Flights will return to the Santa Maria Airport, served by United Airlines, spiriting travelers to Los Angeles, Denver, and San Francisco.
The flights, local leaders in government and business hope, will make the city more appealing for business and will boost tourism.
The plan has been years in the making, said airport General Manager Chris Hastert, who said the airport obtained a $490,000 grant to propel the airline into its new routes. The money comes from the Small Community Air Service Development Program run the U.S. Department of Transportation and is designed to front the costs of daily flights that may not be filled to capacity.
It’s unclear how long the subsidies will last, Hastert said. It depends on factors like fuel costs and the number of passengers the airline can service.
The announcement was made at the airport on Jan. 10 to a crowd including 5th District Santa Barbara County Supervisor Steve Lavagnino and Bob Nelson, who’s running unchallenged for the 4th District seat.
The routes are part of a company growth spurt that has seen United Airlines add 26 international flights over the past two years, launch an expansion of its terminal at Denver International Airport, and bolster domestic offerings.
According to United, it’s aiming for about 80 percent capacity on most of its flights and said there will be about 150 seats between the three routes each day.
The airline sent its Los Angeles hub managing director, Alberto Diaz, to make the announcement. He preceded his remarks in English with a brief dispatch in Spanish.
“We’ve been constantly looking at cities trying to expand our California presence,” Diaz said in English.
The flights, serviced by a CRJ-200, were scheduled to begin on Jan. 11. They were added as part of a campaign by local business and government officials.
“I think what is really going to make it stick is the community has really felt the pains of not having air service. Now that they know what it’s like, I think they’re really going to embrace it and support it,” said Suzanne Singh, director of economic development for the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce. “We were making sure we were doing all the right things to hit all the right buttons to get United to look at us.”
One of those things was an extensive letter-writing campaign from area businesses, including Vandenberg Air Force Base, a massive user of air travel due to its thousands of service members and civilian employees.
“That was one of the huge priorities for us,” Hastert said, “was making sure the military could use the service.”
The new services create a triumvirate of small airport offerings on the Central Coast, including San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport and Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, which recently made modifications to allow larger airplanes to load and unload passengers.
Highlight:
• The Paul Nelson Aquatic Center, located at 600 McClelland St., is undergoing a major renovation costing about $800,000. The city of Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department will lead the improvement, which began Jan. 11, and will keep the aquatic center closed until April 1. The center serves about 75,000 people, according to the city. The project, funded by Community Development Block Grants, will reconstruct the plaster surface of the Olympic-sized pool and replace parts of the deck, which has not been renovated since 1997.
Staff Writer William D’Urso wrote this week’s Spotlight. Send story tips to [email protected].
