Originally Posted by
DLASflyer
Everything has changed since Covid. When Alaska came to Jackson Hole, they said they would do it with no subsidy at all and have since expanded from regional jets to a mix of regional and mainline from four hubs. EGE, HDN, JAC are mostly mainline now on all airlines versus mostly regional jets pre-pandemic. Delta flies its largest possible plane to EGE and JAC - the 757. Minimum revenue guarantees are down but seats are up to many of these markets.
But the frequencies still suck to those little airports! EGE ain't THAT far from DEN. In fact from Vail resort proper, it seems almost as far to drive to the far Western end of the Vail valley (where the airport is) as it does to get down to Denver - granted you don't have to deal with the Vail Pass or the Tunnel, which can be a pain at (only) certain times, but still there are an awful lot of Epic and other shuttles running I-70 between DIA and all the mountain resorts at all times of day and night. Guess others may differ, but I hate going into airports where you have so little choice of times and carriers and destinations, when there is a major international airport just a little bit further away with huge fleets of rental cars at the ready. Granted JAC might be a bit further to get to/from a major airport and worthy of more dedicated service, but pretty much all of the Colorado resorts especially are close enough to the I-70 corridor, and aren't that remote from DEN, assuming typical winter road conditions (I would also include Steamboat (HDN) - which again is on the Denver Side of airport and ASE in that category..)