That airline service at the Durango-La Plata County Airport compares to arrivals and departure times at Grand Junction’s airport, and is slightly below mid-pack in comparison to the country’s approximately 1,200 airports, is not something to celebrate.
The numbers are not encouraging, and poor departure scores, especially, make travel miserable.
According to FlightView, a data accumulation company that follows airline service, between August and November of last year one-third of arriving flights and one-quarter of departing flights in and out of Durango were delayed. Two percent of Durango flights were canceled.
Whether the delays were a result of United Airlines’ performance with flights to and from Denver, or American’s to Dallas and to Phoenix, was not recorded.
While wind and winter weather impact Denver more than it does Phoenix, both airlines, when scored against the other major carriers, are at the bottom of the on-time, canceled and misplaced-luggage service rankings.
As Durangoans – and the fair number of Farmington, Pagosa Springs and Cortez residents who use the airport – know, allow extra time between connections. And if the trip is for a meeting in Denver, traveling the day before might be a good idea.
Of course, it’s the two- or multiple-leg trip that poor Durango service can impact greatly. A missed connection through Denver, or having the last or next-to-last flight from Denver to Durango canceled, means a very different travel experience.
The personal stories of misery in their extremes have become so commonplace that they are difficult to trump.
Anecdotally, we hear of more Durangoans driving that first leg. To Albuquerque by car has always meant a savings for a family of four, but more people are routing through Albuquerque than through Denver in order to be able to drive that portion. And, some additional people are driving the seven hours to Denver to catch a flight rather than risk a challenge leaving Durango. Not a lot, but some.
If the tax money needed for a new terminal could be put toward better service, that would be the choice of voters who travel.
The Durango-La Plata County Airport years ago became the regional airport for Southwest Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. Cortez draws on a too small population, Pagosa Springs is even smaller and Farmington is a relatively easy drive to Albuquerque.
Will anything improve Durango’s service ranking, and the performance of all the other airlines (one-third arrival and one-quarter departure delays should put an airport at the bottom of the list, not near mid-point)? Airlines are running lean in terms of equipment and staff even while they enjoy the price of fuel at a fraction of what it was. Weather? We can expect more weather extremes as the planet warms, which will not be helpful.
The solutions: allow for extra time and in the very extreme consider driving. And be aware that your this-is-what-went-wrong-for-me story will be topped by your listener.
