REGINA - Business and political leaders in Regina were enthusiastic Thursday on the news that United Airlines was resuming its direct flights to Denver starting next May.
“Extreme excitement,” was the reaction of Mayor Chad Bachynski at the announcement at Regina airport. “This is an incredible announcement for the city, and it's just so exciting to see what this flight will mean for the city and what it will bring to the city.”
“I'm really excited about today's announcement,” said Michael Kram, Member of Parliament for Regina Wascana. “If we can fly non-stop between Regina and Denver on the new United flight, it'll mean more business and more leisure opportunities for people in Regina and southern Saskatchewan, and that's certainly a very positive thing for everybody.”
The route itself is geared to the business community, with flights taking off from Regina at 9:45 a.m. daily and arriving back at 9:15 p.m. at night starting May 25, 2025.
The United Express flights will be operated by SkyWest Airlines using their 50-seat jet aircraft. This is the same arrangement United had before when flying out of Regina to Denver. Once passengers land in Denver, they can connect to United's extensive route network out of that airport, which is the third-busiest in all of North America.
“This is really about what our community is going to gain,” said James Bogusz, President and CEO of Regina Airport Authority.
“I mean, we're talking about service to one of the largest hubs in the United States with a major American carrier. You know, the United Airlines network is huge. You can connect to both large, midsize, and small cities in the U.S. through Denver. And soon, on May 25, it will be on a daily basis right here from the Queen City. This is a very big deal for our economy.”
Thursday’s announcement marks the return of United’s Denver route for the first time since 2015. The announcement is more welcome good news for Regina International Airport, coming on the heels of WestJet launching daily flights to Minneapolis-St. Paul in April of this year and other route announcements.
Bogusz said the airport had fully recovered from the COVID-19 lockdowns. He noted November was one of their best months they have had in over five years, at "105 per cent of 2019 passenger levels. It was massive for us.”
Kram called it a “very impressive comeback story for Regina International Airport.”
“I remember a few years ago during the pandemic, we were wondering if we were going to have any flights here at all for the foreseeable future, but we have a great team here at the Regina International Airport. We now have direct flights from Regina to Denver, direct flights from Regina to Minneapolis, and I'm sure the team here has more flights on the drawing board for the future.”
Local leaders from the tourism and the business sector were excited about what the resumption of Denver flights will mean in terms of attracting events to the community.
“This new flight will have a huge impact on the hotels and tourism in the city, just being able to make getting to Regina easier,” said Sandra Jackle, President and CEO of Regina Hotels Association.
“So right now it's a little difficult for events rights holders to arrive in the city, and this will bring a whole new breadth of connection to the city in order to bring events here and to have people arrive.”
Jackle said that WestJet’s direct flights to Minneapolis-St. Paul have seen an influx of visitors.
“It's a great flight. People have been going out, people have been coming back in, so we expect the same with Denver.”
Jackle is also hoping for more good news in the future from the airport. “I think more flights connecting to Ottawa would be fantastic. Maybe having someone like Porter come to Regina would be fantastic, just having that direct flight there. I mean, I would wish for any flights, to be honest with you. Anything additional is awesome.”
Jennifer Johnson, Deputy City Manager for Communications, Service Regina and Tourism, also welcomes the boost that direct Denver flights would bring to Regina.
“We're always bidding on major events to come here, and so having direct service from the U.S. to Regina just helps us win tournaments, conferences, business events, that sort of thing,” Johnson said. “It's incredible. And from a personal perspective, my sister lives in Denver, so my family's thrilled.”
Johnson said Tourism Regina have been “aggressively bidding” on events in partnership with the Hotel Association and have had a lot of success in winning events so far. This will help so much more, she said.
“We recently announced earlier this year that we won the 2028 Can-Am Police Fire Games, so those are attendees and participants from across North America that will be coming to Regina in 2028 for those games, and this flight's just going to help make that easier, and hopefully help encourage not just the participants, but their families to come too.”
Chris Lane, President and CEO at Economic Development Regina, pointed to how important these direct flights will be for Regina just in terms of numbers.
“An international flight of this magnitude is worth about $7 million in direct economic impact, and what I'm excited to see, though, is the ancillary or add-on economic impact a flight like this will have,” said Lame.
“So, you know, Regina is headquarters to some global companies here, like I think of AGT and Harvard and Brandt, that have operations in the United States that this particular flight will service quite well.“
Lane had been part of the Regina business community’s extensive and ultimately successful lobbying efforts over the past few years to get direct air service restored to both Minneapolis-St. Paul and now Denver. He pointed to the importance of both those cities in particular.
“It's been a decade since an American carrier was here, and the places that we have direct connection to now are business hubs in the United States for the kind of business that happens in Regina,” Lane said.
“So they're very important. When I look at the kind of companies and the kind of business and the kind of sectors that are served in both Denver and Minneapolis, and then the cities that they can get to, that is very much the kind of economy that exists here in Regina, too. And it's important to, while there is an international border, really the northern and western U.S. states operate in kind of a singular economic region, along with western Canadian provinces as well. So connectivity and, again, the ease of business and flow of people and capital really gets enabled by this kind of service. “
The route to Denver is going to get support from the province in the form of a revenue guarantee of $3.5 million for the next three years, according to Warren Kaeding, Minister of Trade and Export Development. A revenue guarantee arrangement was offered to WestJet for their Minneapolis - St. Paul route as well.
“So think of it as an insurance policy, that we just want to ensure that the airline gets the revenue that they need to support this flight into the future,” said Kaeding. “So it's a three-year plan, and we're certainly hoping that everyone supports the flight, and that we don't have to utilize all of the money that we've guaranteed them.”
“Flights like this do not come easy,” said Bogusz. “We've been marketing to this carrier for many years. And without the province's support, without the support and partnerships we established over the years here in our community, this never would have happened.
“But it's essential that we use these new services. And it's essential that we have an opportunity to support United and support this flight so we can watch it grow into the future.”
As far as the revenue guarantee is concerned, Bogusz said the hope is for the Regina to Denver route to stand on its own.
“What I want to see though is it become commercially viable on its own. And until the flight starts operating, that will take some time to build,” Bogusz said.
“This is only a 50-seat aircraft. 50 seats, both ways. It's not a lot to fill. What we're hopeful of is that this grows though into more frequency. We'd love to see a single flight turn into two. We'd love to see United consider expanding their network. But like I always say, you got to walk before you run. And today's an opportunity to get back on that walking and to have that flight to that major hub.”
