More Direct Lower 48 Flights Coming to Fairbanks Airport
Most flights to Fairbanks are in-state connections.
Photo Credit: Lumir Pecold | iStock
Fairbanks International Airport (FAI) is gaining a route to a Lower 48 airline hub, and some federal funding supports the addition of yet another.
Last week Delta Airlines announced a seasonal route starting next summer connecting FAI to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) in Utah. FAI also received a share of funding from the US Department of Transportation (DOT) that could lead to flights between Fairbanks and the American Airlines hub at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) in Texas.
Third and Fourth Connections
The Delta route to SLC will run daily starting June 8, 2025, and ending September 9, 2025. From SLC, Delta operates more than ninety connecting flights worldwide.
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities says travelers will be able to experience Delta’s “renowned state-of-the-art” Airbus A220-100 aircraft.
The seasonal flights to SLC join two other direct routes from Fairbanks to Lower 48 cities: Seattle and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
A fourth could be on the way thanks to $900,000 from the Small Community Air Service Development Program. Last week, DOT announced FAI is one of fourteen airports nationwide splitting $12 million in 2024 funding. Last year’s distribution to twenty airports included zero funding for Alaska.
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Managers at FAI say the funds will pay for marketing and serve as a revenue guarantee to secure new non-stop service to a “domestic hub.” According to the DOT announcement, the hub in question is DFW, the headquarters of American Airlines. That carrier has reportedly provided a letter of support for a route to FAI.
A revenue guarantee contractually ensures that a business will accrue a certain amount of revenue over a given period. The grant involves revenue guarantees with a five-year term.
In its distribution order, DOT notes that FAI “states that it has lost traffic due to lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and due to economic downturns abroad that have affected its tourism traffic.” The order says FAI believes adding nonstop DFW service is a good fit because of Texas’s inbound tourist traffic and that doing so would “connect two major oil and gas industry strongholds.”
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