Breeze Airways is growing its route map again, adding three new routes — and a new state — to its winter schedule.
04.10.2023 - 19:21 / thepointsguy.com
Over the past few years, many small regional airports across the country lost some or all of their commercial flights due to pilot shortages and other challenges facing the airline industry.
But Oregon's Salem Municipal Airport (SLE), just 50 miles south of Portland and 2 miles from downtown Salem, is bucking the trend by bringing back commercial air service after a hiatus of 15 years.
Starting Thursday, budget carrier Avelo Airlines will begin flying between Oregon's capital city of Salem and Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) twice a week. The nonstop service will operate on Thursdays and Sundays.
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The inaugural flight will be marked with commemorative boarding passes, greetings from airline officials and "lots of fanfare," Avelo spokesperson Courtney Goff said.
A day later, on Oct. 6, Avelo will kick off twice-weekly flights between Salem and Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR). These flights will begin operating on Fridays and Mondays and then shift to Thursdays and Sundays on Nov. 2. Both routes will be served by Avelo's Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft.
Although there hasn't been true commercial air service at Salem Municipal Airport since 2008, McNary Field, as it is also known, is no ghost town.
Related: Avelo adds 3 new cities to its route map, but cuts 2 others
The airport is home to an Army National Guard base and serves general aviation, business and military flights to the tune of 45,000 aircraft operations a year, SLE airport manager John Paskell said. The B-17 Alliance Museum and Hangar, where a World War II bomber is being restored, is on the edge of the airfield. The popular Flight Deck Restaurant & Lounge sits adjacent to the runway and has a robust fly-in clientele.
However, it has been a challenge to get and keep for Salem.
United Airlines, which began flying to Salem in the 1940s, last served the city in 1980, according to Salem's Statesman Journal. Regional carrier Air Oregon (later acquired by Horizon Air) offered scheduled passenger service to several cities in the 1980s.
But the last true commercial service to Salem ended in late 2008, when Delta Air Lines pulled its twice-daily flights to Salt Lake City after just a year and a half. For a few months in 2011, tiny commuter carrier SeaPort Airlines buzzed between Salem and Newport, Oregon.
"Had the economy not tanked in 2008, [Delta Air Lines] probably would still be here," said Tim Hay, president of Fly Salem Foundation, the local nonprofit devoted to reinstating commercial flights. "Having air service in Salem brings a huge economic impact in the area, and seeing Delta drop out set Salem back."
Undaunted, the foundation and
Breeze Airways is growing its route map again, adding three new routes — and a new state — to its winter schedule.
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