News

Humboldt County residents with the yen to leave the Redwood Curtain will have a new option beginning June 7, with United Airlines and the Redwood Region Economic Development Commission announcing this morning that the airline will add a new direct flight to Los Angeles.

“A direct flight to Southern California has been a top priority for our air service recruitment efforts,” said Humboldt County Aviation Program Coordinator Emily Jacobs in the press release. “Market research has shown that demand for this service from our community is strong. Our previous service to LAX was very popular with tourists and businesspeople."

This news comes six months after the startling announcement that PenAir, which had been operating out of ACV for less than two years, would suspend all flights out of the California Redwood Coast Humboldt County Airport. The company then filed for bankruptcy and gained permission from the federal Department of Transportation to terminate what’s known as “Essential Air Service” to the Del Norte County airport. PenAir's exodus left United as the Redwood coast's lone carrier, with daily flights to San Francisco. The "tourists and businesspeople" cited by Jacobs will still need to catch connecting flights to destinations other than the the City of Angels or SF, but it seems as though FlyHumboldt's long courtship of carriers is yielding some success.



From RREDC:

UNITED AIRLINES ANNOUNCES NEW NONSTOP SERVICE FROM HUMBOLDT COUNTY TO LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Daily Service to Start On June 7, 2018
Eureka – United Airlines and Redwood Region Economic Development Commission announced today that United will begin nonstop service from Humboldt County (ACV) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) starting June 7, 2018.
“United serves more destinations within California than any other airline and we are proud to announce Los Angeles to Eureka as our 24th route within the state,” said Jake Cefolia, United’s vice president of Sales. “Customers traveling between the Northern California Coast and our hub in Los Angeles will have more opportunities to connect to multiple flights on United’s domestic and international route network.”
United will provide the service with a 50-seat CRJ regional jet and will start with one flight per day as follows:
Depart LAX - 8:05a.m.
Arrive ACV - 9:55a.m.
Depart ACV - 10:25a.m.
Arrive LAX - 12:15p.m.

“A direct flight to Southern California has been a top priority for our air service recruitment efforts,” said Humboldt County Aviation Program Coordinator Emily Jacobs. “Market research has shown that demand for this service from our community is strong. Our previous service to LAX was very popular with tourists and businesspeople."
Humboldt County had service to LAX from 2005 to 2011 provided by a different carrier.
“The LAX connection is one that we’ve been working to get for many years. I want to thank United Airlines for their investment in our community,” said Supervisor Virginia Bass. “I know that that direct service to LAX the create new opportunities to increase business and tourist travel.”
"On behalf of the Humboldt County tourism industry we are thrilled to reconnect with Los Angeles through United Airlines,” said Tony Smithers, Executive Director of the Eureka-Humboldt Visitors Bureau. “We look forward to growing our market in Southern California, particularly as an additional gateway for the Pacific Rim.”
Recruiting and retaining air service has been a top focus of the Redwood Region Economic Development Commission (RREDC) since 2003. It was that year that RREDC joined with the City of Redding and the County of Humboldt to secure a direct flight to LAX. In 2011, RREDC joined with community members, businesses, and organizations to create “Fly Humboldt,” a collaborative effort to increase air service and support our local airport.

“Passenger air service is a dynamic and challenging business. There are literally hundreds of airports competing for the business of less than 10 airlines,” said Gregg Foster, Executive Director of RREDC. “Many small airports have lost air service altogether. We’re fortunate to have the support of our community and United Airlines.”
In addition to supporting tourism, many larger employers have stated that connecting to Southern California will help them attract talent and access markets.
“We are actively toasting the announcement of the new ACV to LAX flight! More flights in and out of our community allow our families to gather, businesses to remain successful, and our community to thrive,” said Mary Keehn, Founder of Cypress Grove Chevre. “This success is the result of many businesses, institutions, and individuals coming together to make this happen. Our thanks to all for the great rallying of support and to United for their continued commitment to the community.”
For more information, go to www.flyhumboldt.org or www.newsroom.united.com.