“Say goodbye to the long drive and missed connections at another airport and say hello to a relaxing, affordable Horizon Air flight from your hometown airport to Los Angeles,” said Dan Russo, Horizon’s director of marketing and communications. “The world is one less flight connection away. For visitors from around the world, the new one-stop connection through LAX will also make getting to [Flagstaff and] Prescott for business or pleasure much easier.”

And what is one of the most frequently asked questions we hear here at Arizona Travel? “How can I fly into the Grand Canyon?” With it’s direct flights to Flagstaff, Horizon Air is now the answer for so many Grand Canyon visitors. Said Russo, “Visitors to the area from around the world will also gain a new, easier way to experience the Grand Canyon, Sedona and the other beautiful natural attractions nearby.”

Flagstaff is conveniently located 80 miles from the Grand Canyon and 27 scenic miles from Sedona via Highway 89A through beautiful Oak Creek Canyon. Regarded as a Gateway to the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff is an ideal starting and ending point for a Grand Canyon vacation. Prescott serves as a gateway city between metropolitan Phoenix and Scottsdale and the cities of Northern Arizona. Known as “Everybody’s Hometown,” Prescott is centrally located near Phoenix, Sedona and former ghost-town Jerome.

Local support has been ringing for the new routes. “This new service significantly enhances the choices for air travel from our market,” said Flagstaff Mayor Joe Donaldson. “We have listened to the community, our staff has worked diligently with Horizon Air, and we will soon enjoy the benefits of Horizon’s reputation and reliable air service to Los Angeles International Airport.”

Prescott Mayor Jack D. Wilson agrees. “I am delighted that Horizon Air will soon be providing roundtrip service to Los Angeles. This new connection is eagerly awaited by our businesses that travel to California. We also expect increased tourism from residents of California as well as a more convenient route from Prescott-area residents vacationing in California.”

With Horizon’s new flights, travelers from Prescott and Flagstaff will gain an easier way to travel to Southern California. Additionally, they’ll gain easy connections to more than 30 destinations coast to coast on Alaska and Horizon as well as access to hundreds of destinations around the world with partner airlines through LAX. Similarly, the service is expected to boost tourism to the area by facilitating inbound travel from a wide variety of national and international airlines that fly into LAX.

The daily flight schedule for Horizon’s new service will be as follows:

Horizon Air’s daily flight schedule from Flagstaff and Prescott to Los Angeles (LAX) starting Sept. 8, 2008:

*Stops in Prescott

Tickets for the new flights are available for sale now through horizonair.com or by calling Horizon Air Reservations at 800-547-9308.

The city recently won two grants that will allow it to extend the current runway by 1,800 feet, bringing it to nearly 8,800 feet in length.

Public Works Director Ben Fisk said the city won a $1.1 million grant from the Arizona Department of Transportation and a $10.5 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration. That represents 70 percent of the estimated $15.9 million cost of the project.

The airport currently is served by turboprop planes flown by America West Express, and city officials worried they would be left without a commercial carrier when the older aircraft are eventually phased out and replaced with regional jets.

City officials also hope airlines might be coaxed into adding destinations besides Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport if they can bring in their jets.

The improvements were delayed while an environmental assessment was completed, but the FAA has now issued a green light for the project, Fisk said.

Construction is expected to being in the spring with completion by fall, 2007.

Getting the financing was a goal for airport Manager Mike Covalt, who said he now plans to retire in February.

Information from: Arizona Daily Sun, http://www.azdailysun.com/

Phoenix-area airport officials will travel to Orlando next week to meet with AirTran Airways about starting service out of either Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport or Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa.

On Friday, the airline was quick to characterize the talks as “routine,” but Phoenix officials say that they believe the carrier is interested.

“We don’t have that it is going to happen with perfect clarity,” said Paul Blue, an assistant aviation director at Sky Harbor. “But they told us the last time we saw them that Phoenix was on their list.”

AirTran is a fast-growing, low-cost carrier that operates nationwide, although its network of destinations is predominately on the East Coast. Phoenix is the largest metropolitan market not served by the airline.

The proposed route would be to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, AirTran’s hub airport.

Phoenix officials said Friday that they had no way of knowing whether the airline would have a preference between Sky Harbor and Williams Gateway. Ultimately, it would be up to the carrier to decide if and where to locate.

But Phoenix says it plans to “push” Gateway.

Vision Airlines is the Mesa airport’s only passenger carrier, operating a flight to North Las Vegas Airport four times a week.

Gateway Executive Director Lynn Kusy could not be reached for comment Friday. Brian Sexton, the airport’s spokesman, said he could not comment on the talks.

“We meet with airlines throughout the country on a regular basis, but it’s our policy not to discuss our prospects,” Sexton said.

AirTran officials said they typically add two to three destinations to their network of routes every year. This year, they have added White Plains, N.Y., and Seattle.

Tad Hutcheson, an AirTran spokesman, said the airline would make a determination about Phoenix as a possible destination only after considering a variety of factors, including availability of planes, cost of fuel and the potential for competition from other carriers.

“Phoenix is a good candidate for service,” Hutcheson said. But, he added, “We meet with hundreds of cities and hundreds of airports each year. We are listening. .. nothing more.”

If AirTran should decide to enter the Valley market, it’s likely the carrier would have only a limited initial presence regardless of whether it was based out of Sky Harbor or Williams Gateway.

That’s because US Airways and Southwest dominate. Together, Sky Harbor’s two hub airlines account for more than 70% of the Valley’s commercial air traffic.

JetBlue Airways was the last major airline to start service in the Valley. It began flying out of Sky Harbor in 2004.

Book your Scottsdale Phoenix vacation including Scottsdale resort hotels, Phoenix golf courses and spas and more.

Beginning June 10, 2006
* One new daily nonstop roundtrip between New Orleans and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.