REGINA - Air travellers in the “land of living skies” will soon fly the friendly skies again to Denver.
Regina Airport Authority announced on Thursday morning the return of United Airlines’ daily route from Regina to and from Denver.
The daily flights are due to commence May 25, 2025, and tickets will go on sale starting today at United.com. These will be United Express flights operated by SkyWest Airlines, using their 50-seat jet aircraft.
The plan is for the flights to be geared to business travellers with departure times of 9:45 a.m. daily from Regina International Airport - YQR, with the plane landing at Denver International Airport around noon. The return flights are expected to land in Regina around 9:15 p.m. daily.
“We are excited to bring this new United Express flight to Regina customers,” said Cody Thomas, managing director of Market Development at SkyWest Airlines, in a statement. “With just one flight from YQR, Regina passengers can easily connect to hundreds of destinations around the world on United’s global network.”
From Denver, passengers will be able to connect to United’s vast route network from an airport regarded as a major hub. The Denver airport itself is the sixth busiest in the world, and the third busiest in the United States behind only Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth.
More details on flight schedules and booking options will be shared in the coming months, according to YQR.
The Regina airport has enjoyed service to Denver before from various airlines including United, but the return of direct service has been long in coming. The last time United had flights from Regina to Denver was back in 2015.
Local business and political leaders had lobbied hard for the return of daily direct flights to the major American hubs. Slowly but surely, those direct flights have returned in the past year.
In April of this year, WestJet launched daily flights from Regina and Saskatoon to Minneapolis-St. Paul, restoring the routes that had been discontinued by Delta Airlines. Now, United is resuming its daily flights to Denver.
As well, this marks the return of a major American carrier to Regina International Airport alongside the major domestic carriers such as Air Canada, WestJet and others. The last American carrier at the Regina airport had been Delta, whose service to Minneapolis-St. Paul was discontinued in 2016.
The Denver route is returning with the financial backing of the provincial government. The province is supporting the route with a $3.5 million revenue guarantee over three years.
Minister of Trade and Export Development Warren Kaeding said the United States “remains our biggest trading partner and also a gateway to hundreds of destinations here in North America and around the world. And that is why it is so essential for us to create as many options as possible to connect Saskatchewan to major hubs in the United States.”
This is going to stimulate economic growth by allowing easier access to our province for those looking to invest here or start a business. It's also going to help support our growing tourism industry with many more people now being able to enjoy the great things that we have to offer here in this great province.”
James Bogusz, President and CEO of the Regina Airport Authority, welcomes the return of the Denver flights and encourages Regina travellers to take advantage of them.
“This is a huge deal for our community. We lost the service almost 10 years ago. It's back,” said Bogusz.
“I'm asking the public to please ensure we support this flight. I've heard from so many for my entire time of being CEO, that we need to reconnect with an American carrier to a major US hub. It's happening. Please make sure you take the time to consider this as a travel option if you're going to the United States. We've also got Minneapolis, which has been a fantastic route, doing very well. But we have to make sure these flights stay here, and that they're commercially viable on their own, which means booking… It's here now. Now's the time. It's time to support this flight as a community.”
