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Billings Hosts Montana Rendezvous
Billings recently hosted the Montana Rendezvous, an annual event with the goal of bolstering air service opportunities between Montana airports and our national airline partners. Representatives from eight airlines and all of Montana’s major airports were in Billings for the conference. Attendees had the opportunity to participate in a host of local excursions planned and led by Visit Billings to take full advantage of their time in Montana’s City prior to the commencement of networking meetings and programming.
“The Montana Rendezvous is an effort to bring together airport and airline representatives to discuss the opportunities available at Montana’s commercial service airports and to highlight the unique regions that we serve. Hosting this event for the first time in Billings allowed us the opportunity to feature our community and region, while we encouraged airline network planners to add new air service opportunities through BIL,” shared Jeff Roach, Director of Aviation and Transit.
Hosting this event would not have been possible without tremendous support from our community. A special note of appreciation to the Billings Chamber of Commerce and their Air Service Committee board members, Visit Billings, Steve Warlich – Best Western Clocktower Inn and Stella’s, The Northern Hotel, Edwards Jet Center, Mayor Cole and our elected officials, and many more.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced that TSA PreCheck has surpassed 20 million members, marking a new record since the trusted traveler program was launched just over a decade ago.
Top 10 Destinations for BIL Passengers
Looking to the first nine months of 2024, every airline is expanding capacity in the BIL market, with total capacity at BIL increasing 15 percent year-over-year.
(Source: Mead and Hunt Destination Analysis)
FEATURED STORIES
BIL Cargo
BIL is ranked 55 out of 150 air cargo airports in the country. That is an 8-spot jump in national rankings since CY 2022! Congrats BIL!
See you there!
Take the Chamber Air Service Committee Survey!
The Billings Air Service Development Committee, consisting of the Billings Chamber of Commerce, Big Sky Economic Development, Visit Billings, the City of Billings, and partner businesses is working to grow and support air service at BIL.
One convincing tool airline decision makers request is information from you, the business community, on your current and projected air service needs. Please forward this survey to the person in your organization responsible for air travel decisions and budgets and ask them to complete the survey no later than August 26, 2023. Thank you for helping us grow service at BIL.
Nabbing a low airfare from Billings can sometimes require more than thrift. The deals out of Billings Logan International Airport do exist. It just takes “being smart about it,” Logan Marr said recently while waiting in the front lobby at the airport.
“Buying when no one’s going to fly, basically,” he added. “It kind of sucks sometimes when you don’t get the best experience. But you’re getting cheap flights, just scouring.”
Now, as its efforts to tamp down higher-than-average fares ramp up, the airport has sought to attract more air service to Billings. More competition, airport officials say, would mean passengers could save, not scour.
Billings hosted the annual Montana Airline Rendezvous Wednesday, with the goal of boosting local flights in the state.
The meeting, which has never been held in Billings before, combines statewide airports with airline representatives in an effort to bring these services to the Big Sky state.
This year, the meeting included airport representatives from Billings, Bozeman, Helena, Great Falls, Missoula, Kalispell and West Yellowstone.
Not far above the eastern Montana prairie, a fleet of propeller aircraft whizzes every day from Billings to some of America’s smallest passenger airports.
These flights might also rank among the nation’s most exclusive. Cape Air, the operator, limits capacity to as few as seven passengers each. But they serve some very different VIPs: people from far-flung towns who say they rely on the routes for basic needs like medical care.
“People that use it need it,” said Don Kaveshan, who recently waited for his flight from Glasgow Valley County Airport.
The Billings Air Service Committee is comprised of leadership from Visit Billings, the Billings Chamber of Commerce, Big Sky Economic Development, and the City of Billings, along with businesses and community leaders who are dedicated to supporting Billings Logan International Airport (BIL) and effort to increase air service to the Billings and southeast Montana region.
Big Sky Economic Development, 201 N Broadway, Billings, MT 59101, United States
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