Aspen/Pitkin County Airport is getting new regularly scheduled Embraer E175 service starting Tuesday. For several years, the single-runway Colorado airport has been confined to CRJ-700 commercial aircraft due to space constraints.
While American, Delta, and United market flights to Aspen, regional carrier SkyWest exclusively operates commercial flights to the airport on behalf of these airlines. Under the United Express banner, SkyWest is initially deploying E175s to Aspen from United’s Denver hub.
The airport’s first scheduled E175 flight landed at 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday as United flight 5782.
Aspen Airport welcomed the inaugural flight of the E175 this morning!✈️ pic.twitter.com/u5eqGGpc9c
— Aspen Airport (@FlyAspenAirport) December 3, 2024
In February, SkyWest will add more E175 service between Aspen, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, per Cirium Diio schedule data.
A United spokesperson said the addition of E175 service to Aspen will add “twice the number of both First Class and Economy Plus seats and more storage for roll-aboard bags.” The E175s are equipped with 12 first-class seats, an increase over the six on the CRJ-700 jets.
The airport — which sits at a nearly 8,000-foot elevation in mountainous terrain — will continue to see CRJ-700 flights on all three airlines for the foreseeable future. Aspen’s runway is just over 8,000 feet long and 100 feet wide.
In recent years, Aspen community members have debated on whether to expand the airport’s infrastructure to accommodate larger aircraft.
