Provo Airport seeks to expand to meet growing demand for service from PVU. In April American Airlines announced service to Dallas-Fort Worth and Phoenix. PVU is seeking a second major carrier, wants to build a new terminal, and asks the community for support on a $1 million USDOT grant.
Welcoming the fired up crowd at Stadium of Fire, Mayor Michelle Kaufusi highlighted recent developments at Provo Airport (PVU) and encouraged the audience to get behind and support the ascending new airport in Utah County. Her participation in the "Free Stuff Giveaway" portion of the program elicited cheers from tens of thousands of excited attendees, a handful of lucky ones received free flights from PVU to various destinations, including Paris.
Mayor Kaufusi mentioned Provo Airport's addition of American Airlines, to the airport's roster of carriers, including Breeze and Alligiant Air, which have been adding routes for several years and have asked PVU to provide additional gates and accommodations for international arrivals at the planned new terminal.
Initially announced last April, American Airlines plans to offer two daily flights to DFW and one daily flight to PHX starting October 7, 2024 on the Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet platform.
Departure City | Arrival City | Departure Time | Arrival Time | Aircraft Type |
Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | Provo (PVU) | 10:35 a.m. | 12:21 p.m. | CRJ700 |
DFW | PVU | 7:20 p.m. | 9:06 p.m. | CRJ700 |
Phoenix (PHX) | PVU | 12:15 p.m. | 2:58 p.m. | CRJ700 |
PVU | DFW | 5:20 a.m. | 9:10 a.m. | CRJ700 |
PVU | DFW | 12:51 p.m. | 4:41 p.m. | CRJ700 |
PVU | PHX | 3:28 p.m. | 4:23 p.m. | CRJ700 |
*All times local
And as a sign of strong bookings, American announced last week it will offer a third daily flight to DFW beginning in November.
Service to DFW is significant in that it will provide PVU travelers with nonstop service to a top market (Dallas). As American Airline's largest hub, DFW offers numerous connecting opportunities to destinations around the world.
According to the FAA and RS&H Analyses, PVU's passenger traffic—or described by the industry term, "enplanements," (a passenger boarding a plane)—has been rising steadily since 2017 with just over 91K enplanements that year to over 414K in 2023. PVU is forecasting 480K enplanements this year, which the airport argues, presents a compelling case for further airport expansion.
In addition, in collaboration with Provo City, Provo Airport plans to submit an application to the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) later this month. The request is for a $1 million air service development grant that, if awarded, will provide PVU and Provo City additional resources to help recruit a second major airline, namely United Airlines. The grant application, due on July 25th, will target funds to attract nonstop service by United Airlines to its Denver hub, providing PVU travelers with a second major hub destination after American's DFW hub. The USDOT grant is intended to help Provo Airport offset airline risk associated with the start-up phase for a new market. Such risk typically spans the first year of service.
As part of the grant application, Provo Airport seeks to demonstrate enthusiastic community support in the form of financial pledges as a partial match of the pending USDOT grant. The pledges are contingent upon two things: PVU is awarded the USDOT grant, and a second major airline, e.g. United Airlines, decides to serve the PVU market. The USDOT is expected to release its decision on the grant by the end of 2024.
As part of its request for community support, Provo Airport set a fundraising goal of $300,000 in local pledges to buttress the $1 million request to the USDOT. As of this week, the airport has received pledges amounting to $127,000. All pledges must be included in the grant application due July 25th. Hence, Provo Airport is asking the community to consider making a pledge and to do so by July 22, 2024.
If interested in making a pledge to Provo Airport, contact Provo Airport's Director, Brian Torgersen, at btorgersen@provo.utah.gov