Not two weeks after announcing Phoenix and Ironwood, Mich. as destinations to be added to its route map, Denver Air Connection will be expanding to Texas, more specifically Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The airline is planning on making the North Texas superhub its 12th destination.

Although the carrier has not yet announced the route, the Department of Transportation released a document approving an alternate service plan for the carrier’s current Essential Air Service (EAS) contract in Clovis, N.M. The contract is approving a plan to move six of the carrier’s weekly departures from Denver to Dallas/Fort Worth, giving each six weekly round trip flights.

The new service won’t come with any additional annual subsidy and will stay at a rate of $4,398,986 per year. Flights are scheduled to operate using the 30-seat Dornier 328Jet, although might occasionally be substituted by the 50-seat Embraer E145 to avoid and delays due to maintenance schedules.

A Needed Change

The new service from Clovis to Dallas was requested by the community as many citizens have business and cultural ties with Dallas.

This is not the first time they have received this service. From 2014 until April 2020, San Francisco-based Boutique Air did serve Clovis from Dallas Ft. Worth using 8-seat Pilatus PC-12s. Denver Air Connection was the only contender for Clovis during the last EAS contract process as Boutique never submitted a bid.

A Boutique Air PC-12 in Merced, Calif. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)

Although the order approving the alternate service request has Oct. 1 as a start date, the carrier mentioned that “arrangements for [Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport] are under preparation.” Despite the unknown start date, once it does begin, this will be not only the largest amount of scheduled destinations the carrier has served in its history but also the largest number of scheduled flights. Once all of the newly announced destinations begin, the airline will have 12 destinations in nine states.

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Joey Gerardi

Joey has always been interested in planes, for as long as he can remember. He grew up in Central New York during the early 2000s when US Airways Express turboprops ruled the skies. Being from a non-aviation family made it harder for him to be around planes and would only spend about three hours a month at the airport. He was so excited when he could drive by himself and the first thing he did with the license was get ice cream and go plane spotting for the entire day. When he has the time (and money) he likes to take spotting trips to any location worth a visit but has a special interest in Essential Air Service Airports. He got his degree in Aviation Management and Operations from WMU in June of 2022, and is currently working full time for an airline in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

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