8 Daily Flights : Airline’s Palmdale Service to Start Jan. 2

In a move that will give Antelope Valley residents renewed access to commercial flight service, America West Airlines announced Monday that it will begin serving Palmdale Air Terminal with four daily round-trip flights to Las Vegas starting Jan. 2.

The flights on 37-seat Boeing de Havilland Dash 8 turboprop planes will provide connections to the more than 50 cities that the air carrier serves nationwide. Las Vegas is one of its two hub cities; the other is Phoenix, where the airline is based.

The flights will also enable Los Angeles Department of Airports officials to dust off their little-used Palmdale Air Terminal about 35 miles northeast of the Los Angeles city limits. The 9,000-square-foot facility was built in 1971, but has been vacant since the last commercial air carrier halted service there in 1985.

The flights will operate out of the city’s small air terminal, but the aircraft will use runways at the adjoining U. S. Air Force Plant 42. Earlier this year, the two agencies agreed to allow up to 200 commercial flights daily from Palmdale using the shared facilities.

Under that agreement, the city also agreed to postpone construction of its long-planned Palmdale Regional Airport on 17,750 acres of mostly undeveloped land, which the city has acquired in the area since 1970, until commercial flight demands exceed that level.

‘Enhance Development’

“We believe our new, convenient air service will enhance the economic development of Lancaster and Palmdale, providing both business and leisure travelers with convenient access to one of the fastest growing areas in the nation,” said Mark Coleman, the airline’s senior vice president for sales and product development.

With its move into Palmdale, America West will serve 12 California cities, including Los Angeles. Earlier this year, as part of its expansion in the state, it began service from Santa Barbara and Fresno.

America West said its introductory fares for the Palmdale-Las Vegas service will be as low as $88 round trip and $59 one-way for night flights in January. Daytime round trips will be as low as $108 in January, $128 in February and $148 thereafter, an airline spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Department of Airports officials praised the airline’s decision. They have long wanted to resume air service out of Palmdale to serve the fast-growing Antelope Valley, as well as to offer residents of northern Los Angeles County an alternative to Los Angeles International Airport.

The 65-minute flights will depart Palmdale at 7:30 and 10:55 a.m., and 3:50 and 8:45 p.m. Return flights will leave Las Vegas at 9:25 a.m. and 1:40, 5:50 and 10:40 p.m.

In addition to America West, the start-up airline Westates plans to use Palmdale’s airport. However, a spokesman for Burlingame-based Westates said Monday that the airline does not expect to begin commercial operations until December and that its Palmdale service is expected to begin after that.