Glacier AERO Annual Letter to Investors | February 2024 Glacier Park International Airport (GPIA) had another successful year, ending 2023 with 455,827 enplanements, an 8.4% increase over 2022. Avelo Airlines began 2x weekly nonstop service from Burbank, un-incented, in May of 2023 and now has extended to nearly year-round service. More recently, Avelo also announced 2x weekly nonstop service to Sonoma, CA May through August 2024. GPIA expects to complete and open the north building ticketing, concessions, checkpoint, lobby, bag systems, and four hold rooms early in 2Q 2024, with total project completion projected for 3Q 2026. Finally, Glacier AERO is pleased to announce it has received a commitment from Glacier Country Tourism for a $50,000 annual cash match to help support the airline expansion goals of Northwest Montana. Glacier Country Tourism Commitment
Glacier Park International Airport
Glacier AERO - 2024 Strategy for Airline Expansion Since its formation in 2014, Glacier AERO has provided minimum revenue guarantee (MRG) and marketing support to expand airline service to Northwest Montana with the help of over eighty businesses and organizations, and now the support of Glacier Country Tourism. In 2024 Glacier AERO will continue to promote business and community growth and development by investing in strategies designed to expand commercial air service in the Flathead Valley with a specific focus on expanded winter and year-round service.
Investor Outreach: We intend to hold an investor meeting or meetings this spring to provide an update on the airline expansion environment, the Glacier AERO agenda, and take questions. Glacier AERO continues to work with local businesses and individuals to further our mission to facilitate increased air service in the shoulder and winter season months. We are asking for your continued support in 2024. Kim Morisaki, the fundraising contractor for Glacier AERO, will be following up with you over the next few weeks. Kim can be reached at 406-261-8831, info@glacieraero.org. The Glacier AERO Board of Directors greatly appreciates your partnership. Sincerely, Glacier AERO Board of Directors Joe Unterreiner, Board Chair, Glacier Bank Dennis Green, Board Vice-Chair Jason Spring, Secretary/Treasurer, Vizient Inc. Anton Kaufer, The Daily Inter Lake Brian Pelc, Stockman Bank Diane Medler, Discover Kalispell Kat Dodd, Keller Williams Kevin Gartland, Whitefish Chamber Tagen Vine, Flathead Valley Community College Vance Watson, Budget Rental Car Scott Nicholson, First Interstate Bank Michael Barth, Logan Health Foundation Kim Wortman, Big Mountain Commercial Assn. Lorraine Clarno, Kalispell Chamber Nick Polumbus, Whitefish Mountain Resort Rob Ratkowski, Glacier Park Airport, Ex-officio
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By Maggie Dresser The Flathead Beacon | September 5, 2023 5:00 PM Following flat growth at Glacier Park International Airport (GPIA) for most of 2023, July data revealed an uptick in travelers, with a 6.4% growth in enplanements compared to last year.
This July, there were 68,504 enplanements compared to 2022, which saw 64,352 and there were 68,201 deplanements compared to 63,792. Read the entire Flathead Beacon article HERE. By TRISTAN SCOTT The Flathead Beacon | March 3, 2023 5:00 PM As the $150 million terminal expansion at Glacier Park International Airport (GPIA) nears its halfway point, a bipartisan infrastructure deal brokered by Montana’s U.S. Sen. Jon Tester has delivered $7.3 million in funding to modernize and expand the facility.
The funding was announced this week and is part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), a bipartisan measure that Tester predicted would deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds to Montana, including $114 million for the state’s airports. Read the entire Flathead Beacon article HERE. By Denali Sagner The Flathead Beacon | February 18, 2023 5:00 PM After 18 months of construction, the first phase of the $150 million terminal expansion at Glacier Park International Airport (GPIA) is nearly halfway complete. The first phase of the airport expansion, Phase 1A, includes renovations to portions of the TSA checkpoint, new jet bridges and waiting areas, expanded retail and dining options, administrative offices and mechanical facilities. Read the entire Flathead Beacon article HERE.
By BRET ANNE SERBIN Daily Inter Lake | July 1, 2021 5:00 PM Glacier Park International Airport’s $100 million upgrade, dubbed “the biggest project in the history of the airport” by Airport Director Rob Ratkowski, will include Flathead County's only escalator.
The ambitious expansion project will bring in an escalator to connect the two levels of the airport, along with two more gates and a redesign of the security checkpoint. Read More of this Daily Inter Lake Article Here. GNP and GPIA are experiencing a full recovery, officials said at the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitor Bureau luncheon BY MAGGIE DRESSER JUNE 21, 2021 Since Glacier Park International Airport’s (GPIA) traffic dropped 98% in March and April of 2020, the Kalispell airport has made a complete recovery by returning to record-setting traffic and is slated for the largest terminal expansion in its history, while adding 100,000 more airline seats this summer.
“We are anticipating a record year at the airport,” GPIA Director Rob Ratkowski said at the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce luncheon on June 15. Starting in January, Ratkowski received inquires from three new airlines, including Sun Country Airlines, JetBlue and Frontier Airlines, interested in adding seasonal flights at GPIA, while multiple existing airlines also added flights. The additions created 100,000 more available seats and Ratkowski suspects there will be 400,000 enplanements by the end of 2021, up from the record 356,000 in 2019. Read the full Flathead Beacon Article Here.
By Daily Inter Lake | May 14, 2021 1:17 PM The Flathead Municipal Airport Authority on Tuesday approved the first phase of construction for the $100 million expansion of Glacier Park International Airport.
“We are really excited for construction to get underway. The project is a culmination of four years of planning,” Airport Director Rob Ratkowski said. “This expansion will nearly triple the current square footage of our facilities, taking GPIA from 75,000 square feet to almost 200,000 square feet.” Read More of this Daily Inter Lake Article Here. Airport officials discussing potential rescheduling of expansion for spring or summer of 2021
By Maggie Dresser // NOV 9, 2020 Glacier Park International Airport (GPIA) is continuing to recover following a sharp pandemic-caused decline in the airline industry in the spring, said Airport Director Rob Ratkowski. Autumn airport numbers are comparable to two years ago, with 56,046 total passengers this September compared to 59,733 in 2018, although still well behind last year’s September passenger total of 70,643. Those numbers built on the trend of improvement in summer, when the airport saw 68,064 total passengers in August after only 1,802 total passengers in April. Read More of this Flathead Beacon article at: flatheadbeacon.com/2020/11/09/gpias-fall-airline-numbers-show-continued-recovery/ By BRET ANNE SERBIN
Daily Inter Lake | August 29, 2020 12:15 AM Montana airports might have been spared the worst damage from the COVID-19 pandemic this summer. According to a new analysis from industry group Airlines for America, Montana experienced the smallest percentage decline in passenger flights out of any state in the country when compared to July of last year. Montana saw a 25% reduction in scheduled flights from July 2019 to July 2020. The national average was about a 50% decrease, and New York, the state with the most significant drop-off, saw flights decline by 70% compared to the same time period last year. Read More of this Daily Inter Lake article at: dailyinterlake.com/news/2020/aug/29/0829-glacier-park-international-airport/ |