The Sidney Herald

C. A. B. to Consider Continuous Daily Air Service to 12 Cities

Denver, Colo. - Hearings before the Civil Aeronautics Board in Washington, D. C., will be conducted in the near future to determine whether 12 cities in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming. Colorado and Arizona will continue to receive daily scheduled air service from Frontier Airlines. Of the 4 cities served by Frontier Airlines in the seven states of the Rocky Mountain West, the city of Dickinson, N. D.; the Montana cities of Miles City, Wolf Point and Sidney; and Wyoming cities of Greybull, Rawlins and Kemmerer; the Colorado cities of Gunnison, Montrose-Delta and Monte Vista; and the Arizona cities of Clifton-Morenci and Safford have been operating on temporary certificates. Frontier's authority to serve these 12 cities expires on Jan. 24, 1959. All the rest of the cities served by Frontier have permanent certificates of service.

The single most important factor determining whether or not air service should be made permanent, continued on a temporary basis, or discontinued is the amount of passenger traffic enplaned in a community. The CAB has set a standard of five passengers enplaned per day on an average during the year of operations immediately prior to the renewal proceedings.

Frontier Airlines in its application for renewal of certified authority to the CAB intends to seek permanent authority to serve Montrose-Delta, Colorado. During the 12 months ending June 30. 1958, Montrose-Delta enplaned and deplaned a total of 6,299. The number of passengers enplaned during the average month was 274.

For the cities of Gunnison, Colo.; Rawlins, Wyo., Safford, Ariz.; plus the Montana cities of Miles City. Wolf Point and Sidney, Frontier intends to seek renewal of authority for an additional temporary period. Although these communities have not yet met the CAB's traffic standard of five passengers enplaned per day, Frontier believes that extenuating circumstances exist which justify a further temporary period of service to develop the necessary passenger traffic.

Recently, Dickinson, N. D., was included in the CAB's proposed Denver-Bismarck cutoff route between Minot, N. D., and Rapid City. S. D. in their press release on the Seven States Area Case. Service to Dickinson, N. D., would therefore, be extended for a temporary five-year period in which to generate sufficient passenger traffic.

On the basis of average passenger boardings at Monte Vista- 87 per month-Frontier believes that Monte Vista can be economically and efficiently served through the Alamosa airport. In the case of air service to Clifton-Morenci, Ariz., only 15 passengers were enplaned per month. If the Safford, Ariz.,airport, this would augment the total passenger traffic and assist Safford. Ariz., to meet the CAB standard of passenger boardings. Likewise, Frontier Airlines believes Greybull, Wyo., can be adequately served either through the airport at Worland, Wyo., or at Cody, Wyo. This would be a more economical operation since Greybull enplaned on an average only 43 passengers per month during the year ending June 30, 1958.