United Airlines begins flights out of Columbia

Columbia Regional Airport now has two airlines servicing flights to three major hubs in the United States.

Daily flights to Denver International Airport are now offered by the airline, as are twice-daily flights to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.

It comes as the number of passengers the airport carries is on a decade-long increase.

Industry leaders said Wednesday that a projected passenger growth is what an airline looks for when it considers setting down roots in a regional airport.

“You’ve got to have a population base to support the air service,” said Kent Boyd with the Springfield-Branson National Airport. “It has to be a population that has enough expendable income to fly.”

When additional airlines set down roots it means more flights which in turn encourages companies to move their business to the Midwest.

“They want to know how many nonstop destinations there are and how easy it is for that company to connect their people to the rest of the world,” said Boyd.

BJ Hunter, owner of FastSigns and a member of the Airport Advisory Board for more than 15 years, said he remembers companies that refused to set up shop in Columbia because it didn’t have a viable airport.

“But we’re almost two stops from anywhere now,” he said. “With Denver, Chicago and Dallas, it’s hard to find more than two stops to get here.”

Boyd said airports are economic development tools, but its impact isn’t exactly measurable.

“Economic development isn’t something that occurs overnight,” he said.

Missouri legislators agree. Representative Cheri Reisch said while we may not see a business boom, quality air service is still a key piece of a larger economic puzzle.

“We have to plug the holes. It’s the old rusty bucket theory,” she said “We need to keep more services in our community that aren’t leaving our community for other places.”

The full flight schedule can be seen at the Columbia Regional Airport’s website.