Prince George Airport Authority President and CEO Gord Duke said the direct flight from here to Tucson offered by Flair Airlines was well received in its first year.
He added the seasonal route operated pretty much on time except for one occasion due to a mechanical issue – an impressive feat given the type of winter weather airports dealt with across Canada.
Duke told MyPGNow.com while it might take a few years for Tucson to become a go-to city, it does open the door to other destinations that are on the YXS wish list.
“We always look at Puerto Vallarta. Las Vegas is another one that comes to mind and Palm Springs is very popular with Canadians and the aircraft that these carriers use can make those destinations very easily.”
Another option being pursued is a trans-continental flight that would tie into the Carribean flights out of Toronto as well as a seasonal direct service into Europe.
While Tuscon is often seen as the sister city to Phoenix, which is two hours away, Duke added the people who did utilize the once-a-week service were quite impressed.
“We saw a lot of good word of mouth. People coming back from Tucson and posting good times they had and the fun things they had to do down there. It’s a longer haul commitment to creating Tucson as a destination for Prince George but for a first-year operation and unfamiliar city that we have not flown to before it has done very well.”
“It wasn’t a stop that readily came to mind prior to this as people in Prince George are used to going to Vegas or Phoenix but it’s getting that word-of-mouth,” added Duke.
He added the northern capital has a growing population and a solid resource-base industry sector where people want to have that leisure travel market available to them.
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