Daily passenger air service is returning to Dubuque Regional Airport in November, with regional carrier Denver Air Connection offering mid-day flights to Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
The service to Chicago, slated to start Nov. 4, will be the first regularly scheduled flights out of Dubuque since low-cost carrier Avelo Airlines made its last flight in April.
Denver Air has an interline ticketing and baggage transfer agreement with all three legacy carriers, meaning passengers arriving at O’Hare can seamlessly catch an American, United or Delta flight to points elsewhere around the nation and the world.
The air service will be provided on 50-seat ERJ145 aircraft from Embraer, a Brazilian manufacturer. The planes have 18 rows with three seats per row, with an aisle between seats.
The Denver Air Connection website has flights from Dubuque to Chicago starting Monday, Nov. 4, for $121 one-way.
“It will be competitive with our other regional airports,” said Airport Director Todd Dalsing.
The flights were made possible as part of extensive lobbying by local leaders and the approval of a $2 million Small Community Air Service Development grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Denver Air Connection has access to that money to ensure its flights meet a minimum revenue guarantee.
Funding for the grant is broken down to $1.5 million from the federal government and a $500,000 local and state match from public and private partners that includes $150,000 from the city of Dubuque; $100,000 from Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce; $50,000 each from Dubuque County, Greater Dubuque Development Corp. and Travel Dubuque; $40,000 from airport proceeds and $25,000 from Iowa Department of Transportation’s Aviation division.
“The return of daily flights to and from a major hub is cause for celebration,” Dubuque Mayor Brad Cavanagh said in a press release. “We are excited to welcome Denver Air Connection to the Dubuque Regional Airport, and I encourage all travelers, whether for leisure or business, to take advantage of the convenient connections across the country and around the world that this service will provide.”