Increased flights on the horizon?

Travel to Nevada destinations from Elko Regional Airport may get a boost depending on how traffic develops on one carrier's newly created Ely-to-Las Vegas route.

Great Lakes Airlines of Cheyenne, Wyo., changed its subsidized route out of Yelland Field at the Ely airport to direct flights to and from Las Vegas. The route formerly flew from Ely to Moab, Utah to Denver.

Elko Regional Airport director Trent Moyers says he's pitched the idea to Great Lakes Airlines of returning air service from Elko to Las Vegas and Reno, but he says Great Lakes first wants to get a feel about usage patterns of the new route which have doubled since June.

"This is a service we used to have, and we would love to have it again with the understanding that it is at-risk for them to fly those other legs," Moyers says. "They are still waiting to see how they do on their subsidized route, but if it goes well that is where our greatest possibility is."

Passenger service to Elko Regional Airport currently is limited to four daily flights to and from Salt Lake City via SkyWest Airlines. The carrier's 30-passenger planes currently average a 50-percent load count, or 15 people per flight, Moyers says, and the company is not subsidized by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Essential Air Service program to fly in and out of Elko. The DOT program subsidizes flights to about 100 small rural airports across the country.

Though the four flights are enough to meet current demand, that could change if different routes were available. The airport formerly had service to Reno and Las Vegas before carriers cut the routes due to weakened demand.

However, the run-up in gold prices, which topped $1,600 an ounce in mid-July, has spurred a widespread increase in mining activity and employment, resulting in a steady stream of business travel at Elko Regional Airport. Many of those travelers, Moyers says, would prefer to travel to other parts of Nevada rather than be limited to Salt Lake City.

"A lot of business travelers want to get back to Reno, and Vegas is another destination," he says. "If we can get to those two corners of the state, it is going to help our bottom line as far as number of operations, more landing fees, more fuel we could sell. All those things will help us maintain our budget.

"We don't see much difference between large events such as the annual Elko Mining Expo or Cowboy Poetry Festival and regular business travel," Moyers adds. "It is pretty stable; I don't see a lot of peaks and valleys."

Business has been trending up at the Elko Regional Airport for several years. Several companies do brisk businesses at the airport, which helps the airport's bottom line. Rental car franchises Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Hertz and Avis Car Rental currently benefit from the airport's lack of service to other cities since mining and other executives often use rental vehicles to conduct business in other parts of the state.

Elko Airport derives a substantial portion of its revenues from a 10-percent rental car fee, as well as leases for those companies' facilities. However, Moyers says additional flights to other cities could negate some that revenue stream.

A change in the way parking was handled also has doubled that revenue source for the airport. About four years ago Elko Regional Airport abandoned its honor system in favor or a modernized payment method. That move will net the airport about $120,000 this year alone. Parking costs $7 per day.

The airport also sees a significant amount of revenue from leases to businesses located on airport space. The airport stands to benefit from Elko's continued shift of commercial development along the Mountain City Highway as it has another vacant parcel of commercially zoned land ready for development.

El Aero handles aircraft rentals, charter flights and flight instruction and aircraft maintenance on private planes. It also re-fuels all commercial aircraft at the airport. Summit Air Ambulance runs medical helicopter and air ambulatory services.

Ameriflight operates the cargo service at Elko Regional Airport, but there is not a big push for increased cargo flights to and from Elko since it much less expensive to use truck transportation or rail service. Ameriflight specializes in providing feeder aircraft for UPS and FedEx packages.

"If you want something overnighted, it can be done here," Moyers says.