you can clear customs in a hurry and then move on to some of the domestic connections very quickly through Denver. So it's a very good airport.”
