Future of Denver flights remains unknown

Officials at the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport hope United Airlines will wait until Oct. 15 to hear what support could be available for its nonstop Lewiston-Denver flights.

That update came Wednesday from Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport Director Michael Isaacs.

“No meetings with other organizations (have) been set up,” Isaacs said in an email to the Tribune. “It’s really in the hands of (the city of Lewiston and Nez Perce County) to determine any actions needed.”

The city of Lewiston and Nez Perce County are the owners of the airport, which is governed by its own board.

United had told the airport it wanted direction by Tuesday about if the community would be able to provide a $4.9 million revenue guarantee for the upcoming year to continue the service, which would be shifted to larger aircraft.

United would replace the 1990s-era 50-seat CRJ-200 jets on the flights with 70-to-76-seat E-175 jets under the proposal.

Lewiston Mayor Dan Johnson and Nez Perce County Commissioner Doug Havens said Wednesday they hadn’t heard any update from United on the status of the flights.

It is not clear if the community will provide the money United is requesting.

The city of Lewiston and Nez Perce County didn’t include any money to subsidize the flights in their budgets for this fiscal year.

“Businesses and organizations are in support of United service, but none, to my knowledge, have the ability or intend to subsidize the route,” Isaacs said.

The United service debuted in Lewiston in 2021 and received $4 million from Nez Perce County over three years as part of the deal that brought the airline to Lewiston. The county’s $4 million came from its $7.8 million allocation from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

For the fiscal year that ended Monday, United has a revenue guarantee with the city of Lewiston worth as much as $4 million. United has billed the city close to $4 million for the period of Oct. 1, 2023, through June 30, according to figures from the city.

The city of Lewiston provided that support after United stated it lost $5.5 million on the flights in 2023.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.