Compared to the odds for being struck by lightning, which are better than winning Powerball, the odds for winning a free trip to Los Angeles could hardly have been better Saturday.
To celebrate the last American Airlines seasonal direct flight to LAX, Durango-La Plata County Airport gave away two free tickets on the final outgoing flight – winners will connect through Phoenix to come home – two nights at a hotel in Redondo Beach and a $150 gift card.
By the time of the drawing, 26 people had signed up, and those who accepted the challenge to dress up L.A.-style got an extra ticket, making the odds better than 1 in 50. Contestants came dressed in everything from Oscar-worthy gowns to businessmen, surfers and even a character from the Harry Potter films, Sirius Black as the prisoner from Azkaban.
“Those odds are the best part of winning the first one,” said Garrett Tyrell, who won the trip. “There will be a lot of people going for it the next time after they hear about it.”
His girlfriend was due in on the last direct inbound flight from L.A. for the season, and he intended to surprise her with an immediate return. Tyrell’s plans for the stay include visiting family and hanging out at the beach.
The giveaway was advertising for the airport and its services and an attempt to provide more exposure for the direct service route to LAX, said Tony Vicari, interim director of aviation.
“This has been an American test route,” he said. “They will evaluate the pricing, the load factors – that’s the number of seats sold – was there connectivity or was it uni-directional, just people going from Durango to Southern California or from the West Coast to Durango.”
The flights began June 4 and ran Saturdays, which is traditionally a slow day in the airline business, he said, so it’s a day when American can pull an aircraft from another route. After the airline reviews the performance during the test, they’ll consider continuing the direct flights next summer, but while it may be similar service on Saturdays, it could also be more frequent or on another day.
Vicari only has an unofficial tally of the seats sold at this time.
“June was not particularly strong,” he said, with 38 percent of seats sold on the Durango to L.A. route, and 60 percent sold from L.A. to Durango. “July was a decided uptick.”
The July numbers showed 70 percent of outbound and 74 percent of inbound seats sold.
“The gold standard in the business is 80 percent,” Vicari said, “although that needs to be taken with a grain of salt because it has a lot to do with pricing and the type of traveler. I don’t have any numbers for August yet, but anecdotally, it’s looking good. This last flight is sold out.”
It takes a while for travelers to discover a route like this, he said.
“Say you have a man from Bakersfield (California) who has vacationed in Southwest Colorado and is planning to return,” he said. “Unless he’s searching for flights for Saturday to Saturday, this doesn’t even pop up. In the second year, there’s more brand and route recognition.”
Vicari anticipates discussions will begin in the fall with American regarding a renewal of the service for next summer.
abutler@durangoherald.com
