DELTA ANNOUNCES TWICE DAILY FLIGHTS FROM BELLINGHAM TO SALT LAKE
Flights Will Begin in June
[Bellingham, Wash.] Beginning June 8, 2006, travelers out of Bellingham will be able to fly directly to Salt Lake City aboard Delta Air Lines, the Port of Bellingham announced today.
Flights are scheduled to begin on June 8th and will give local travelers many new opportunities. For example a business traveler will be able to leave Bellingham in the morning and go as far east as Chicago and Detroit, conduct up to four hours of business around the airport and be back in Bellingham that evening. For those going further east, Non-stop Delta flights out of Salt Lake connect to New York, Boston and Orlando. There also will be good connections to California and Arizona, for both the business and leisure traveler.
“Delta is thrilled to be able to offer visitors and residents of Bellingham a quick and convenient new alternative to more than 100 destinations through our Salt Lake City hub,” said Bob Cortelyou, Delta’s vice president of Network Planning. “Bellingham is a premier vacation destination with beautiful natural scenery, unique cultural attractions, charming villages and waterfront adventures. We look forward to hosting residents of Whatcom County on our flights, as they experience the benefits of Delta’s global network.”
At a press conference today in Delta’s hub at Salt Lake City, Delta announced seven new cities where it will begin service this spring. From Salt Lake City, travelers can connect on more than 300 daily flights to 107 non-stop destinations in the U.S (including Hawaii), Canada, and Mexico.
“For years people in our community have asked for additional direct flight destinations out of Bellingham and we believe this new service from Delta is exactly what people have wanted,” said Commissioner Doug Smith from the Salt Lake City press conference.
Smith and Port Aviation Director Art Choat flew to Salt Lake to take part in the announcement.
Delta's new service to Bellingham will be operated by Delta Connection carrier SkyWest using a 50 passenger Bombardier CRJ-200 Regional Jet. Two flights a day will fly from Bellingham to Salt Lake, departing from Bellingham at 6:25 a.m. and 12:50 p.m. Flights will return to Bellingham, departing Salt Lake City at 11:15 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. arriving in Bellingham at 12:25 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.
“More than one million people live within 60 miles of the Bellingham Airport,” said Choat. “We believe that many people will choose to fly out of Bellingham and avoid the I-5 traffic and hassles of going to SeaTac, or Vancouver International Airport.”
The Port has been pursuing additional air service since United Airlines stopped serving Bellingham in 2001. The Port worked with a coalition of local business and community leaders to promote Bellingham and the Port has been in discussions with Delta for several years. In
addition to serving regional residents, the new service also will be a boost for the local tourism industry.
"Having this service to Salt Lake City will open a new world of visitor and meeting markets for us, not only in Utah, but for all the connecting cities Delta serves,” said Bellingham Mount Baker Tourism Director John Cooper. “In the past we focused largely North and South for visitors: now we can look to the East."
Last month the Port of Bellingham completed a $2 million remodel and airport enhancement project that expanded the terminal area, enclosed the baggage area, remodeled terminal restrooms, replaced all airport seating and carpeting and installed a Northwest-style exterior to the commercial terminal building. It is likely that the Port will add additional parking areas to accommodate the increased demand once Delta flights begin.
Currently Horizon Air flies seven flights out of Bellingham to SeaTac daily and Allegiant Air flies from Bellingham to Las Vegas four times a week. On April 1, 2006, Allegiant will add two flights per week for a total of six flights per week to Las Vegas.
Salt Lake City is Delta’s fastest growing domestic hub in terms of destinations served. Since October, Delta has added or announced flights to 20 new non-stop destinations from Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City is Delta’s largest gateway to Hawaii with non-stop service to Honolulu, Maui and Kona; is the only Delta hub to offer customers year-round service to Alaska; and is a growing gateway to Mexico with non-stop service to Cancun, Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan (effective March 8). With its March 2006 schedule, Delta offers Salt Lake City customers more than 300 daily flights to 100 non-stop destinations.
Delta Air Lines is one of the world’s fastest growing international carriers with more than 50 new international routes added or announced in the last year. Delta offers daily flights to 503 destinations in 94 countries on Delta, Song, Delta Shuttle, the Delta Connection carriers and its worldwide partners. In summer 2006, Delta plans to offer customers more destinations and departures between the U.S., Europe, India and Israel than any global airline, including service on 11 new transatlantic routes from its Atlanta and New York-JFK hubs. Delta also is a major carrier to Mexico, South and Central America and the Caribbean, with more than 35 routes announced, added or applied to serve since Jan. 1, 2005.
The Port will be announcing a community reception for Delta and SkyWest, which will be scheduled during the next few weeks.
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