CHEYENNE – Wyoming’s commercial air traffic has been soaring this summer, with plane boardings up in nine of the state’s 10 commercial airports and up about 15 percent statewide.
State aeronautics officials credit the increase to a combination of factors, including a bustling statewide economy that has brought increased business travel, better service at most airports, and the state’s $1 million advertising campaign to get more people to “Fly Wyoming.”
The marketing campaign “has gone very, very well,” says Amber E. Schlabs, aviation, business and marketing manager for the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s Aeronautics Division. “We are getting a lot of feedback on the campaign.”
The latest Aeronautics Division plane boarding numbers show increased traffic at nine of Wyoming’s 10 commercial airports through July of this year, ranging from a marginal increase of less than 1 percent at Natrona County International Airport to 27.5 percent at Rock Springs, 29.6 percent at Gillette, 32.7 percent at Sheridan and a whopping 44.5 percent at Worland. Only Cody’s Yellowstone Regional Airport was down slightly.
Schlabs said while the state’s busy economy certainly is a factor, the ad campaign certainly was a factor, too, especially in Worland, normally the state’s least-used commercial airport. She also noted that increased service – more flights, larger planes or new airlines – also contributed to the increases.
Since the ad campaign started, the Fly Wyoming Web site has received more than 500,000 hits, she said.
The goal of the campaign has been to increase awareness of Wyoming’s commercial airports and emphasize the benefits in utilizing them. Not only does flying Wyoming make sense in saving valuable time, sometimes it costs less in dollars than driving and overnight stays, according to Aeronautics Division Administrator Shelly Rheams.
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